Roach: Pac wants Marquez (in Mexico?)

By Salvador Rodriguez | ESPNDeportes.com

Manny Pacquiao's immediate future in boxing will take him down one of two paths, according to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. But trainer Freddie Roach says Pacquiao already knows his preferred next step: a fifth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

And if the bout is held in Mexico, all the better.

Although Arum, in China to promote Saturday's card in Macau, recently said that Pacquiao's next opponent will be either Marquez or Timothy Bradley Jr. (who dealt losses to Pacquiao in his two most recent fights), Roach said that the Mexican fighter is still firmly No. 1 on PacMan's list.  


"Manny wants the rematch more than anything," Roach told philstar.com. "That's the fight I want, and it's still the biggest one out there."

Pacquiao has won two of his four fights with Marquez, and the fighters drew in their first bout, in 2004. Pacquiao had the upper hand in disputed rematches in 2008 and 2011.


But Roach's wish, and presumably Pacquiao's, is for more than just a rematch. 

"I want that fight in Mexico," said the Hall of Fame trainer. "That's my dream." 

Arum has said that Mexico is a possible venue for such a matchup, but lately he also has talked up Asia, where his company is currently promoting former Chinese world amateur champion Zou Shiming's pro debut.