Fourth Pacquiao-Marquez fight set

By Rappy
in The Sporting Arena

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LAS VEGAS -- The deal is done.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, already with a storied three-fight series against each other in the books, will fight for the fourth time, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Friday.

They will meet Dec. 8 (HBO PPV) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, site of their epic first and third fights.

Pacquiao picked Marquez over welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr., who claimed his belt with a controversial split-decision win against Pacquiao on June 9. Marquez, Bradley and Miguel Cotto were all candidates to face Pacquiao. Then Cotto, Pacquiao's preferred opponent, made a deal to fight junior middleweight titlist Austin Trout on Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pacquiao picked Marquez because the money was bigger, Arum told ESPN.com on Friday.

Arum said he is guaranteeing Pacquiao $23 million for the fight. Had he faced Bradley again, it would have been "considerably less," according to Arum, who declined to reveal the figure.

"Because the economics for the Marquez fight were so much greater than for a Bradley rematch, that is what Manny decided to do," Arum said. "It's so much greater because of the support Marquez has from the Hispanic community. Look at the past numbers. When Pacquiao fought Marquez (in November), it sold close to 1.3 million pay-per-view. Bradley was about 900,000. That's a big difference. Plus, the gate goes from probably $8 million to $12 million."

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said once Cotto turned down an offer, he preferred for Pacquiao to fight Bradley again.

"Manny knew I would prefer Bradley," Roach said. "I think the money was a huge factor. Bradley doesn't bring the people Marquez does. But I would have rather had revenge for that bad decision in June."

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