MANNY Pacquiao may want his fans to choose who he fights next but for World Boxing Council (WBC) president Jose Sulaiman, there’s only one viable option for the Filipino superstar—WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez survived three knockdowns in the first round and went on to salvage a draw in his first meeting with the Filipino dynamo in 2004. However, a rematch between the two was shelved because of a disagreement on the purse and the court battle between their promoters.
Earlier this year, Pacquiao, who told a press conference last Sunday that he wants to let his fans pick his next opponent, also surrendered his mandatory challenger status to Marquez’s and went on to fight Marco Antonio Barrera.
“If he (Manny) declines for a third time, then I think he doesn’t want to fight Marquez, and we have to go our way. But I believe that Marquez and Pacquiao are willing to fight each other. And it’s got to be in the first quarter of 2008, because there are no other television dates for the rest of the year. And they cannot do without the television, because it’s a big money fight. So I believe that’s going to be a great opportunity at the beginning of the year,” Sulaiman said in the report.
Defense
Marquez is set to defend his WBC belt opposite Rocky Juarez next month and if he keeps the belt, a rematch with Pacquiao may loom in the horizon.
Meanwhile, fans at the mannypacquiao.ph site seem to agree with the WBC president as Marquez leads in the poll on who Pacquiao should face next.
Marquez got 46.7 percent of the 4,495 votes, with undefeated knockout artist Edwin Valero a distant second with 23.4.
WBO, IBF and WBA lighweight king Juan Diaz is third with 19.8 percent, while another lightweight, David Diaz, who defeated Erik Morales in his first attempt at a fourth world title, is fourth with 7.7 percent.
After defeating Julio Diaz last Sunday, the 24-year-old Juan said Pacquiao should stop on taking aging Mexican legends and should face a young champion such as himself. (ML)
