Arum: Marquez signs Top Rank offer for 3rd fight with Pacquiao

Juan Manuel Marquez is truly aching to have a third shot against Manny Pacquiao. The 37-year-old Mexican decided to sign the offer given him by Top Rank Promotions in the hope of finally settling an old, old score with his Filipino nemesis. Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Tuesday that Marquez already accepted the terms of the deal that will give him a guaranteed purse of $5 million. It also detailed that he'll be fighting the world's top pound-for-pound fighter at a catch-weight of 144 pounds. "It's the fight I've been waiting for and I want to fight him," said Marquez, who will be 38-years-old by the time he meets Pacquiao in the ring again six months from now. Now the fulfillment of the match is in the hands of Golden Boy Promotions. Golden Boy, Marquez's promoter to which he has yet to renew a contract, needs to match the offer made by Top Rank or else the the fight might push through on November 12 in Las Vegas. "Golden Boy needs to match the offer by next week," said Arum from his Las Vegas office. Marquez is taking a wait-and-see attitude on the matter.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV "Let's see what they (Golden Boy) offer. They must match the offer and also the weight." While Marquez and Arum appeared convinced Golden Boy won't match the offer, Richard Schaefer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Oscar De La Hoya-owned boxing outift, hinted the company may just have something up in its sleeves. Schaefer hinted Golden Boy has plans of matching the offer, even mentioning that it has a reserved date for a September 17 fight at the MGM Grand, a fight date it can use to headline a possible Marquez slugfest with newly-crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor Ortiz. Ortiz, who dethroned Andre Berto to win the 147-pound strap, can go down to 144 as he also previously campaigned at 140lbs. Schaefer also mentioned HBO as a possible Golden Boy partner in order to come up with the $5 million fight purse of Marquez. If and when a third Pacquiao-Marquez meeting is consummated, Arum believes it would be a more competitive one than the Mosley fight, which the world's top pound-for-pound king won in a lopsided manner. "We're hoping this fight will be better than Mosley," said the 79-year-old Arum. A Pacquiao-Marquez match had always been action packed as proven in their previous two encounters. Their first meeting in 2004 ended up in a controversial draw, while their rematch four years later saw Pacquiao escaping with a split decision, an outcome which Marquez said robbed him of an obvious victory. - JVP, GMA News