Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao fought four times in a fantastic saga – but could there have been another fight?
World Boxing News looks into a long-running story that Marquez rejected $100 million to face Pacquiao for the fifth time.
The tale goes that Marquez enjoyed his 2012 pulverization of Pacquiao so much the Mexican would do anything in his power to preserve it.
That scenario includes turning down a truckload of cash to face his career nemesis again.
The offer uncovered by WBN came only a couple of years after their final meeting in 2012.
Explaining his reasons for turning away the chance to make a massive nine-figure purse, Marquez said the risk out-weighed the reward of eventually getting one over the Filipino Senator.
“There was an offer for a fifth fight against Pacquiao in the Philippines for 100 million dollars. I refused to keep my honor and the glory of the fourth fight from 2012,” Marquez told ESPN Deportes at the time.
“It’s a lot of money. But honor, pride, and what we did are more important than doing a fifth fight.
“Let’s pretend that the fifth fight would happen. How about if I get robbed in the fight?
“We do not know what can happen. He’s capable of hitting me with the right shot and hurting me badly.
“So I would place myself at risk. The glory and what we did in 2012 is worth more than that amount they were offering,” he added.
MANNY PACQUIAO OFFER
WBN caught up with Top Rank Bob Arum a few years on from the Marquez explanation.
The Hall of Famer had a different view on what Marquez said about the $100 million.
“Listen, we offered him six million. Then I know we went up to eight or nine (million), something like that,” Arum exclusively told World Boxing News.
“I believe Marquez might have been talking about pesos. It’s my belief because that’s how he talks. At that time, pesos is about fourteen or fifteen to the dollar, not twenty.
“That gets you to around 150 million pesos. That’s what our interaction with Marquez was.”
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ RETIRES
Before ‘that earth-shuddering KO,’ Marquez had been the victim of highly debatable scoring in his previous three bouts with the ‘Pacman’ in 2004, 2008, and 2011.
Following his most significant win, Marquez would fight just two more times.
He lost to Timothy Bradley before beating Mike Alvarado. JMM got linked to a comeback right up until 2017.
