Juan Manuel Márquez has revealed that he turned down a nine-figure sum for a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao.
The Mexican star recently visited Puerto Rico to do a deal to promote fights with fellow former fighter Miguel Cotto.
And it was there that ‘Dinamita’ lifted the lid on the multi-million-dollar offer to meet the Filipino for the fifth time.
Márquez had not won any of the first three fights against ‘Pac Man’, who had two wins while the other was a draw.
But back in December 2012, the last time the pair met, Márquez sensationally knocked Pacquiao out face-first with a right hand at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the eighth round.
When attending the SoLpresa program hosted by YouTuber Chente Ydrach, Márquez said:
“They offered on the table $150 million for a fifth fight, but I said ‘no, I don’t want a fifth fight’.”
He added:
“Better the pride, the dignity, the love for the sport, and the most important victory of my life because we had beaten the best pound-for-pound fighter at that time.”
The International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, 48, had a career in the paid code spanning more than two decades, having competed from 1993 to 2014 and retired with a record of 56-7-1 (40 KOs).
Pacquiao is now 43 and turned his back on the sport last August after he lost to Yordenis Ugas for the WBA welterweight title. He focused on the presidential election in his home country but failed to garner enough votes for victory.