Manny Pacquiao:"The trilogy with Pacquiao is what I want," said Marquez, who fought the Filipino star to a 2004 draw and lost a split-decision to him in 2008. "It's what everyone wants to see. It's good for all the fight fans. The Mexicans, the Filipinos all want to see it. I'll be ready to fight in November, so hopefully Pacquiao will take the fight."
Pacquiao isn't expected to. Blown off by Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao has already agreed to fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 in a 154-pound bout.
Amir Khan: This fight has been discussed a lot this year. There was an attempt to put it together for July 31, but Marquez took the rematch with Diaz instead, which was a wise comeback fight. Khan, meanwhile, totally dominated Paul Malignaggi this spring and wants a fight with Marquez. I figure Khan and his trainer, Freddie Roach, see an old, undersized fighter who won't have the speed to keep up with Amir, plus Marquez would have to move up to 140 to make the fight happen.
The pros center on the fact that it would be a good payday, and outside of something like the Mayweather fight, Marquez is too crafty, too gutsy and too great to be counted out. Khan's chin has not gotten better, and Marquez throws with intent to do damage on just about everything he unleashes anymore. Working in Khan's favor would be the fact that he'd have a significant height advantage, plus that Khan may well have the fastest hands in boxing today. He has done a great job taking advice from Freddie Roach and learning to stay out of the pocket, using his natural skills. In short, Roach has (as he usually does) accentuated the positives and done his best to eliminate the negatives.
Michael Katsidis: God knows Katsidis wants to fight Marquez, and feels that JMM blatantly has ducked him. It is, in my mind, the best fight that can be made at 135 pound. Katsidis has shown true improvement since his disastrously poor performance and gameplan against Juan Diaz in 2008, and looked absolutely savage taking apart Kevin Mitchell in May. My feeling is that Katsidis has earned this fight, Marquez shouldn't fight over 135 if we're simply talking about in-ring benefits and not worrying about possible paydays, and that Marquez-Katsidis is the best fight out there for JMM. It could be a magnificent fight, too. Katsidis loves to come straight forward, and Marquez is best when he gets to throw counters. Could he hurt Katsidis the same way he hurt Diaz last year? Sure, he could. But Katsidis is a much harder puncher than Diaz, too. A lot of people (myself included) feel that if Diaz were a bigger puncher, the 2009 bout and maybe even last night's could have gone much, much differently. Marquez-Katsidis would be a war. A dangerous fight for Marquez, but that's what champions should take.
Erik Morales: This is unlikely, but Morales has said he wants the fight, and Marquez has seemed open to it when it's been brought up. It would do big money with the Mexican audience, perhaps, but I think a lot of that would be sort of a "thank you" in PPV buy form to Morales and Marquez for their excellent careers. Morales is younger than Marquez, but completely shot as a fighter and it would not be competitive.
Ricky Hatton: Another one that seems unlikely right now. This has been discussed as a stadium fight in Manchester, but right now Ricky Hatton is showing no real desire to get back in the ring. He's focusing on Hatton Promotions and doing a good job getting his firm off the ground. I'm not sure there's a great deal of U.S. interest in Hatton anymore, either. It would be a very tough PPV sell here, and probably an expensive fight for HBO to air on World Championship Boxing.
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