Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez

MANILA, Philippines – After he beat American Juan Diaz then called on Manny Pacquiao for another fight, Juan Manuel Marquez is now being touted as a much better foe for the 7-division world champion than Antonio Margarito.

Several boxing scribes expressed their desire to see a Marquez-Pacquiao clash following their fights in 2004 and 2008.

Their 2004 bout ended in a draw while Pacquiao won in 2008 by split decision.

Igor Guryashkin of the Boxing Dispatch blog said that Marquez deserves to face the “Fighter of the Decade” once again.

“Juan Manuel Marquez deserves a third fight with Manny Pacquiao. Period. And so do the fans,” he wrote. “Let’s be honest, the repeat peerless performances of one of the best operators in the lighter divisions surely warrants a third chance at Manny Pacquiao.”

Guryashkin also said that while detractors say there is no point for a trilogy, he believes that the Marquez-Pacquiao fight will be entertaining and more enticing to the general public.

But he did not discount the fact that the Pacquiao-Margarito face off on November 13 will be historic as the Filipino boxing superstar will aim for his 8th world title, the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight belt.

'Marquez is more worthy'

Brad Cooney of Examiner.com had opinions that resonated with Guryashkin’s.

“Some say that Marquez should have been given the victory over Pacquiao, and with his impressive defeat over Juan Diaz, he has demonstrated that he is still the man in that division,” he said.

“Pacquiao vs Margarito would not be as exciting a fight as a three-peat with Marquez would be. Marquez has the perfect style and the smarts in the ring to give Pacquiao a great challenge.”

Cooney also brought up what critics said about Margarito—that he does not deserve to face the world’s only 7-division champion.

The California State Athletic Commission suspended Margarito last year after he was caught with a plaster-like substance in his hand wraps before his bout against Shane Mosley in January 2009.

He even shared what a Pacquiao fan, Donna Crawford of Canton, Mississipi, said: “Manny has worked hard to get his blessings.  Margarito got caught cheating, and should not be rewarded with this opportunity.  Marquez fought Manny like a great warrior, it should be he who gets to fight Manny again.”

Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito

‘Suicidal’ challenge

However, The Philippine Star columnist Joaquin Henson, has a different point of view.

He believes that Marquez’s call for a Pacquiao fight is ill-advised.

“Someone should advise WBO and WBA lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez to get real because his calling out Rep. Manny Pacquiao for a third face-off is suicidal,” he commented.

Henson also differed with Cooney by saying that Pacquiao should have won in 2008.

“Marquez, not Pacquiao, was lucky to escape with a draw in the first meeting. Pacquiao was unlucky to be robbed of a win on a judge’s error,” he said.

“For Marquez to claim that Pacquiao is avoiding him at this stage of their careers is pure nonsense. Marquez turns 37 on Aug. 23 and retirement beckons. Since losing to Pacquiao in 2008, he has posted a 3-1 record, the last two bouts going the distance. Pacquiao, in contrast, has won five in a row, four by knockout, since the Marquez rematch and is in his prime.”

Pacquao, the congressman of Sarangani province and reigning WBO welterweight champion, earlier said that Marquez is too old.

Marquez vs Khan next?

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, meantime, said that Marquez is still a force to be reckoned with.

According to him, the Mexican’s recent victory “confirmed Marquez’s greatness.”

He also wrote that Marquez “desperately wants a fight” with Pacquiao “after two highly controversial results against him.”

But he thinks the Marquez-Pacquiao match will not happen soon as Marquez will probably fight in December against WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan.

“It's an easy fight to make because they are both with Golden Boy, and it's a darn interesting fight as well. Marquez is interested because he'd like to become the first Mexican to win titles in four weight classes,” Rafael wrote.

“Khan would like it because adding the name of the future Hall of Famer to his resume sure has a nice ring to it.”– With reports from BoxingDispatch.com, Examiner.com, The Philippine Star and ESPN.com