While many boxing fans expected a fifth installment in the bitter war between legends Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1) and Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2), the idea that these two veterans will square off again will likely not come to fruition.
After knocking out Pacquiao in the sixth round of the duo’s December fight, Marquez doesn’t feel he has anything left to prove against Pac-Man and will likely not accept another rematch.
Marquez told Miguel Rivera of BoxingScene.com about the decision to not fight Pacquiao again:
I think for me there is no point [in a fifth fight]. We already achieved the desired result. Then why do it? So I also asked several people, several friends that I have around me and they told me not to do it, that there is no point in a fifth fight. I said before the fourth fight that no matter how this fight ends, there can not be a fifth.
There is little doubt that Pacquiao will eventually try to get Marquez to fight him once more so that he can avenge his embarrassing knockout loss. But the Mexican star has no reason to ruin what will become the crowning jewel of his career.
What It Means
Marquez got exactly what he wanted in the last fight—a decisive win that vindicates all the decision losses the veteran felt should have gone his way—so there is nothing left for the Mexican legend to prove.
After 55 career victories against some of the best the sport had to offer, he will likely fight a few more high-priced bouts and call it a career, with a win over Pacquiao as the biggest achievement of his life.
Pacquiao will not be happy about this decision, but if Marquez is dead set on ending that rivalry with his knockout win, there is nothing Pac-Man can do.
What’s Next?
As much as Marquez claims that he doesn’t want to fight Pacquiao again, the 39-year-old fighter doesn’t have many fights left in the tank and will be looking to make the most money while he can.
There is no fight that will pay him as handsomely as a fifth bout with Pac-Man.
Marquez and his camp could be 100 percent serious about not fighting the Filipino star again, but they could also be posturing for the biggest possible payday for their prize fighter.
Either way, this is far from the last we will hear about the Marquez-Pacquiao rivalry.
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