Manny Pacquiao could finally get his wish of facing Juan Manuel Marquez again if he successfully reclaims the WBO welterweight title in his rematch with Timothy Bradley on April 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Marquez, who scored a sixth-round knockout win over Pacquiao during their fourth showdown in December 2012, agreed to face Mike Alvarado on May 17 in a welterweight title eliminator.
WBO president Paco Valcarcel confirmed to RingTV that the Marquez-Alvarado showdown will be a title eliminator for the world welterweight title at stake in the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch next month.
"It is a WBO eliminator fight," Valcarcel said. "So the winner between Marquez and Alvarado gets to fight the winner of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight."
Marquez has been expressing no interest in facing his nemesis in a fifth fight, insisting that the Pacquiao chapter of his career is already over after his knockout victory.
However, Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum revealed that the 40-year-old Mexican is now open to facing Pacquiao again if the former pound-for-pound king wins over Bradley due to his goal of winning a fifth world title in as many divisions.
"Marquez wants to win that title and that's an incentive for taking this fight with Alvarado, because he knows he will get that opportunity if he wins," Arum said. "So if it's Pacquiao, he said he would fight him again, and if Bradley wins, well he wants that fight too. And if Mike wins, he certainly will be a good opponent to fight Bradley or Pacquiao, whoever wins."
Marquez Set For "Forum Homecoming"
But before Marquez think of a possible showdown with Pacquiao, he has to hurdle Alvarado, who is also itching to get a shot at either Pacquiao or Bradley.
Marquez's next fight will be some sort of a homecoming for the Mexican boxing icon because the fight will be held at the Forum - the same venue wherein he fought 12 times during the earlier days of his professional boxing career.
"I think this fight has a lot of story lines," Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said on the Marquez-Alvarado fight. "It's at the Forum and it will be raucous, and we know Marquez's history there. And, obviously, when the bell rings it'll be a hellacious fight where neither guy will back up."
