By Mark Vester
Freddie Roach, trainer of Manny Pacquiao, would prefer to see a trilogy bout between his fighter and Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez. They fought to a controversial draw in 2004 and Pacquiao won a controversial split-decision in 2008. Marquez was on the losing end of a lopsided twelve round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September. Roach says people will still watch.
“Let's fight (Juan Manuel) Marquez (for the third time),” Roach told the Manila Bulletin. “They're going to watch it."
Right now WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman is the frontrunner to face Pacquiao in March. It would require Pacquiao to move up to 154-pounds, a division he always said was too heavy. Some say Foreman is too big for the much smaller Pacquiao. Roach agrees with physical odds being stacked against them. He is not too happy with that fight. He told the paper that Foreman will be a very tough opponent for them.
“He's big, he's tall and he's rangy,” said Roach. “It's going to be tough.”