Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer advised BoxingScene.com on Wednesday afternoon that Juan Manuel Marquez is likely not going to fight WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan on May 15 in Las Vegas. As previously reported, Marquez's manager/trainer Nacho Beristain made some very negative comments in the Mexican press about Golden Boy's offer to fight Khan.
Beristain accused Golden Boy of attempting to "exploit" Marquez by using him as a "stepping stone" to build Khan's name in the United States. He claimed the promotional company was not giving his fighter the proper respect.
According to Schaefer, he was only doing his job as a promoter by trying to get Marquez the biggest money fight possible, and at the same time presenting the Mexican star with the opportunity to make history by winning a fourth world title in a fourth weight class. He denies any claims of trying to exploit Marquez.
"First of all, we wouldn't do that. Secondly, we think that Juan Manuel Marquez is a tremendous fighter. He's still, in our opinion, the best active fighter in Mexico and has a very good chance of winning that fight and going into the history books as the first Mexican to win titles in four different weight classes. If you want to achieve something historic like that, like nobody else has been able to do in the rich history of Mexico, you know, these kind of things, they don't come easy. Otherwise, somebody else would have done it already," Schaefer said to BoxingScene.com.
"So we just felt it was our obligation to present that to Juan Manuel and present that he would have made a substantial amount of money, substantially more than he would make in any other fight."
Due to Marquez's lack of communication, and Beristain's comments in the Mexican press, Schaefer doesn't think Juan Manuel is interested in a potential fight with Khan. There are no hard feelings. Schaefer is already exploring other potential opponents for Khan's American debut on the scheduled May date.
"We haven't really heard from Juan Manuel, but I read the stories as well and it sounds like Juan Manuel doesn't want to do that, which is perfectly fine with us. We love Juan Manuel Marquez. Juan Manuel Marquez is with Golden Boy, we are with him and we just always think that if we have an opportunity to present any one of our fighters something historic, something where he can make a substantial of money, then we do that," Schaefer said.
"Whether the fighter is going to go for it or not, we believe in enpowering the fighters and if the fighter decides he doesn't want to do that, it's absolutely fine with us and we respect that and we move on. As a matter of fact, because of these comments and not having heard back from Juan Manuel, Amir Khan is moving forward and looking at some other possibilities."
What are the options for Khan? Schaefer may revisit talks to secure the original target opponent for Khan's debut, Paulie Malignaggi. There is also Michael Katsidis. And there is also Nate Campbell, who is scheduled to fight Victor Ortiz in the co-feature position to Khan's American debut. If Campbell is selected, and accepts the fight, Ortiz will stay in the co-feature spot with a new opponent.
"That might be a Paulie Malignaggi, it might be a Michael Katsidis, maybe a Nate Campbell. So, basically, there are some other names which are being discussed. The 140-pound weight class is a very talent rich division and, you know, Juan Diaz is another one. But we respect, again, Juan's desire to be fighting at 135 pounds. But when there is a big fight, where a fighter can make substantially more than what their contractual minimums are, we believe it is a responsibility we have to explain to the fighter and then let the fighter choose. And that's exactly what we're doing here," Schaefer said.
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