Marquez says he’s impressed with Pacquiao; 5th duel looms

MANILA, Philippines - Juan Manuel Marquez made a rare compliment to archrival Manny Pacquiao, saying the Filipino icon looked good in his fight against Timothy Bradley last April 13.

Marquez, who has gone 1-2-1 against Pacquiao – the last of which was a spectacular sixth-round knockout win in Dec.  2012 – is taking on Mike Alvarado this weekend. If he succeeds, a fifth meeting with Pacquiao is highly possible.

In an interview with Lem Satterfield of ringtv.com, Marquez had praises for Pacquiao regarding his rematch with Bradley, which the Filipino convincingly won to regain the WBO welterweight title.

“I saw the best Manny Pacquiao (in the rematch with Bradley).  Right now, Pacquiao is using his speed and his movement in the ring. I saw the best Manny Pacquiao because he landed a lot of punches with his speed. I liked the way that Manny Pacquiao fought,” Marquez explained.

“Pacquiao wants to beat everybody. I saw the best Manny Pacquiao. Right now, Manny Pacquiao is a champion again. Everybody knows that Pacquiao is a great fighter. Right now, Pacquiao, he’ll be back,” he added.

Marquez is now eyeing Pacquiao’s title in a bid to become the first Mexican to win championships in five divisions. Reports claimed Bob Arum is mulling another Pacquiao-Marquez clash late this year, possibly in Macau.

But the Mexican stresses he has to take care of business first against Alvarado.

“It’s not that difficult for me (winning another title). Maybe in the future, I will have the most important fight of my career. Right now, I’m thinking about Alvarado because Alvarado is a tough fighter,” he said.

“Right now, I’m thinking about Alvarado. I know that Manny Pacquiao is there if I win this fight. I don’t want to look past this fight right now. Let’s find out what happens on Saturday and then go from there,” Marquez ended.