By Ronnie Nathanielsz

GOLDEN Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer said the handlers of Manny Pacquiao did not want to give Juan Manuel Marquez a rematch clause in the fight contract for their showdown at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Schaefer made the statement following inquiries as to how and why Pacquiao was granted a rematch clause in case he lost to Marquez, while the Mexican, who was champion at the time, didn’t enjoy what champions are normally granted except in a mandatory title defense.

Schaefer said Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Marquez, “certainly asked for it but it was rejected. As a result, Marquez had to make a decision—take the fight under conditions dictated by Pacquiao or not have the fight. Frankly, not much of a choice.”

He earlier said that Marquez had made some unbelievable concessions, just to ensure that the fight took place including a cut in his purse and other perks.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach earlier revealed that Marquez’s purse was only $1.5 million, while Pacquiao, who was the challenger, received $5.5 million, plus perks that are expected to bring in an additional couple of million dollars.

Meantime, boxing writer and TV reporter James Blears, who lives in Mexico City, referred to the fight as the “Great One.”

In an email to Viva Sports/Standard Today, Blears said both Pacquiao and Marquez “interwove every fiber of their contrasting but complementing styles into the tapestry of combat. It was a potent brew with each, drawing deep into the well of individual experience and the reservoir of firepower while trying to impose sheer willpower, through ebbs and flows in the unrelenting action. That is why it evolved into a truly brilliant, edge-of-your-seat contest.”