Quote Originally Posted by El Gamo
www.phillippinestar.com

By ABAC CORDERO

The Philippine Star

GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Is Manny Pacquiao afraid of Juan Manuel Marquez?

The answer, according to Bob Arum, is a big, big no.

The reason why Marquez is not on the short list of Pacquiao’s possible opponents later this year, the legendary boxing promoter said, is that the Mexican champion is asking too much.

"Economically it doesn’t work," the 75-year-old Arum told Manila scribes during a coffee-shop interview in this tuna capital Friday morning.

Arum, owner of Top Rank Promotions, is here to lend moral support to Pacquiao who is eyeing a congressional seat in Monday’s elections.

"Juan Manuel Marquez is demanding a lot of money. And he has no fan base compared to Manny," said Arum. "He wants a bigger percentage (of the total pot) than Manny just because he’s the champion."

Marquez wrested the World Boxing Council super-featherweight crown from Marco Antonio Barrera last March 17, and was mandated by the WBC to defend his title against Pacquiao in September.

Marquez and Pacquiao fought in May 2004 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The Filipino floored the Mexican thrice in the opening round but had to settle for a controversial draw.

An immediate rematch was drawn up. But Marquez refused to split the $1.5 million total purse with Pacquiao, and wound up facing lesser opponents for a smaller price as compared to Pacquiao.

And for economical reasons, the possible rematch between the two sturdy fighters may not happen yet. Arum said he sees his prize fighter climbing the ring not earlier than September.

Arum has dangled the names of four boxers before Pacquiao. They are, in this order, Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic, Edwin Valero of Venezuela, Barrera and another Mexican, Humberto Soto.

Arum wants Guzman, the reigning WBO 135-lb champion, because "he’s totally free to enter into a contract" despite the fact that Golden Boy Promotions, Top Rank’s bitter rival, has a small hold on him.

Arum described Valero, the knockout specialist, as "a tremendous fighter." But the only downside is that the WBA champ cannot fight either in the US or Canada because of a contested medical test that showed some damage on his skull due to a motorcycle accident a couple of years back.

Umm i would like to hear other side of the story first.