Juan Manuel Marquez responded to the recent challenge of Ruslan Provodnikov, expressing zero interest in facing the reigning WBO light welterweight champion.
Provodnikov, who has been calling out Marquez for the past few months, recently said that the Mexican boxing icon has no other option but to fight him. And refusing to accept his challenge only means that Marquez is just afraid of him.
Responding to the statement of the Russian champion, Marquez said that Provodnikov is not a part of his future plans because he will not gain anything in fighting the native of Beryozovo in Russia.
The former four-division champion said that while he holds high respect to the skills and capabilities of Provodnikov, Marquez pointed out that fighting the 30-year-old brawler makes no sense at this point of his career.
"Provodnikov is a great fighter, he demonstrated that with Bradley. He is very strong, I think the challenge is there, and I have never ignored anyone - but right now I'm at a stage in my career where I want something that helps me in leaving a legacy," Marquez said in an interview with BoxingScene.
The 40-year-old Mexican is coming off a split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley in their WBO welterweight title showdown in October last year. Marquez felt the he should have been awarded the victory in that fight, which is the reason why he is aching to get back at Bradley.
However, the Bradley rematch is now out of the picture for Marquez as the undefeated American is now set to go up against Manny Pacquiao in a much-awaited rematch on April 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now that his rematch with Bradley is not poise to be finalized anytime soon if it will be finalized at all, Marquez has two other options in mind - to chase a fifth title in five different weight classes or finally decide to end his storied professional boxing career.
"I want that fifth championship, and if that does not exist for me then I'm closer to retirement," Marquez lamented. "I would gain nothing by fighting with Provodnikov for a title that I already owned. I want something that transcends, for the history of my career and my country. I'm looking to leave a legacy in boxing."
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