Arum sees rematch if Barrera is out of GBP

By Abac Cordero
The Philippine Star 03/28/2007

Bob Arum still would love to see Manny Pacquiao taking on Marco Antonio Barrera. "That is still a very attractive fight. Barrera is still a very attractive fighter," Arum, the big boss at Top Rank, told fightnews.com when asked about his next plans for the Filipino superstar.

Barrera absorbed a stunning loss to fellow Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez last week at the Mandalay in Las Vegas and yielded his World Boxing Council super-featherweight crown.

Both Barrera and Marquez have an old score to settle with Pacquiao, with the former aching to avenge his 2003 loss, and the latter out to erase the stigma of a controversial draw with Pacquiao in 2004. Arum said chances of Pacquiao facing Barrera soon will depend on the veracity of reports that the deposed champion has severed his ties with Golden Boy Promotions.

Arum told fightnews.com that Barrera had hinted that he is no longer with GBP, which is locked in a bitter court dispute over Pacquiao. The dispute is one of the reasons why Barrera faced Marquez instead of Pacquiao.

"He has told people. First of all at the post fight interview he said ‘maybe it is time for me say bye bye to Golden Boy’ and he has told people that he has no contract with Golden Boy.

"Whether that is true or not, I don’t know and I am not interfering. Somebody has to show me that he is not with them before I will sit down with him," Arum was quoted as saying.

"I don’t know if Barrera is still with Golden Boy. He says he isn’t but who knows? And Marquez can’t draw flies. He is a good fighter but he can’t draw flies," he added.

Arum said either Barrera or Marquez will be a good fight for Pacquiao, who will face Jorge Solis of Mexico on April 14 in San Antonio, Texas, but another fight looming in the horizon is that against Humberto Soto.

Soto, who is under Top Rank like Pacquiao, is one of the dreaded fighters in the super-featherweight division.

" I think there are some major fights out there (for Pacquiao). I think the most difficult fight would be with Humberto Soto. People that love boxing would love to see that fight. That would be a very interesting fight," Arum said.

The WBC has declared Pacquiao as the mandatory challenger to Marquez, and the Filipino southpaw has responded favorably, saying he is willing to face Marquez if he is given enough time to prepare for the fight.

But some quarters believe that Arum might instead work for a Soto-Marquez fight by the end of the year, coupled with a Pacquiao-Barrera rematch.