Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez says any Manny Pacquiao exhibition would not be fought as such if agreed upon in the future.
The former multi-weight champion and Hall of Famer believes stepping in the ring with Pacquiao again would be a mistake.
Their fierce rivalry ended with Marquez putting Pacquiao to sleep with one punch – it would be impossible not to fight tooth and nail.
Pacquiao vs Marquez V off the table
Marquez sees Pacquiao as still reeling from the 2012 knockout. Therefore, any bout between the pair is off the menu for good.
“It wouldn’t be an exhibition fight, do you agree? With the courage that it brings me and after what happened to me, that fight would not be an exhibition,” stated Marquez.
‘Dinamita’ then revealed why that would be the case.
“We would go up to kill [each other] again. I don’t think so [we won’t agree on an exhibition]. That chapter is closed [forever].”
Asked about the possibility of returning to the ring against an opponent other than the “Pac-Man,” Marquez responded: “I burned the last of my gunpowder in my last fight at 41 years old.
“I’m not one for exhibitions. If I get into the ring, it’s to fight and give a great show [not to move around].
“I think the story with Pacquiao is over. Already, we’ve done it [all]. There is nothing to prove anymore. What had to be done was done,” he concluded.
Manny Pacquiao offer
It’s no secret Pacquiao chased the fifth fight for years, a story that World Boxing News covered exclusively from those involved.
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum previously outlined the situation with WBN when addressing reports that Marquez turned down one hundred million.
“Listen, I discussed it with my people in the company. You know what Marquez is talking about because I know that we offered him either six or seven million dollars [for the fifth fight], which was far more than he ever made for the fourth fight.
“The offer was made within a year of Marquez scoring the knockout. Obama had just won the election. So that would have been 2012 into 2013 – something like that.
“So we offered him six million. Then I know we went up to eight or nine [million]. Something like that.”
Marquez never took the bait. He firmly believed that he won the argument with a sensational knockout.
No other boxers in the world can say they face-planted Manny Pacquiao, so that’s an understandable stance to take.
Furthermore, much respect for JMM. He did it his way.
