Pacquiao-Marquez V may be decided over dinner this week
There’s been a lot of speculation on whether a fifth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez will take place at all as envisioned by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who had earlier said he was confident Marquez will agree to a final showdown in September.
Arum hopes to resolve the issue over dinner in Las Vegas with Marquez on Wednesday after having earlier gone through the gamut of possibilities, especially on the financial aspects and the possible site, with Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz.
ALSO READ: Role changes and role players
Simply put Arum told us “we have to figure what the deal is” following public pronouncements by Marquez supported by his trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain that they had accomplished what they set out to do by scoring a crushing 6th round knockout over Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last December 8, and there was no point in facing Pacquiao for the fifth time.
In fact, in his latest statements Marquez was quoted as saying that he would prefer facing Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios.
Arum who figured that Marquez was merely “posturing” and trying to negotiate for a better deal said in his assessment the Mexican was “not negotiating with me. He is negotiating with Manny Pacquiao.”
In preparation for his dinner with Marquez, Arum disclosed he “went over everything” with Koncz, presumably discussing purses, pay-per-view numbers and the tax implications if Pacquiao fights in the United States as against fighting in Macau, Singapore or the United Arab Emirates which means Dubai or Abu Dhabi or even Mexico.
According to Arum if a fifth fight pushes through the fight “will not necessarily be held outside the United States.”
ALSO READ: Barako no longer "manong" brigade
Team Pacquiao had expressed their reservations over fighting in the US because of the huge tax bite.
Arum however, sought to calm their fears, saying “we’ll run the numbers. In other words we have to take everything into account and see where the most money is for everybody” even as he indicated “it’s obvious more money will be made fighting in the US.”
Under the escalated tax rates at present there is a 20 to 39 percent tax but pointed out that “the difference for Manny is he gets credit for the US taxes against his Philippine taxes.”
Arum said Pacquiao “has to find out what the economic differences are and if it’s a little then it’s obvious where he should fight.”
Even as talk of a fifth fight moved forward, World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman got involved in the issue of a fifth Pacquiao-Marquez showdown, advising Marquez to retire and pointing out that there is no reason to continue fighting for the sake of a fifth fight with Pacquiao.
ALSO READ: UAAP Women's Volleyball: Final Four picture and season breakdown
Sulaiman was quoted by boxingscene.com saying he believes with his 6th round KO victory, Marquez can now retire on top.
Sulaiman was quoted by boxingscene.com as saying "Juan Manuel is a great fighter who won a lot of money and became famous, and fought with several big names including Manny Pacquiao. Undoubtedly with that last victory over Pacquiao, it has taken his career to an immeasurable height, and it is the culmination of a great career for a young Mexican who is 39 years old and has a very nice family. In my opinion, he should hang up the gloves."
The WBC president went on, "Juan Manuel, he can walk away after knocking out someone who they were calling 'the best fighter in the world.' I'm just giving friendly advice. For what does [he need a fifth fight], it's just to make money. The money is a short-term plan, but at 39-year-old with a very beautiful family - you are raising the level of risk to your health. When you're young it does not matter, but when you are more advanced in age it can be dangerous. My recommendation to Juan Manuel is sincere, respectful, and affectionate. I recommend to everyone [in his position]. I know his family, he is an idol in Mexico, but what you have to look at is his age and one bad punch can remove the happiness from his life in the future. There is no point [to keep fighting], is what I mean."
Clearly Sulaiman’s remarks peeved Arum who, when we informed him about WBC straw-weight champion Xiong Zhao Zhong’s desire to defend his title against two-time Olympic gold medalist and newly turned pro Zou Shiming sometime in the future bluntly replied, “We don’t want to mess with the WBC.”
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
