Juan Manuel Marquez would prefer a third fight with Manny Pacquiao to come next, and not the rumored bout with Ricky Hatton. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Lightweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez told a Mexican radio station (link via BoxingScene.com) that his first choice for a return bout would be a trilogy fight with his great rival Manny Pacquiao, and that only if that fight can't be made would he look to fight Ricky Hatton in England. Both fights have been talked about this week, with Hatton indicating he'll come back in 2010 and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum saying that Marquez would Pacquiao's next option if a super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't possible.

I already made my feelings on Pacquiao-Marquez III pretty clear, and Pacquiao himself seems to have no interest in the fight, feeling the public won't buy it. Thinking about it a bit more, it's a fight I'd surely buy, because both men are fighters that deserve my money and have given me more than "enough" entertainment over the years. But I really don't have any more interest in Pacquiao-Marquez III than I did Pacquiao-Morales III or Pacquiao-Barrera II; the end result was pretty obvious in both of those cases, and I think the same is true for this idea, especially since Freddie Roach wants it at 145 pounds and we know Marquez can't carry the weight and keep his speed or power.

I mean, of course Juan Manuel would prefer Pacquiao to Hatton. It's a bigger fight, meaning a bigger purse, more attention, and massive shockwaves if he pulled the upset or even took Manny to the limit for a third time. The last time Pacquiao met much resistance at all was his 2008 rematch with Marquez, which was four Manny fights and three weight classes ago.

One thing I have to admire is that Marquez seriously refuses to believe he can't beat Pacquiao, though. He's 36, slowing down some (still a marvelous boxer), and we've seen Manny get ferociously dominant in the time we've watched Marquez cool off a little bit. But he thinks he beat Manny twice, and he thinks he can do it now. Even though he didn't carry the weight well against Floyd, he probably legitimately thinks he can beat Manny at 145, too. I don't, but Marquez has never lacked for guts, pride or warrior spirit. How many good or even great fighters might have found themselves mentally broken when knocked down three times by Pacquiao in the opening round, as Marquez was in 2004? Or when it was apparent that Manny was the stronger man in the 2008 rematch? Marquez never stopped trying against Floyd, either, he just couldn't do anything with him. The guy has the heart of a lion.

Oh, crap, I'm talking myself into Pacquiao-Marquez III, aren't I?

Is Andre Ward going to get biased officiating on Saturday? Mikkel Kessler's team and the WBA are suspicious of the appointed judges and referee. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

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Let's be honest: Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic has not gotten off to the blazing start we hoped it would.

Not one of the three fights has been appreciated solely on its own merits thus far, with Abraham-Taylor focusing more on Taylor's "will he or won't he continue on?" question (he will, he says), and Froch-Dirrell being an ugly, dirty fight with many feeling the wrong man got the W.

Now, the third and final fight of the opening stage of the tournament has problems before fighters Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward even step into the ring. Bad Left Hook commenter waldo47 was live at the press conference yesterday and was able to get some impressions of what went down. Full details have since come out and been made very clear.

In short, Mikkel Kessler's team is unhappy with the appointed officials, including a California referee and two California judges. The fight takes place in Oakland, Ward's hometown.

The WBA might refuse to sanction the bout as a title fight unless the California State Athletic Commission finds judges and a referee who aren't from Ward's home state, Kessler's representatives told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Kessler (42-1, 32 KOs) agreed to travel from Denmark to the hometown of Ward (20-0, 13 KOs), the undefeated Olympic gold medalist, for a lucrative payday in their first bout in the high-profile 168-pound (76-kilogram) tournament.

The contracts signed by each of the tournament's six fighters set out very specific requirements for the nationality of the officials, requiring two judges and the referee to be "from a neutral territory."

Wilfried Sauerland, Kessler's promoter, was told a referee and two judges from California have been assigned to the fight, along with well-known South African judge Stanley Christodoulou.

"Not all the judges can be from California," Sauerland said after a news conference in downtown Oakland. "If it stays like this, definitely there won't be a world championship on Saturday. We have a really serious problem."

