By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao and his promoter really want the rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez next year despite the dangers that a fight of that nature would present to the recently knocked out Pacquiao. Marquez is all for the rematch as long as his wife agrees to it and he gets a lot more money than he did last time.
I think this fight will be a great occasion for Marquez to end his incredible boxing with another knockout of Pacquiao. That would be the equivalent of baseball great Ted Williams hitting a homerun in his final at bat in his career. At the same time, I think a knockout loss for Pacquiao would be a good opportunity for him to retire from the sport as well.
Obviously, it wouldn’t be nearly as an ideal situation as Marquez retiring with a knockout loss, but it would still be perfect for Pacquiao because it’ll likely be his biggest pay per view of his career, and I don’t think it would prudent for him to continue to fight after getting knocked out cold again by Marquez.
I’m sure Arum will still be looking to put Pacquiao back in the ring again against some of his Top Rank stable fighters like Tim Bradley and Brandon Rios, but I think that might not be a good idea for Pacquiao.
You don’t want to see an aging lion being put in with the younger lions so that they can sharpen their claws and teeth. I’d hate to see Pacquiao end his career in losses to Bradley and/or Rios. It would be much better for him to go out on his shield against his old nemesis Marquez. Having both guys retire after their fifth would be a classic move and I could really respect that a great deal.
If Pacquiao gets knocked cold again by Marquez you would have to really see that as a sign that his ability to take a punch has badly deteriorated. But we know that Pacquiao won’t retire, because I think the show much go on. He’ll likely continue and like I said, be put in with Bradley and Rios one after another.
The smart move, other than retiring, would be for Arum to put in a herculean effort to put Pacquiao in with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his next fight after a second knockout loss to Marquez, even if Pacquiao has to accept a 70-30 purse split. It’s better to lose to Mayweather and get a huge payday than it would be to fight Bradley or Rios and end up with a lot less money and another loss.
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