Juan Manuel Marquez wouldn’t say much about the possibility of boxing Brandon Rios this summer.
The Mexican icon made it as clear as possible, however, that the only reason he decided not to retire was to chase a fourth fight against Manny Pacquiao. Marquez admitted he contemplated retirement following another narrow, controversial loss to Pacquiao on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, but he ultimately agreed to oppose Ukraine’s Sergey Fedchenko on April 14 in Mexico City for the interim WBO junior welterweight title.
“I want the rematch with Manny,” Marquez said. “I came back to this point because I want the rematch.”
Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs) had to wait 3½ years for his third fight against Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) after losing a split decision to the Filipino superstar in March 2008. The 38-year-old Marquez probably won’t have to wait nearly that long for a fourth fight because it’ll be Pacquiao’s most attractive alternative if he defeats Timothy Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs, 1 NC) on June 9 and cannot land an ever-elusive fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Promoter Bob Arum acknowledged on the same conference call that Marquez “deserves” a fourth fight against Pacquiao and said he would focus on making Pacquiao-Marquez IV if Mayweather wasn’t a realistic option later this year.
Ukrainian Sergey Fedchenko (30-1, 13KOs) continues to train hard for his scheduled fight against Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39KOs) on the 14th of April at the new Arena in Mexico City. Fedchenko ran in the morning at Chapultepec, where he also did exercises and boxed for four rounds with his sparring Artem Ayvazidi, and then went to his hotel where he took a bath, had breakfast and rested. He spent the rest of the day learning about the Mexican capital.
Through an interpreter of the Russian Embassy, manager and trainer Viktor Demchenko said:
“During his time in Ukraine, Fedchenko had a great preparation for this fight, and during his time in Mexico he’s been staying sharp. The weight is under control, and virtually all he’s thinking about is getting in the ring. I talked to Fedchenko and I’ve seen that he is very motivated with the biggest opportunity of his life.”
Read More: Juan Manuel Marquez vs Sergey Fedchenko Live