Manny Pacquiao is expected to take on Juan Manuel Marquez for a fifth time this fall after "Dinamita" dominated Mike Alvarado in California, but the matchup is no sure thing. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is pushing hard for a fifth clash, but Marquez's seeming trepidation isn't a great sign.
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Initially, Marquez was dead-set against a fifth fight, preferring the book on his rivalry with Pacquiao to end with his vicious knockout win. Marquez wants a fifth title, however, and Pacman's his best bet to accomplish that. His stance has softened these days, but certain comments point to a difficult negotiation ahead.
"It's going to be a very difficult negotiation," Ignacio Beristain, Marquez's longtime adviser said before the Alvarado fight. When asked if JMM would want a 50-50 purse split with Pacquiao he said, "I don't know. It all depends on this fight." Marquez's dominance would probably push him to demand more.
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Should Marquez decide against facing Pacquiao again, a surprising name is popping up as a dark horse--Amir Khan. Despite fighting on Showtime, the frostiness between Arum and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya is thawing.
Talks have been had about a potential Canelo Alvarez fight for Manny, but that could be thinking too far ahead. "We will see which of these welterweights have been fighting for Golden Boy or on the contract to Golden Boy that Oscar can produce," Arum said.
"Once we learn that, we can review those fighters. It could be Amir Khan. Canelo [Alvarez] is fighting too late. He's fighting in July. So for November, Canelo wouldn't be right. But maybe sometime next year."
Khan has pined for a Floyd Mayweather fight since the winter, and looks to be out of luck for now. A fight with Pacquiao is probably the next best thing, and he is coming off his own dominant win against Luis Collazo.
