Juan Manuel Marquez Most Deserving Of a Shot at Manny Pacquiao

Jose Manuel Marquez's hand, which was raised at the end of his 12-round domination of Juan Diaz this weekend, is always the first in the air when the question 'who wants to fight Manny Pacquiao next?' is asked. 

While Floyd Mayweather and his advisers have procrastinated and prevaricated  their way into a negotiational impasse which is seemingly insurmountable, Marquez has been waiting patiently in the wings.

You get the impression that discussions for Marquez vs. Pacquiao 3 would be extremely brief. The Mexican would probably be willing to accommodate any demands from Pacquiao, no matter how outlandish, in order for the fight he so desperately craves to get made.

Pacquiao might argue that he has already faced Marquez twice and has subsequently moved on, as he did at the conclusion of their second fight, but Marquez can justifiably claim that Pacquiao has never beaten him comprehensively.

Both fights were close but the first was ruled a draw and the second awarded to Pacquiao. Many ringside observers felt that Marquez had done enough to win both fights and he understandably feels that he has unfinished business with the man who is now widely regarded as boxing's pound-for-pound king.

There is no man in boxing who deserves a shot at Pacquiao more than Marquez right now. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is the fight which fans want to see and Mayweather's unblemished record obviously makes him the perfect candidate.

For whatever reason, the Mayweather camp do not appear to be sincere about wanting this particular fight to take place.

Marquez, by contrast, does not just want it, he is absolutely desperate for it. How he must have felt when he heard that a rematch with Miguel Cotto was under consideration is anyone's guess.

Pacquiao absolutely blew Cotto away the first time they met. This fight was so one-sided it was almost ugly whereas 24 rounds of boxing have been unable to satisfactorily separate Pacquiao and Marquez.

The attraction of the Antonio Margarito fight for Pacqiuao is that it gives him the opportunity to win a world title in yet another weight class.

Margarito vs. Pacquiao is undeniably an enthralling fight but you can understand Marquez's frustration at being overlooked in favour of a fighter who has only just finished a 12-month suspension for cheating.

While the cloud hanging over Margarito is unlikely to dissipate anytime soon, Marquez has been one of Mexican boxing's great ambassadors.

He might have had some bad matchmaking decisions made on his behalf after the first Pacquiao fight but in recent years he has consistently fought the best of the best.

It is for good reason that Marquez has become a permanent fixture in the top three of most people's pound for pound lists.

Golden Boy would like Marquez to face another of its fighters, Amir Khan, next. Marquez is not interested in fighting the up-and-coming Englishman and has his sights firmly set on Pacquiao.

He even went as far as to volunteer his services for the Nov. 13 date currently set aside for Margarito vs. Pacquiao. Given that Margarito has yet to be granted a license to box anywhere in the US, Marquez could well be a viable alternative.

Last year, Margarito was rightly vilified for after being caught stuffing his hand wraps with an illegal substance. Since then, he has been knocked out by Shane Mosley and has beaten the relatively unknown Roberto Garcia. 

In the same period of time, Marquez has beaten Juan Diaz twice, putting on a fight of the year show in the process, and lost to Floyd Mayweather once.

Yet despite this, it is Margarito who is being lined up for the big money pay-per-view fight against the pound-for-pound champ. Meanwhile, Marquez is supposed to settle for being used as a stepping stone by burgeoning fighters such as Khan.

If, despite Marquez's protestations to the contrary, the fight with Khan does happen, then the Englishman will swiftly discover that Marquez is no stepping stone.

The Mexican has been consistently at the top of the sport for at least three years for a reason and Khan has quite simply never faced an opponent of this calibre.

A fight with Pacquiao is no less than Marquez deserves as he reaches the twilight of what has been a glorious boxing career.

A fight with Khan is what he will probably get, unless he is willing to wait until 2011 by which time he will be 37.

If Pacquiao is sincere about fighting the best in the business then, given Mayweather's reluctance to step up, he need look no further than Juan Manuel Marquez.