The tournament's contracts were, of course, quite specific, and had to be for everything to get rolling and actually happen. Getting six fighters committed to about two years worth of fights, with five promoters in the mix, is not easy. If the appointed officials don't match what the contracts demand, that is a serious problem, and it's something someone has to answer for. How could something like that be overlooked?

The California State Athletic Commission is trying to get something done fast:

"We are aware of the concerns of the promoter, and so we have been working with both the promoter and the sanctioning body to address those concerns, and that process is ongoing," Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the athletic commission, told the AP.

Jake Donovan says that two of four officials need to be replaced, and that Kessler's team wants one of the California judges replaced with a judge from a Scandinavian country (but not Denmark), and wants a neutral referee instead of California ref Jack Reiss, and he has the bit of the contract that makes it quite clear:

"Judges and referees shall be identified, selected and assigned by the athletic commission with jurisdiction over the Bout; provided that in all events, one judge shall be from the Home Territory of each Boxer Participant and the third judge shall be from a neutral territory, and in all cases, the referee shall be from a neutral territory."

Given that language, Kessler's side is absolutely right to have a major problem with the appointed officials. It's short notice, but you have to figure this will get fixed by the end of today. Really, it never should have happened.

I know there are lots of "Is Oscar returning?!" articles out there thanks to a teaser snippet for his appearance on "Lopez Tonight" last night, but no, he isn't. Instead, he made a hilarious joke, pulling a fast one on his squealing female audience and referencing Erik Estrada. Marvel at Oscar's terrible comedic delivery, the overwhelming pleasure he takes in his own joke, and his weird habit of cupping his mouth when he speaks. He also mentions Shaq! This was a monumentally terrible interview.

Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez appear likely to meet for a fourth time on February 27 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jacob de Golish / Getty Images)

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Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times that a fourth fight between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez is looking like a go for February 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

He said Huntington Park's Israel Vazquez has signed to have a fourth fight with Mexico's Rafael Marquez on Feb. 27 at Staples Center. The super-bantamweight champion Vazquez engaged in two fights of the year with Marquez, but endured more than a yearlong layoff after suffering a detached retina in the memorable third fight in March 2008.

Schaefer said Marquez's promoter, Gary Shaw, and Showtime have expressed a strong willingness to make the fourth fight happen, and he expects it will.

A lot of us have said that we're not exactly itching to see Vazquez-Marquez IV, and as much as I love both fighters, I'm one of those people. Vazquez looked like he had almost nothing left in his October return against what was a very questionable opponent. Maybe it was that much rust, but I have my doubts.

But I can't argue with these guys wanting to make some money. Given the wars, they're unlikely to be fighting at the high level much long, or even fighting at all much longer. And a fourth fight with one another is going to pay them more than any other fight can.

I do wonder if Marquez's squabbles with Shaw have been resolved, because apparently that is part of what got in the way a few weeks back when Showtime offered what Shaw remembered as a one-time only deal of $2.5 million for this fight. Shaw seemed willing then to negotiate a buyout with Marquez, so we'll see what has changed.

Schaefer also named a date (March 13) for Jones-Hopkins II should both win their December 2 tune-ups, and says that Hopkins wants to move up to heavyweight and fight David Haye after that. Man, that is an intriguing idea, but I do not see a blown-up, 45-year-old Hopkins beating someone as strong as Haye.

Never one to hide his feelings, Paulie Malignaggi is suspicious of Manny Pacquiao's success. (Photo by John Gichigi / Getty Images)

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Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com had a chance to interview junior welterweight contender Paulie Malignaggi. Mostly they discussed Malignaggi's December 12 rematch with Juan Diaz in Chicago, but most notable, perhaps, were Malignaggi's thoughts on Manny Pacquiao.

BoxingScene.com:  What did you think of Pacquiao's win over Cotto?

Paulie Malignaggi: I think there is something up with Manny Pacquiao. I am not going to get into it. I think people will understand what I am saying. Full blown welterweights don't take those type of punches from Miguel Cotto the way he took them with total disregard for his power nor do they hurt him with every punch they hit him with. These are full blown welterweights I am talking about. This guy is coming up in weight and doing all these things.  There is something up with this guy but that's as far as I am going to go into it. Floyd Mayweather (Senior) has gotten into it a little bit. There have been other fighters who have mentioned it. I am not going to get into no controversy. I am going to leave it at that. There is something that seriously makes me feel weird about Manny Pacquiao. I am going to leave it at that.

As Malignaggi says, he's not the only one that feels this way. He's not the first to say it. And he avoids making any huge statements or accusations.

Truthfully, given the era of sports we live in, it's natural to suspect the rise of a dominant force, and Pacquiao has become as dominant a force as we've seen in boxing in a long time. Not that there haven't been dominant guys; Roy Jones dominated, Floyd Mayweather dominated, but they didn't do it the way Manny has. The last time there was a fighter really manhandling foes with this much fanfare, it was probably Mike Tyson.

Discussion of the topic is OK, but please avoid slanderous statements if you're going to talk about it. There's no proof of anything, Pacquiao is tested after every fight, and to date there's never been a problem. I honestly don't suspect Pacquiao of any wrongdoing. Freddie Roach says Pacquiao "doesn't even know what a steroid is," and really, I don't think Floyd Mayweather Sr. really knows what one is, either. So many people seem to think steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are like Popeye's spinach, but it doesn't work that way.

Make sure to read the rest of Ryan Burton's interview, as Paulie puts a pretty scorching verbal lashing on Juan Diaz.

Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao met in two thrilling encounters in 2004 and 2008. Pacquiao doesn't believe the public wants a third bout anymore. (Photo by Bret Newton, www.pound4pound.com / www.threatphoto.com)

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With Bob Arum mentioning that a third Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight could be made if a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight isn't doable, word is already circulating that Pacquiao himself has little interest, and that trainer Freddie Roach would want the fight at a weight that should make it as unappealing for most as it already is for me.

Roach told The Philippine Star that he'd want the fight at 145 pounds, which sounds like nothing more than an obvious Pacquiao walk-over to me. In fact, Pacquiao-Marquez III at 145 pounds is such an obvious destruction job by Pacquiao (in my opinion, of course) that I'd have to find some way to talk myself into even ordering that fight.

145, in fact, is what he wants for anyone, which is just kind of grating at this point. Those two pounds are not the difference, and they will not get Floyd Mayweather to do 145. Mayweather couldn't make 144 (or never really tried to) against Marquez, coming in at 146 and paying $600,000 for being overweight. He's a welterweight now. I know catchweights have been around forever, but it kind of stinks that the Pacquiao camp is so terribly confident, even arrogant, but they won't go to 147 to take on anyone besides what Roach knew was a shot Oscar de la Hoya.

If they feel Manny is so strong at 145, then have him weigh in at 144 or 145. He weighed in at 142 for Oscar and was fine. I realize they'd want to drain the opponent, but isn't that just as "cheap" in this silly warrior gladiator man's man John Wayne Jim Braddock code we seem to expect all fighters to live by?

But apart from that, Pacquiao said he doesn't want the Marquez fight anymore:

"Would people come and watch a Marquez fight? I don’t think so," said Pacquiao.

Truthfully, a third fight between the two feels an awful lot like Pacquiao-Morales III. Pacquiao lost to Morales the first time around, and beat up on him the second time. We all knew Morales was on the downside by the third fight, but it was made anyway, and Pacquiao mashed him inside of three rounds to the surprise of nobody.

Like Morales, I have no doubt that Marquez would go out on his shield, but I also have no doubt he'd go out quickly and viciously. He weighed in at 144 to fight the far less aggressive Floyd Mayweather Jr., and he didn't win a minute of the fight. He was heavy, he was incredibly slow, and he really got nothing done offensively. Pacquiao is far more inclined to go in for the finish than Mayweather is, and I think that spells an early doom for Marquez were they to fight a third time.

