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Marquez's trainer warns Mexican off Khan fight
ESPN staff
February 10, 2010
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Juan Manuel Marquez lost to Floyd Mayweather Jnr in his most recent fight
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Juan Manuel Marquez should not fight Amir Khan because the bout would exploit the Mexican, according to Marquez's trainer Nacho Beristain.
Khan has agreed to a match-up against the 36-year-old on May 15 in Las Vegas, a fight that would be the Brit's first in America. However, Beristain believes that Marquez deserves more than a contest that is being billed as a platform on which to parade Khan's talents to a Stateside audience.
Beristain also finds fault in the proposed date, which he says is too soon after Marquez's last fight - a unanimous points defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jnr in September. "They want to match him with Khan but I told [Marquez] that's not a fight to take lightly," he said to La Jornada.
"Khan is very strong and it's not a good fight right now because he's not fully recovered from the Mayweather fight, which was just brutal.
"I think it's better to get another opponent. He should not be exploited again. Juan Manuel deserves to retire like a true champion and not as someone's stepping stone."
Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Khan's promotion company Golden Boy, confirmed to boxingscene.com that negotiations with Marquez are still ongoing despite his apparent reluctance. "Oscar [De La Hoya, founder of Golden Boy] is talking to Marquez. I don't have anything positive to report, but I don't have anything negative either," he said.
Schaefer believes that a major obstacle to the fight happening has been removed because both pugilists are promoted by the same company. "We have done big fights before where both fighters were promoted by Golden Boy. We continue to work on [the bout] because it makes a lot of sense."
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