By Chris Williams: Any time the subject of Manny Pacquiao fighting Juan Manuel Marquez below 147 pounds come up, you’ll notice that Pacquiao’s adoring fans start to complain like mad against Pacquiao doing that. Almost to the last man/woman, they seem to be against Pacquiao giving Marquez any kind of weight allowance by coming in a lesser weight than 147. In other words, Marquez shouldn’t get a smaller catch weight if he wants to fight Pacquiao. With them, it’s 147 or forget it. What I don’t understand why they’re so against Marquez getting even a small weight allowance for a third fight with Pacquiao.
After all, Marquez is six years older at 37, is showings signs of deterioration due to his age and his many tough battles in the ring, and most of all because Marquez clearly looked bad when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a 143 pound catch weight last year. Marquez lost that fight by a lopsided decision, and the added weight seemed to have a negative affect on him. So why then don’t Pacquiao’s fans want to see a competitive fight in which Marquez and Pacquiao can meet at a weight that is good for both of them, not just good for Pacquiao?
Do Pacquiao’s fans feel like he needs a weight advantage to beat Marquez? Is that it? Pacquiao has fought at catch weights in fights with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto recently. Both of those fighters were willing to fight Pacquiao at a catch weight, which helped Pacquiao while obviously not helping Cotto and Margarito. And Pacquiao’s fight with Oscar De La Hoya wasn’t technically a catch weight bout, but it was a fight in which De La Hoya agreed to come down from the 154 he had been fighting at to meet Pacquiao at 147, so the fight could be fairer to Manny. So why then don’t Pacquiao’s fans want him to give a weight allowance for Marquez? If it’s good enough for Pacquiao to have catch weights, why not a small one for Marquez? Do catch weights only apply to Pacquiao and not his opponents?
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