Marquez calls out Pacquiao anew

Juan Manuel Marquez is at it again. The brash Mexican called on boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao to face him so they could prove once and for all who between the two of them is the better fighter. Marquez made the challenge shortly after disposing of Michael Katsidis in the ninth round of their title fight to retain his World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight belts at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Pacquiao, Pacquiao, Pacquiao, I sound like a broken record already," said Marquez during the post-fight interview. “I will fight him at 140 or even 142 lbs. I know he can make that weight as when he fought Margarito," added the soft-spoken Mexican. He noted how Pacquiao, his long-time rival, came in at 144 lbs. at the official weigh-in of his recent super-welterweight fight with Antonio Margarito. The challenge Marquez hurled is just the latest in a series his camp has made on the 31-year-old Pacquiao, the same fighter whom he turned down in 2004 when a rematch was in the planning stage. That controversial title fight had ended in a draw. Pacquiao knocked Marquez thrice in a blazing start in that action-packed bout. But the Mexican stood up each time, rallied in the later rounds, and eventually salvaged a draw to retain his featherweight belts. A return match was immediately worked on, but the Marquez camp turned down the proposed 50-50 split of the purse. Marquez eventually relented to a second meeting with the Pacman in 2008. It was a bloody encounter that saw the Filipino pride escaping with a controversial split decision, a result that obviously didn’t sit well with the Mexican fighter. Up to this day, Marquez insists he won both times over Pacquiao, now the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter. Marquez even wore a custom-made t-shirt that had the words "Marquez beat Pacquiao twice" at the post-fight conference following his bout with the game Katsidis. Marquez, 37, suggested that Pacquiao is afraid to meet him for a third time, knowing fully well he has the style perfectly suited to beat one of the greatest boxers of his era. “They are just making more excuses to prevent the fight. If Manny comes up with more excuses to fight me, then he must be scared," said the Mexican. Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer, earlier declared that the boxing icon is really fit to fight as a welterweight, explaining that while he did dominate the 5-foot-11 Margarito for 12 full rounds, the junior middleweight class is not exactly tailor-made for the Filipino southpaw. “If they insist on fighing at 147, like Freddie Roach has mentioned, they are again giving excuses," Marquez said. The Mexican also sneered at what Pacquiao had done in recent years. “Yes, he beat bigger fellows, but they are all past their prime, while I beat younger and stronger boxers like Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis," Marquez stressed. Following Pacquiao's brutal victory over Margarito, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has mentioned Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sugar Shane Mosley and Marquez as among the Filipino's possible opponents in 2011. While Pacquiao welcomes a third and possibly final bout with Marquez, he believes fight fans are no longer interested in seeing the two of them meeting in the ring again. “Boring yung laban," Pacquiao said. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV