HOLLYWOOD – Juan Manuel Marquez has made his move. Now, it’s Golden Boy’s turn to counter check.

On Tuesday, Bob Arum, the veteran and eloquent head of Top Rank Promotions, announced that Marquez accepted the offer given him by the well-known boxing outfit which could pave the way for a third and, hopefully, final meeting with boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

Under the terms Marquez signed, the Mexican champion is bound to receive a prize purse of $5 million similar to the one earned by  Sugar Shane Mosley.

But unlike the Mosley fight which was fought at the welterweight limit, the bout will be held at a catch-weight of 144 pounds.

Golden Boy, with which Marquez has yet to renew a contract, needs to match the offer made by Top Rank or else the third meeting between the two long-time nemesis will be a go on November 12 in Las Vegas.

“Golden Boy needs to match the offer by next week,” said Arum from his office in Las Vegas. 

Marquez, the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight title holder, confirmed he already signed the revised proposal  made by Top Rank and is now waiting whether Golden Boy will be able to approximate a similar deal for him.

“It’s the fight I’ve been waiting for and I want to fight him,” said Marquez, who will be 37  by the time he meets Pacquiao in the ring again six months from now.

“Let’s see what they (Golden Boy) offer. They must match the offer and also the weight.”

While Marquez and Arum appeared convinced Golden Boy won’t match the offer, Richard Schaefer, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the outfit owned by Oscar De La Hoya, hinted the company may just have something up in its sleeves.

Schaefer hinted Golden Boy has plans of matching the offer, even mentioning that it has a reserved date for a Sept 17 fight at the MGM Grand, a fight date it can use to headline a possible Marquez slugfest with newly-crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor Ortiz.

Ortiz, who dethroned Andre Berto to win the 147-pound crown, can go down to 144 as he also previously campaigned at the 140 pound division.

Meanwhile,  the Pacquiao- Mosley welterweight title showdown may still end up as a blockbuster.

Based on initial projections, last week’s meeting between two of the top 147-pound fighters in the world are expected to generate a pay-per-view buys of 1.2 million or more.

The exact pay-per-view numbers won’t be known until this weekend, according to promoter  Arum.

Arum said at the most, a pay-per-view buy of between 1.4 to 1.5 million won’t be surprising considering the 12-round title match at the MGM Grand was massively promoted by CBS and was distributed by Showtime on cable channel.

“If ever, this might end up as the biggest Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view fight. It could even be bigger than the (Oscar) De La Hoya fight,” said Arum.

Pacquiao’s ninth round stoppage of De La Hoya in 2008 was the best fight in terms of pay-per-view sales for the 32-year-old boxing superstar, garnering a buy of 1.25 million.