Can Bob Arum convince Marquez?

          Bob Arum is trying his best to hook Juan Manuel Marquez into a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao. Arum is planning to have dinner with Marquez this week in order to discuss a fifth fight. Marquez however has stated numerous times that he isn’t interested in the fifth fight. He claims he has nothing else to prove in fighting Pacquiao and that there is no reason for the fight to happen. Manny Pacquiao on the other hand seems to be on board. It’s doubtful that Pacquiao will have a tune up fight before getting into the ring with Marquez again while Marquez has showed interest in fighting in either May or June. A possible opponent he likes is Brandon Rios. If a Marquez-Pacquiao fight can be done, it’ll likely be slated for a September date, which can be another problem.

          Despite his remarks, Arum doesn’t seem concerned that getting Marquez to fight Pacquiao is going to be a problem. Marquez will receive the highest payday of his career. That alone is enough to convince an old veteran close to retiring to take the fight. Arum seems more worried with the placement of the fight. There have been talks that Arum wants to hold the fight outside of the United States for tax reasons, but there is worry that the fight will not sell good PPV’s numbers if it isn’t held in the United States.

          The issue of date might also be a concern. Pacquiao vs Marquez V, if it happens, is believed to be on September 14^th of this year, a date that Mayweather has also said that he will be fighting. It’s doubtful that they will both fight on the same day but Marquez most likely wants to fight on that day whether it is against Pacquiao or not, considering the next day is Mexican Independence Day. If in fact Mayweather plans a fight on the same day that Marquez plans to fight, and if the opponent is Pacquiao, boxing fans will have a serious problem.  

          At this point, there are more questions than there are answers. Can Bob hook Marquez into fighting Pacquiao again? Will it be in the United States? Will it be on the date that Mayweather has announced he will fight? For now, we can only speculate but rest assured, things are about to get very interesting.