By Rey Danseco
THE World Boxing Council (WBC) will not let Marco Antonio Barrera put his super featherweight title on the line against Juan Manuel Marquez in a March pay-per-view, unless mandatory challenger Manny Pacquiao gives way.
WBC president Jose Sulaiman told this Manila-based writer in an exclusive interview from Mexico City that Barrera won’t be able to make a voluntary defense, stating that the WBC must enforce the mandate -- to make the first mandatory defense of their super featherweight title in two years in order to maintain the integrity of the 45-year-old Mexico-based organization.
In a general assembly meeting at the WBC 44th annual convention in November in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Sulaiman approved the designation of the 12-round rumble between Pacquiao and Erik Morales on November 18 in Las Vegas as a final eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger to Barrera's title.
Pacquiao gave Morales back-to-back stoppage losses with a 3rd round knockout to get the better of their trilogy series with a 2-1 margin, and acquire the right to face Barrera.
The WBC indicated that if Pacquiao won’t accept the fight with Barrera, No. 2 ranked Mexican Humberto Soto, Pacquiao’s stablemate under Bob Arum of Top Rank, would become the official challenger.
“The WBC will not allow Barrera to make any other defense different than his mandatory defense, unless we are informed that Manny Pacquiao is not interested in the WBC title,” said Sulaiman.
With Arum’s formal offer has reached the table of Barrera’s promoter Golden Boy Promotions, Pacquiao showed he’s interested to capture his second WBC world championship belt and officially third title in as many divisions after he took the WBC flyweight throne in late 1990s and IBF super bantamweight diadem in 2001-2004.
Arum tendered Barrera a $2.5 million purse plus an upside from the pay-per-view to fight Pacquiao in April in Las Vegas. He gave a Jan. 12 deadline to Team Barrera and Oscar De La Hoya’s GBP to accept or reject the offer.
GBP has announced the Barrera-Marquez bout and claimed it is a done deal with Marquez manager Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain’s agreement to stage the fight on March 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas after Pacquiao just shrugged off the Jan. 2 deadline on GBP’s 50-50 split of purse offer for the rematch.
The situation puts Sulaiman in a hard spot to decide.
“I am now going through very difficult times with this decision and I have decided to wait a few days, as several important things have happened,” said Sulaiman. “The WBC has obtained through 45 years a respectful opinion of seriousness and good order and I don’t want to decide on matters that could embarrass us.”
To lessen the burden on his shoulder, Sulaiman plans to consult the boxing federations heads around the globe that comprise the organization such as in Africa, Asia, Orient and Pacific, Carribean, CIS and Slovenia, North America, Central America, and South America to come up with the WBC’s final position.
Despite of it all, it is obvious that the Barrera and Marquez can fight anytime with no title on the line.