This is not a knock on Marquez. He's still a tremendous fighter, or at least will be if he goes back down to 135 pounds. I have nothing in the world but great admiration for his skills, his toughness, his tenacity and his pride. But fighting Pacquiao at 145 pounds would be absolutely nothing more than a grab at money. Marquez himself has to know that weight is terrible for him, and obviously it works just fine for Manny Pacquiao. It wouldn't be any more competitive a fight on paper than Mayweather-Marquez was.

Jose Luis Castillo may be the next opponent for Miguel Cotto. Cotto is very tentatively planning a return to the ring in summer 2010. (Photo by Bret Newton, www.pound4pound.com / www.threatphoto.com)

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A report in El Nuevo Dia (link via BoxingScene.com) indicates that one possibility for Miguel Cotto's eventual ring return may be former lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, who recently served as a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao defeated Cotto via 12th round technical knockout last Saturday night.

Cotto isn't looking to rush back into the ring, and early word is they're targeting a June or July return to the ring. Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KO) hasn't fared so well at the higher weights in recent years, and at 36 next month is far beyond his best days. He's always been a rugged fighter, and was brought into the Pacquiao camp by adviser Michael Koncz for that very reason. He has always had a targeted body attack, something for which Cotto is also famous.

But you'll recall that Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach was initially not happy about the idea of Castillo coming in, referring to him as "a shot fighter." Castillo did look in good shape on "24/7," but it's almost impossible to tell how he's really feeling. He has won four fights this year against sub-standard competition, fighting as a welterweight. The last time he was seen on wide American TV, he was dominated by Sebastian Lujan on ESPN in July 2008.

Cotto-Castillo wouldn't exactly excite anyone, and would probably have to be sold as an undercard fight to one of the major networks, a Friday Night Fights main event, or most likely part of a Latin Fury pay-per-view by Top Rank. But at that point, Cotto may need a pure "comeback" opponent before they look into making something bigger, and Castillo -- who still has a bit of name value left -- would certainly qualify.

Bob Arum, who used to promote Floyd Mayweather Jr. and now promotes Manny Pacquiao, has been one of the suspected roadblocks in the making of a Mayweather-Pacquiao. But the longtime promoter told Yahoo! Sports columnist Kevin Iole he will make the fight against his better judgment...if he can.

"The only reason I want this Mayweather fight is because the public wants it so badly," Arum said. "Boxing is on a real, real roll right now and I don’t want to do anything to get it off that. But if that doesn’t matter to him, OK, it doesn’t matter to him. I have no problem.

"But I would feel I cheated the sport I’ve worked in for so long if I stood in the way of this fight happening. Because of that, I’ll do everything in my power to try to make it happen. Do I really want this happening, though? Other than that, the answer is no."

It's been no secret that Arum and Mayweather haven't been on the best terms since they split for good in 2006. Mayweather long blamed Arum for not advancing his career properly and making him a bigger star, and you cannot argue that since he left Top Rank, Mayweather has definitely become a much bigger star. A lot of that is owed to the fact that a Mayweather fight with Oscar de la Hoya likely wouldn't have happened in 2007 without Mayweather having left Arum. Top Rank and Golden Boy didn't see how important working together was until after that fight.

But Arum has also been adamant that Mayweather frequently turned down opponents, and that he feels Mayweather is terrified of losing his undefeated record. Many in and around boxing feel the same way.

Bob says he won't "play games" with Mayweather at the negotiating table, but will negotiate with Richard Schaefer when Schaefer is given the real go-ahead by Mayweather:

"Once he’s authorized, things will proceed. I’m not going to play Mayweather’s games, though. I’m not going to let my fighter play Mayweather’s games. If Mayweather wants to fight Pacquiao and make a lot of money, he can do so. But God love him, no one is forcing him to fight and if he wants to play games or he doesn’t want the fight, he can do what he wants."

