By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao to finally give Juan Manuel Marquez a rematch, but instead of the fight taking place at 135 to 140, which would make it a winnable fight for Marquez, Roach wants the fight to take place at 147. In other words, he wants Pacquiao to have a huge advantage over Marquez. Roach no doubt saw how badly Marquez performed when he bulked up to 143 last year in his catch-weight fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., and likes Pacquiao’s chances at fighting Marquez at an even higher weight of 147 pounds. Marquez will likely still take the fight, but it’s hardly fair. Roach must feel that Pacquiao needs the weight advantage for him to win. Why else would Roach have Pacquiao fight at the full 147 instead of using one of his handicaps?

Roach told the Manila Bulletin, I’d like to fight Marquez a third time to shut him up. But we are not going to fight below 147.”

Marquez lost a controversial 12 round split decision to Pacquiao in 2008 in a fight that many boxing fans, this writer included, felt that Marquez should have won. The judges gave the more popular fighter Pacquiao the decision despite the fact that Pacquiao was getting out-boxed for much of the fight and was even staggered at one point in the fight. Instead of giving Marquez a rematch, Pacquiao went on to fight David Diaz next for to win a paper title at lightweight.

Roach likes to maximize the advantages for his fighters, and catch-weight bouts are part of how he helps Pacquiao get an advantage. But by having Marquez fight at 147, it shows that Roach is still trying to get an edge to have Pacquiao in a better position to win. It’s disappointing to say the least, because Marquez has a small build and he looked slow at 143 last year. He’s just not make to carry that kind of weight as well as Pacquiao. This is why it seems unfair that Roach wants Pacquiao to fight Marquez at a higher weight than 143. It just tells me that Roach isn’t confident about Pacquiao’s chances to win unless he receives an advantage over Marquez.