Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Must Avoid Rematch with Marquez

Manny Pacquiao narrowly escaped the Nov. 12 battle with Juan Manuel Marquez with yet another 12-round decision victory, but a fourth fight with Marquez would prove nothing for Pacquiao.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reports that Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, is saying that it’s the best interest of his fighter to pursue a fourth bout with Marquez. Arum believes a fight with Floyd Mayweather would still be on the table in November of next year.

Wait, what?

If Arum has been waiting for Pacquiao to fight “Money” for so long, then why wouldn’t he explore the opportunity he’s been given.

The opportunity I’m referring to is a May 5 fight between “Pac-Man” and Mayweather, which is on the table according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.

Why not approach this opportunity? Are Pacquiao and Arum scared?

At this point, that doesn’t matter. Pacquiao would not benefit at all from fighting Marquez again. He’s 2-0-1 against him despite the controversy, but all that matters is who was declared the winner.

Marquez can parade around declaring he won, but that will not change the result of the fight. Pac-Man would be doing Marquez a favor by stepping in the ring with him again.

Would Pac-Man win the fight?

Yes, but he needs to avoid defending his ego against the outspoken Marquez and move on to the next step of his career, which should be the Mayweather fight.

If he avoids taking this fight, instead choosing to fight Marquez, there’s the potential he doesn’t even get to fight Mayweather. All it takes is one punch to ruin his chances with Mayweather. He’s avoided that punch for 36 rounds—why put yourself at risk again?

Oscar De La Hoya—who has lost to both Pacquiao and Mayweather—said it best, calling out Pacquiao.

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"I say to Manny, fighter to fighter, 'Step it up, tell Arum what you want,'. You're the fighter. You're a congressman. You call the shots here and decide who you're going to fight."

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Pacquiao needs to step it up and make the Mayweather fight happen.