Pacquiao-Marquez /Mayweather-Ortiz: Great Substitutes for Pacquiao-Mayweather?

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather's fights with their respective opponents—Juan Manuel Marquez and Victor Ortiz—later in the year should be terrific bouts, but will they be satisfying enough to not require a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown?

Let's examine each fight individually:

Pacquiao-Marquez III

This is the more important fight of the two. It is also a must for Pacquiao. If Pacquiao were to have already beaten Mayweather, fans would still be clamouring for a third fight with Marquez.

Many still believe that Marquez won both bouts in 2004 and 2008 which ended with the disputed results of a draw in the first and a decision for Paquiao in the second. While Pacquiao quickly rebounded from any scrutiny to be the biggest star in boxing, there are still those who believe that Pacquiao never truly beat Marquez.

Pacquiao's bouts after the second Marquez fight established him as a legendary fighter. The problem, though, is that many of Pacquiao's opponents, which included future Hall of Famers Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, were considered either too old or overrated and therefore not the same caliber as Pacquiao.

With the exception of Shane Mosley, most of Pacquiao's recent opponents posed a legitimate threat to the champ. While David Diaz may not have been ranked number one, he was still, at least in the summer of '08, seen among the elite fighters in the lightweight division. Oscar De La Hoya was not the worn-out fighter that many believed he was. In fact many believed he would be too big for Pacquiao—he ended up just being taller. Ricky Hatton was still in his prime, having only previously lost to only Floyd Mayweather. Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, and Antonio Margarito were all noticeably bigger than Pacquiao, yet Pacquiao triumphed through each one of them.

Without that three knockdown round, I still have Pacquiao winning the first fight, but Marquez in my opinion won the second bout. Above I said that Paquiao needs this fight. By that I meant to satisfy his critics on his rivalry with Marquez. If for some reason this fight were to be cancelled and never take place again, Pacquiao would still be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Pacquiao does not need a knockout, but does need to win convincingly.

Mayweather-Ortiz

While this should be an interesting fight, it will only be satisfying in the sense that Mayweather will finally be seen fighting again.

Like Pacquiao, the credibility of Mayweather's recent success has come into question due to his selection of opponents. Just like the situation with Pacquiao, Shane Mosley was way past his prime. Juan Manuel Marquez was past his prime too, but the bigger disadvantage was the weight differential. As I mentioned with Pacquiao, De La Hoya was not a worn-out fighter.

I actually had the Golden Boy winning the fight against the Pretty Boy—although, going into the bout, De La Hoya actually had more to prove and therefore all Mayweather had to do was win—not necessarily convincingly. To Mayweather's credit, also like Pacquiao, he did beat Ricky Hatton in his prime, giving the British fighter his first career loss.

I have Mayweather winning this fight. However, should either one (Paquiao or Mayweather) lose their fight and the other win his, then chances of this dream bout ever happening become slimmer as either fighter might look for another opponent.

Of course should Marquez or Ortiz (or both) win, it would only do wonders for them. For Marquez it would extend his career if he so chooses, and solidify him as the best Mexican-born fighter of his time, ahead of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

For Ortiz it would be not only be a milestone victory, as Mayweather is undefeated, but it would also be monumental for a fighter who has yet to enter his prime. It would also guarantee that his career will go on for a while.

Both fights have the potential to match or even surpass the quality of great boxing that a Paquiao-Mayweather fight should present. If both fights live up their potential - there is no reason why they shouldn't—then they should satisfy fight fans. Depending on the outcomes, though, boxing may not need this mega-fight—but, Mayweather or Pacquiao may still need one another.