Pacquiao vs. Marquez: What a Loss Would Mean for Potential Mayweather Fight

If Manny Pacquiao gets himself upset by Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night in Las Vegas, most experts agree that his chances of getting a fight with Floyd Mayweather would disappear faster than a plate of Twinkies in front of Vince Wilfork. 

Those experts couldn't be more wrong. 

Sure, a loss to Marquez would deal a punishing blow to Pacman's chances of landing a fight against the only other real contender for the pound-for pound greatest, but there would still be a chance. 

Why? Simple: Even with a loss, Pacman remains the best and most lucrative opportunity out there for Mayweather. It's a fight the entire world has been clamoring to see for years now, putting the two best fighters in the world against one another at the height of their powers. 

Do you really think one fight, especially a fight that will likely be one of the most closely contested bouts in recent memory, will change a single thing here? 

Please. Sure, it would give Mayweather more excuse to back out of the fight again, but really, it won't change a single thing in the negotiation process between these two sides.

If anything, you could easily make a case that a loss by the Philippine champion against Marquez would encourage Mayweather to jump in the ring against him in the near future. After all, prior to Saturday, Pacman had looked more or less invincible; if he were to lose, that intimidation factor disappears, and with it, we could easily see Money's courage return to him. 

Don't get me wrong; a loss doesn't make this fight much more likely, and there's a good chance that the public outcry would die down somewhat to make this fight happen, and the money that would tempt Mayweather to take a chance against the "little man" wouldn't be quite as free-flowing as it is right now.

But to assume that a loss dooms Pacman's chances of fighting Money is foolish and rash. We're talking about the best fighters in a generation. Answer me this: if Manny Pacquiao loses, would you still want to see him fight Floyd Mayweather? 

That's what I thought. 

If this fight was going to happen before Saturday night, the outcome of that bout won't change that at all. If Pacquiao loses, the only thing likely to change for him in the hypothetical bout would be the purse, rather than whether or not it's actually going to happen. 

In other words, do not fret should Pacman fall on Saturday, fight fans; your dream matchup isn't quite as dead as you might think.