Where to next?
WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Marquez is taking a two-week vacation, after which he will return to the bargaining table to decide whether to defend his WBO crown against No. 1 mandatory challenger, Michael Katsidis of Australia, or, whether he will rise to 140 pounds to face WBA junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan of England, the promoter of all three fighters told FanHouse.
Marquez, who turns 37 on Aug. 23, is coming off of Saturday night’s 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Diaz (35-4, 17 knockouts) that improved his mark to 51-5-1, with 37 KOs.
Marquez also has expressed interest in an unlikely third fight with seven-division champ and current WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king, Manny Pacquiao, with whom he has battled to a draw and lost a disputed decision.
“I think that it sort of comes down to like three fights that seem to interest him most. The first one being a third Manny Pacquiao fight, but obviously, it appears that at no surprise that [Pacquaio's Top Rank Promotions' CEO] Bob Arum has pretty much shot that down. You heard as well that the other options that Juan Manuel mentioned were Michael Katsidis if in fact he decides to stay at 135 pounds,” said Golden Boy Promotions’ CEO, Richard Schaefer.
“Juan Manuel Marquez has made it clear that if he stayed at 135 pounds, then the next in line is Michael Katsidis and that he would have to defend his titles against Michael Katsidis. That’s certainly a fight that he would do. The other one is of course if he decides that he may do that as well is that he would try to make history by moving up in weight to try to beat Amir Khan,” said Schaefer.
“So that’s something which we are going to talk to him about as well,” said Schaefer. “What I’m going to do for the next two weeks while he is gone is that I’m going to be talking to HBO and discuss talking to Katsidis and talking to Khan, which I’ve already started. So that when I sit down with Juan Manuel Marquez, I can discuss with him the different options.”
Since losing two straight to southpaw former four-time world champion, Joel Casamayor, and, Diaz, respectively, by 10th-round knockout and 12-round split-decision, the 29-year-old Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs) has won four straight bouts, two of them by stoppage.
In his last fight, in May, Katsidis stopped previously unbeaten Kevin Mitchell (31-1, 23 KOs) in the third round.
During Saturday night’s post-fight interview following Marquez’s victory over Diaz, Katsidis stood up and asked Marquez where he stood in the sweepstakes for a potential fight.
“I might have to defend my titles, and we have to respect that Michael Katsidis is the No. 1 mandatory challenger to fight for my titles,” said Marquez in response. “So, obviously, if the Manny Pacquiao fight doesn’t happen, then I have to defend my titles with honor and that’s what I’ll do. I just want to be involved in the best fights possible. That’s the way that it’s going to happen.”
According to BoxingScene.com’s Rick Reeno, the WBO has ordered Marquez to defend his title against Katsidis, who is that organization’s interim champion. The WBO has given both sides 30-days to reach an agreement before a purse bid is ordered.
If Marquez does not fight Katsidis, then he would be stripped of the WBO crown, and Katsidis would be made the the new champion.
“I can tell you that we’ve reached out to Juan Manuel Marquez. But he, obviously, after his big victory, is going to take a vacation with his family. He will be back in two weeks. We have informed Brendan Smith of Team Katsidis and the WBO accordingly,” said Schaefer.
“Katsidis is certainly a fight that Marquez is interested in,” said Schaefer. “We’re going to have to sit down with him and look at the different options and see which is the option which makes the most sense for Juan Manuel Marquez.”
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