Pacquiao vs. Marquez: Fourth Fight Looms as Pacquiao Likely to Decline Bradley

A fourth encounter between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is getting closer to reality as the Filipino boxing superstar believes there is no need for a rematch with Bradley in November, as an overwhelming majority of fans are convinced that he actually won over the unbeaten Palm Springs boxing sensation last Saturday.

Pacquiao said rematch or no rematch is fine with him, but if more fans are convinced he clearly won the fight despite the adverse ruling by two of the three judges, then there may be no need for a rematch.

“If everybody else thinks that I won the match, then why do we have to do a rematch,” he said in a Philstar report by Abac Cordero.

In their Saturday night encounter, Bradley earned a split decision over Pacquiao, but statistics show Pacquiao was winning on points in most of the rounds.

Judges CJ Ross (115-113) and Duane Ford (115-113) scored the fight in favor of Bradley while Jerry Roth, with the same score the other way, gave it to Pacquiao.

Top Rank's Bob Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Bradley, said in a Yahoo News report that there may be no rematch between these fighters as planned for November until an investigation is done on the controversial decision of the judges who ruled in favor of Bradley.

In the Spanish TV Show, En Vivo, Pacquiao surprised the audience with a statement. As reported by boxingsocialist.com, he said he'd rather fight Marquez in Mexico than do a rematch with Bradley.

In 2004, Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a controversial draw in a featherweight bout (126 pounds). Pacquiao should have won on a split-decision if not for a scoring error committed by one of the judges who scored a round at 10-7 instead of 10-6 for Pacquiao's three knockdowns of Marquez.

In 2008, at super featherweight (130 pounds), Marquez and Pacquiao clashed again in a hotly contested rematch with Pacquiao earning a split decision. Pacquiao's third-round knockdown of Marquez must have influenced the decision of the judges as they gave the winning score to the Filipino boxing star.

Marquez was at ringside in the Pacquiao-Bradley fight last Saturday night. He said Pacquiao won the fight by at least five points.