Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez has agreed to Top Rank’s offer to face Manny Pacquiao at 144 pounds pending a matching proposal from Golden Boy.
At the Pacquiao-Mosley post-fight press conference last Saturday (May 7), Top Rank CEO Bob Arum disclosed that he sent Marquez a revised offer to face Pacquiao on November 12. Marquez, now a free agent after spending several years at Golden Boy, has been mulling whether to renew or jump ship for his long-awaited goal to meet Pacquiao in a rubbermatch.
“I’m going to take the offer. It’s the fight I’ve been waiting for and I want to fight him,” Marquez told boxingscene.com. “Let’s see what they offer (Golden Boy). They must match the offer and also the weight. There was talk that they wanted to get me Saul Alvarez, but I don’t think he can make the 144-pound limit.”
Marquez only appearance above lightweight came in 2009, when he agreed to a 142 pound catchweight to face Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather came in overweight at 146 and went on to dominate Marquez to a wide unanimous decision.
At press time, representatives for Golden Boy could not be reached for comment.
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