And if the fight can't be made? Arum says he'll look to make a third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. I honestly have little-to-no interest in seeing Pacquiao wipe the floor with the aged Marquez, who would have to fight Pacquiao at a weight that works for Manny and likely doesn't for Juan Manuel. I've said since the Oscar fight that I think a third fight between Pacquiao and Marquez, great as their first two fights were, just isn't appealing anymore. I have no doubt how the bout turns out, and it's not pretty for Marquez. I'd much rather see Pacquiao against the Mosley-Berto winner than I would Marquez.

Iole's column also has an interesting bit where Team Mayweather claims Arum wouldn't let them fight Miguel Cotto. Arum has his own feelings on that claim, and they're strong.

In the aftermath of Pacquiao-Cotto, there's actually quite a bit going on this weekend, although nothing that rivals last weekend.  There are two major cards, including the second leg of the Super Six tournament, although the other big card (with three title fights) won't be aired in the U.S.

Thursday, November 19

Canal+, 4:00 p.m Eastern, Thierry Karl vs. Karim Benamma; Diamel Selini vs. Tarek Kaldouri.  This is part of Le Grand Tournoi at light heavyweight.  Willy Blain will also fight on the undercard.

Friday, November 20

Secondsouttv.com, 2:00 p.m. Eastern, Avtandil Kyurtsidze vs. Kuvanych Toygonbaev.  Former interim titlist Yuriy Nushnenko will also be on the undercard.

Sky, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Rendall Munroe vs. Simone Maludrottu.  This one's a title eliminator at 122.  Munroe has been on a decent run lately, including two wins over Kiko Martinez, while Maludrottu was basically gifted the spot due to moving up in weight after getting his butt kicked by Hozumi Hasegawa.

Azteca America, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Jose Emilio Perea vs. Julio Camano; Wilbert Uicab vs. Job Solano.  This one's about on par with the Golden Boy Fight Night series. I believe the Campeon Azteca semifinals will also be aired (via tape delay) on this card.

Telemundo, 11:35 p.m. Eastern, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. vs. Genaro Garcia.  Garcia should be quite the challenge for Vasquez.  While he's 1-3 in his last 4, and his best days were one weight class lower, he's still a three-time title challenger and has some good wins on his record, including a dominant win over Miguel Roman earlier this year.  Nice to see that at least ONE son of a legend isn't just trying to piggyback off his father's name to make a living.

Saturday, November 21

ZDF, 5:15 p.m. Eastern, Giacobbe Fragomeni vs. Zsolt Erdei;  Humberto Mauro Gutierrez vs. Vitali Tajbert; Dmitri Sartison vs. Stjepan Bozic.  Officially, all three of these are title fights, although Gutierrez-Tajbert is for the interim title held by Humberto Soto, and Sartison-Bozic is for an invented title that came to be when Mikkel Kessler was recently promoted to "super" champion.  Fragomeni, a 40 year old with a decent workrate but little power (sort of an Italian poor man's Glen Johnson) is probably the weakest of the cruiserweight titlists, and thus Universum is moving him up a weight class rather than having him face more popular stablemate (and now full light heavyweight titlist) Jurgen Braehmer.  At the very least, Erdei's stranglehold on the light heavyweight lineal title is over, meaning that there can hopefully be some action to determine a real light heavyweight champ sometime in the near future (probably after Hopkins officially retires).  Gennady Golovkin was also originally scheduled to face Ishe Smith on the card, but Smith got injured. 

HBO Plus (Latin America), 7:00 p.m. Eastern, Jorge Barrios vs. Michael Lozada.  Lucas Matthysse and Sebastian Lujan will also fight (not each other) on the undercard.

Prizefighttv.com, 8:00 p.m. Eastern ($4.99), Shawn Porter vs. Jerome Ellis; Tyrese Hendrix vs. Martese Logan; Dominic Wade vs. Bradley Thompson; Farah Ennis vs. Anthony Doughty.  Porter's first fight since serving as Manny Pacquiao's primary sparring partner should be a gimme, but should get Porter some rounds.  Ellis is 1-5-1 in his last seven (with all five losses coming to decent names), but was not stopped in any of them.

