MANILA, Philippines - The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez fight, scheduled July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, should be a good one for both fighters.
But for the fans? If you ask Manny Pacquiao, it could be the opposite.”Baka boring ‘yan (Could be boring),” said the Filipino mega-star when asked what he sees in the fight that could serve as an eliminator for the right to face Pacquiao next.
Pacquiao said while it should be a good fight, Mayweather may turn the ring into his own dancefloor.
“I think Marquez is the better boxer and counter-puncher. But the problem with Mayweather is too fast. And if he runs, then the fight becomes boring,” said Pacquiao.
Mayweather used the same tactic against Oscar dela Hoya and ran away with the victory that failed to live up to expectations.
The undefeated American said during the press conference announcing his fight with Marquez that he’s been on the road, running seven miles a day.
“He needs to do that because he’ll do a lot of running in the ring,” said a Filipino fight fan from Los Angeles.
While his trainer, Nacho Beristain, said they’ve given up hope on fighting Pacquiao a third time, Marquez continued to taunt the Filipino, in the hope of landing a fight.
“Right now I want to be the best fighter and to be the best you have to fight the best. Pacquiao keeps running from me. And he doesn’t want to face me a third time he just keeps running away. So, I decided to fight the very very best and that is Floyd Mayweather,” said Marquez.
He and Mayweather are probably the only ones who won’t admit that Pacquiao is the best and most exciting fighter in the world today, and the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in recent years.
Whoever gets to face Pacquiao next is assured of a mega-buck payday, and the Filipino’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, said whoever the opponent is, whether it’s Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Edwin Valero, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mayweather or Marquez, should settle for less.
“Whoever fights Manny Pacquiao next should be treated like Oscar dela Hoya’s opponent before. And he should be happy with 30, 32 or 35 percent of the total purse. Manny get the rest because he’s the main attraction now. He is the face of boxing today,” Arum told Ronnie Nathanielsz of insidesports.ph. – Abac Cordero