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World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman surprisingly uttered strong words against the idea of the fourth showdown between archrivals Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez that will take place on December 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In an interview with Yahoo Deportes, Sulaiman said that the upcoming Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 bears no importance because it only interests the fight fans from the Philippines and Mexico.

Sulaiman said: “The fourth version of Manny Pacquiao vs Marquez is a fight without any importance, because there is no championship at stake. It is a fight that only interests those in Mexico and the Philippines, and not drawing attention anywhere else in the world. It is a fight with only a single purpose – to fill the date and nothing more.”

Sulaiman’s statement is somehow surprising especially after the president offered the WBC Diamond Title belt for the fourth showdown, but Top Rank promoter Bob Arum opted to go with the World Boxing Organization special “Champion of the Decade” belt.

During the third meeting of Pacquiao and Marquez in which the WBO welterweight belt was also at stake, Sulaiman also ripped the fight card. He said: “Marquez is a lightweight and a move to welterweight would give all of the advantages to Pacquiao. It is a fight that in no way should be done. Marquez is a great fighter, but there is a big difference between the current weights of both boxers.”

But despite the alleged “weight disadvantage” claimed by Sulaiman, Marquez was able to stand toe-to-toe against the former WBO welterweight champion and actually looked poise to take the victory that time. However, Pacquiao escaped with a controversial majority decision, which received a lot of criticism all over the world.

The close results of their third fight including the first two fights were the main reason why both fighters decided to have another showdown to know who the better fighter is.