Juan Manuel Marquez is planning to fight twice before officially calling it a career but reiterated that it will not be against rival Manny Pacquiao and rising superstar Jessie Vargas. The 40-year-old reiterated that his ultimate goal is to get a fight with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto.
Marquez, who has a 56-7-1 fight record with 40 knockout victories in his career, witnessed how his biggest rival, Pacquiao, cruised to a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley on Saturday.
When asked about fighting Pacquiao for the fifth time, Marquez did not express interest, but added that he was really impressed with the way the Filipino boxing icon dismantled Bradley.
"Pacquiao proved he is still a great fighter," Marquez said via BoxingScene. "He looked very good. Manny Pacquiao showed that he is aggressive and hungry. I don't know why he would retire - maybe for his family or politics."
The 42-year-old former world champion also addressed rumors linking him to a possible fight with Jessie Vargas, who recently won the World Boxing Organization welterweight title with a ninth-round knockout win against Sadam Ali on March 5.
Marquez also praised Vargas, but reiterated that he is not open to facing the 26-year-old. The four-division world champion that Cotto is his main target because of the Puerto Rican's great legacy.
"Jessie Vargas is a good fighter but for me it is more interesting fight with Cotto," Marquez added. "Cotto's legacy is a great legacy too. Two legends in the ring and maybe the people want to see the fight too. Vargas has the belt but legacy is the most important thing for me."
Marquez, who will turn 43 in August, has not fought since his unanimous decision win over Mike Alvarez in May 2014, as he was sidelined by a knee injury. The Mexico City native said that he is planning to fight in July or August before challenging Cotto, which, he said, will be interesting because it will be another Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry match.
"Cotto wants to fight with me," Marquez said in another interview with BoxingScene. "We will see. It is a great fight for me. I start training right now. I want to have a preparation fight first then see how I feel. It is an incredible rivalry."
