By Chris Williams: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is still hoping to make a deal for a fifth fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao in September of this year despite Marquez saying repeatedly that he’s cool to the idea of fighting Pacquiao yet again.
Due to the huge money on the line for a fifth fight between Pacquiao and Marquez, and due to Pacquiao needing to avenge his knockout loss to Marquez in order to show that Pacquiao isn’t washed up, Arum is pushing like hard for the Pacquiao-Marquez 5th fight.
Arum says Marquez will be in attendance at the end of the money to watch the Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado fight to decide if he wants to fight any of them. Following that, Marquez will be Arum’s guest in Macao on April 6th for the Brian Viloria vs. Juan Francisco Estrada fight card. Pacquiao will be at the fight as well, and Arum is hoping to get them together and iron out a fight that weekend for September.
Arum told Nyfightblog at espn “Marquez didn’t show at the Bradley-Provodnikov fight but he’s coming on March 30th for the Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado fight. And then Marquez and his wife are going with us to Macau to solidify a Pacquiao-Marquez fight in Macau would be the plan.
Arum is hoping he can wrap up a fight between Pacquiao and Marquez, but he may not be solidifying anything unless he really sweets the pot for Marquez because Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is already saying that the most money Marquez will be offered for the fight is $10 million this time. Last time Marquez fought Pacquiao, Marquez received $6 million to Pacquiao’s $23 million.
Having Marquez’s pay bumped up to $10 million isn’t a big deal because the fight is expected to make a lot more money than it did last time. So in other words, Marquez may have his pay bumped up, but he’s still likely make the same percentage as he did in the last fight because you can expect Pacquiao’s pay to raise to near $30 million.
Instead of asking for a specific amount, Marquez should request a specific percentage of the loot. In other words, he should ask for a 50-50 deal with both fighters getting $20 million each or close to that number.
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