DE LA HOYA BEGS FOR PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ III

These tough economic times must be taking their toll on Golden Boy Promotions. In a move that can only be described as pathetic, Oscar De La Hoya held a conference call with select members of the media to essentially beg for Manny Pacquiao to face Juan Manuel Marquez a third time instead of moving forward with a tentatively scheduled November 13 showdown with Antonio Margarito. “Marquez has a license, he’s obviously ready and willing to fight Manny Pacquiao,” De La Hoya exclaimed, obviously trying to take advantage of Antonio Margarito’s recent denial for a boxing license by the California State Athletic Commission.

“This is a fight that not only has to be made, but must be made because their first fight was a draw, and their second fight was highly disputed and it’s only fair that a third fight happen. And here is Marquez with a license, willing to fight him, and I think that the public really deserves it,” he continued, implying that a third fight must take place simply because the first two were close. For the record, although the fights were indeed close, I personally had Pacquiao still winning both, but even if one felt as though Marque deserved the nod in one of those fights, the end result was far from controversial or “highly disputed” as De La Hoya suggested. They were close fights, that either man could have won, but it was Pacquiao who got the victory in the rematch and it was Pacquiao who floored Marquez three times in the first round of their initial encounter.

“Manny Pacquiao wants to fight. The only one who does not want to fight is Bob Arum, and that is not fair. That is not fair to the public, and that is not fair to Manny Pacquiao. That is not fair to Marquez,” De La Hoya added. While a third bout between Pacquiao and Marquez would no doubt be entertaining, it’s certainly won’t be “unfair” if it doesn’t happen. After all, De La Hoya himself was involved in two close fights with Shane Mosley, with the second being much more controversial than any bout that Paquiao has ever been in, and yet, fans never got an opportunity to see a third bout between the two future Hall of Famers. Maybe that’s because De La Hoya lost both fights, or maybe it’s because he simply gave up on trying to beat Shane, but either way, Oscar De La Hoya is the last person to be telling fans what’s fair or unfair when it comes to fights taking place. I’m quite sure there were far more fans upset with the fact that Ike Quartey and Pernell Whitaker never got their rematches with De La Hoya. I’m also sure that Winky Wright and the late great Vernon Forrest thought it was unfair that De La Hoya never faced them.

Regardless, in my opinion, Marquez should just follow De La Hoya’s example and give up on trying to defeat Pacquiao.