Fight fans who are aching to see Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez square off for the fifth time should start accepting the fact the it won't happen anymore as the Mexican boxing icon once again expressed no interest in facing his nemesis.
Marquez told BoxingScene that he is already thinking about hanging up his gloves after two more fights. The 40-year-old Mexican insisted anew that he is not interested in a fifth fight with Pacquiao, saying that their rivalry has been settled with his sixth-round knockout win in their fourth showdown in December 2012.
"Right now I'm knocking on the door of retirement, but I want to have two more fights," Marquez said in an interview. "But, behind that decision is my family, my team, the people who are with you always. Some people who I consider friends, they tell me to stop boxing, and if I decide to do that at this point - I will retire satisfied."
And instead of fighting Pacquiao for a fifth time, Marquez said that he is looking to win his fifth title in five different divisions.
The Mexico City native is being linked to a fight against reigning WBO light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov or American brawler Mike Alvarado, but Marquez insisted that he is not interested in going up against either fighter.
"Neither Alvarado nor Provodnikov are in my plans. I'm going forward," Marquez stressed. "They are great fighters, and I'm not putting them down, but I gain nothing by fighting with them. If I beat Provodnikov I win a title that was already mine and Alvarado is not a champion. I have nothing to prove. I want a fifth world title and that's my goal."
With Provodnikov and Alvarado out of the picture due to his desire to win a fifth title, Marquez may target champions in other world boxing sanctioning bodies aside from the World Boxing Organization.
Marquez could either target WBA champion Marcos Maidana or IBF champion Shawn Porter. However, Maidana looks set in having a rematch with Adrien Broner in April, while Porter has yet to decide about his future plans. Both fighters are also under Golden Boy Promotions and Marquez is under Top Rank, making either fight highly unlikely.
The rematch with American tormentor Timothy Bradley, which he said is his main priority, is the more logical option, but he will have to wait for it to happen since Bradley could be fighting Pacquiao in a rematch on April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
