Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Victory for Marquez Would Bury Boxing's Momentum

Underdogs are fun, aren't they? 

I mean, what is better than watching some lesser known fighter step up and give a good fight to one of the best in the world?

After all, isn't that what made the Rocky series popular? 

But as great as those movies were, there is something more appealing in sports, particularly boxing. 

Watching the two, undisputed, best-in-the-world fighters going toe to toe. 

Think about it for a second. Does Muhammad Ali's fight with Chuck Wepner stand up to any of his three fights with Joe Frazier? 

I suppose that's a matter of opinion, but it really doesn't come close. 

Right now, we have two fighters in Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who are the two biggest names the sport has to offer. 

As of right now, they have yet to fight and nothing has been officially signed for the future. 

Any momentum that the sport of boxing has revolves around Pacquiao and Mayweather fighting at the top of their game. 

While Pacquiao doesn't sport an unblemished record like Mayweather, he hasn't lost in a while and is on top of his game right now. 

Well, I think he is. 

We'll get a better sense of that on Saturday after he fights Juan Manuel Marquez.

But the fact of the matter is, if Pacquiao does lose, he's not on top of his game anymore. Much of the intrigue surrounding a potential fight with Mayweather would be gone.

It wouldn't be anything more than a fight that we've seen far too often in recent years with several different players. The names are big, but the fight is obviously a few years too late for one or both of the competitors.

That simply can't happen with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. 

Just to be clear, I have nothing against Juan Manuel Marquez. He has every right to be in the ring with Manny Pacquiao and should be doing everything he can to win. His job isn't to worry about what's next for Pacquiao.

That's my job.

The fact is that the sport needs Pacquiao to win and then go on to fight Mayweather. The two men are the biggest names in the sport and are on top of their games. 

Boxing simply needs them to fight each other.