By Marcus Richardson: Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KO’s) is still holding out hope that he gets picked by Bob Arum to fight WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO’s) next in June.
However, if the 38-year-old Marquez doesn’t get the Pacquiao fight, he reportedly wants to fight a tune-up bout on March 17th against a fighter still to be determined and then go after the IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) to try and capture a 4th division world title.
Marquez told RingTV “I would like a fight with Lamont Peterson for my fourth title.”
Marquez won’t have too many problems getting that fight, as Peterson says he’s very interested in fighting Marquez and he wouldn’t have to be coaxed or dragged into the fight the way some fighters are. The only real question about a Marquez-Peterson fight is whether Peterson will still have his IBF and WBA titles by the time he gets around to fighting Marquez. Earlier today, the WBA ordered a rematch between Khan and Peterson, and that fight is still going to happen if Peterson doesn’t get selected by Arum to fight Pacquiao in June.
Peterson would likely vacate or have his titles stripped from him if he faces Pacquiao. Marquez might not be nearly as interested in fighting Peterson once he no longer has his two titles. If Khan picks them up, he’s likely to not hold the belts for long because he wants to move up in weight to the welterweight division to pursue bigger fights and guys like Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Marquez lost a controversial 12 round decision to Pacquiao last November in a fight that many boxing fans felt he should have won. Although Marquez clearly deserves a rematch with Pacquiao, Arum will likely choose to skip that fight and look for a safer alternative for Pacquiao to keep him making big money long enough for an eventual bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in some point in the future.
I don’t think it’s going to happen in May or November because Pacquiao is still making big cash beating Arum’s Top Rank fighters and increasing their value. I think Arum will wait until Pacquiao is starting to show signs of slipping in a major way and/or until Mayweather is completely shot, before he puts Pacquiao in with him. We didn’t see Arum let Pacquiao fight Shane Mosley until he 40-years-old and over the hill, and it’ll likely be the case with Pacquiao fighting Mayweather.