By Miguel Rivera
The big story this week is the potential comeback of eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38KOs) in the fall.
Pacquiao had announced his retirement in April after winning his trilogy fight with Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
No opponent has been finalized, but several potential foes have priced themselves out by requesting very high guarantees. Two dates, October 29th and November 5th are being set aside for a Pacquiao fight.
One opponent that Pacquiao, and his trainer Freddie Roach, would love to get their hands on - is former four division champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
In the fall of 2012, Marquez knocked Pacquiao out cold with a single counter shot in the sixth round of their fourth meeting.
Marquez - 42-years-old - has been out of the ring since May of 2014, when he won a twelve round decision over Mike Alvarado at The Forum in Los Angeles. Marquez is considering the possibility of retirement if he's not able to secure the right fight.
But the Mexican veteran has zero interest in fighting Pacquiao for a fifth time -regardless of the money. Their three previous meetings were all close and controversial. They went to a draw in 2004 and then Pacquiao won controversial decisions in 2008 and 2011.
"I'm no longer interested in that. I beat him and the issue is already closed. A lot of people tell me that Pacquiao gave me a rematch [three] times, but he did that because he didn't beat me. If he had beat me in the same way that I beat him - would he have signed for a fifth fight?" - Marquez said to Golpe a Golpe.
Marquez is not surprised that Pacquiao is already pondering the possibility of a ring return after vowing to pursue a full-time career in politics back home in the Philippines.
"He walked away, saying that he wants to help people. He said he was retiring after the fight with Timothy Bradley - but then Bob Arum interfered, started talking about money and that's the weakness for any fighter," Marquez said.
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