TyC Sports (Argentina), 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Marcos Rene Maidana vs. William Gonzalez.   Maidana will defend the interim title he won by defeating Victor Ortiz.  Good for him to stay busy, even if he lost out on a potential HBO fight.If you're interested in this fight and the Barrios fight, I'd recommend checking out great Argentine fight blog Boxeo Hoy.

TSN (Canada), 10:30 p.m. Eastern, Marvin Sonsona vs. Alejandro Hernandez, Steve Molitor vs. Jose Saez.  My personal favorite young fighter makes the first defense of his super flyweight title at Casino Rama, where he won the belt.  Seems like an odd place to try to build up a fan base.

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Mikkel Kessler vs. Andre Ward.  Bad Left Hook will be providing round by round coverage.

Elsewhere in the world of boxing....

• In one of those "huh?" matchups, two guys that even I've never heard of are facing off for an interim super featherweight title this weekend.  This despite the fact that new champ Juan Carlos Salgado not only just won his belt, but is in good health and looking to defend.  20-2 Colombian Likar Ramos will face 18-7 Angel Granados for the title.  And who has either fighter beaten to deserve such a shot?  Absolutely nobody.  Granados has lost to every recognizable name on his resume (including Fernando Angulo, Ivan Hernandez, and, oddly, Joel Julio) and was actually recently knocked out by an 0-11 fighter.  He scores a first round KO over some semi-prospect, and suddenly he gets a title shot.  Yeesh.
• Moruti Mthlane will take on Julio Cesar Miranda.  Both are more famous for being victims than for winning fights, with Mthlane recently losing to Nonito Donaire, and Mirando getting destroyed by Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.  But here they are, fighting for a vacant title. 
• Some fights being recorded as part of Campeon Azteca, a Contender-like show airing on Azteca: Ivan Valle vs. Reyes Sanchez; Miguel Roman vs. Daniel Ruiz; Luis Gonzalez vs. Saul Carreon; and Eduardo Lazcano vs. Cristian Lopez.
• Alexei Acosta, one of Gary Hyde's Cubans, is back in action and taking a step up.  The 8-0 super bantamweight is a much better prospect than some of the Cubans that have gotten U.S. exposure, in part because he's only 21 years old and really has his full career in front of him.  He'll take a step up against 15-9-1 Sean Hughes.  
• In an apparently untelevised fight (or if it is, I couldn't find it), Giovanni Segura will defend his light flyweight yitle against Sonny Boy Jaro.  Ulises Solis will also come in against light tough (and recent Koki Kameda victim) Gilberto Baas. 

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America)

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George Lopez's terrible new TBS late-night talk show "Lopez Tonight" will feature two of boxing's biggest stars this week. Tonight, Oscar de la Hoya is Lopez's main guest, and tomorrow night, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be on the show as well.

Lopez and Oscar go back a little bit, and we know George is a boxing fan. He emceed the weigh-in for Oscar's last fight with Manny Pacquiao, and has been ringside for what seems like most of the bigger fights (those involving Golden Boy Promotions, anyway) of recent years.

Joining Oscar tonight will be Bill Engvall (oh boy, George Lopez and Bill Engvall comparing jokes) and Amerie.

Tomorrow night, Mayweather is second in line behind Ted Danson, which is no shame as Ted Danson is pretty awesome. Given that Lopez is a boxing fan and hopefully knows at least a little, you'd have to think George will at least ask him about Manny Pacquiao, but there remains the chance it'll just be Lopez going, "Gosh, you're good at boxing. Tell us about that?"

The musical guest for the Danson/Mayweather show is something called Orianthi, a female guitarist from Australia who played with Michael Jackson for the "This Is It" stuff.

"Lopez Tonight" airs on TBS at 11e/10c. I recommend watching it only if it has anything to do with boxing.