Manny Pacquiao (white) and Juan Manuel Marquez pose with the prize at stake - the WBO Fighter of the Decade title. Carlo Pamintuan
Las Vegas - With no world title at stake, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will instead fight for the right to be called the WBO Fighter of the Decade.
During their press conference earlier Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time), the two combatants posed for pictures with the red WBO belt, which will be up for grabs this Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) in the fourth meeting between the two future hall-of-famers.
The four major belts are currently in the possession of Paul Malignaggi (WBA), Floyd Mayweather (WBC), Devon Alexander (IBF), and Timothy Bradley (WBO). The welterweight also has two interim world champions with Robert Guerrero holding a WBC belt and Diego Gabriel Chaves having a WBA belt.
The fact that Pacquiao-Marquez 4 is considered one of the best boxing events this year even without a world championship at stake speaks volumes of the stature of the two fighters. The fight is on its way to being sold out and promoters are expecting over a million pay-per-view buys. Even without a world title at stake, many fans believe the rivalry and the fighters themselves are bigger than a world title.
When fighters are starting out in their careers, having a world title strapped around their waist will make them bigger stars, but for boxing legends a world title isn’t necessary to make a fight big. As the popular boxing adage goes, the belt does not make the champion, the champion makes the belt.
Take the WBO welterweight title for example. Yes, the title is rich in history but the fact is that Pacquiao gave more credibility to the title. Now that Timothy Bradley holds it, little attention has been given to said belt.
Different boxing organizations have started making additional titles to accommodate more fighters and earn more money by charging a sanctioning fee. The WBC introduced the WBC Diamond belt which they put at stake whenever two stars fight without a regular WBC title being available. Pacquiao was actually the first fighter to ever hold a WBC Diamond belt, as he was awarded with the green strap after beating Miguel Cotto back in November of 2009.
So far, Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire, Floyd Mayweather, Sergio Martinez, and Bernard Hopkins are the only fighters who have held a WBC Diamond belt. - AMD/OMG/HS, GMA News
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