The best bouts don't always end in the ring. Promotional interference, TV network tie-ups or a fighter's unwillingness to accept a fight the public demands instead leads to fantasy matches.

Lennox Lewis never faced Riddick Bowe when both were young heavyweight champions. In the height of his junior welterweight reign during the early 1980s, Aaron Pryor could not earn a shot against Sugar Ray Leonard or Thomas Hearns — the welterweight kingpins of the era.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez defy the "what if" scenario. There is no need to imagine a potential Pacquiao-Marquez bout, considering they have fought twice.

Pacquiao and Marquez provide another intriguing angle. Given the tight verdicts of their two bouts, fight fans yearn for Pacquiao-Marquez III.

The call should continue to intensify after Marquez's knockout victory over Juan Diaz on Feb. 28 and through the lead-up to Pacquiao's 140-pound title fight against Ricky Hatton on May 2 in Las Vegas.

Many boxing experts claim Pacquiao and Marquez as the best two pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

Pacquiao has leverage on the terms for a potential third fight.

The Philippines native now is fighting two divisions above the weight limit he faced Marquez in March 2008, when Pacquiao won a narrow split decision. Their first bout five years ago ended in a draw.

But Marquez continues to lurk around his rival, moving up to lightweight for his bouts against Diaz and Joel Casamayor. Marquez now intends to chase Pacquiao in the junior-welterweight class.

Minutes after his victory over Diaz, Marquez accused Pacquiao of dodging him and threw another high-profile name into a possible bout at yet an even higher weight. Marquez called out welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr., who retired in June.

Mayweather has not succumbed to the comeback lure, although there was talk of his possible return after the boxing public dreamed of a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight following Pacquiao's knockout over Oscar De La Hoya in December.

Pacquiao-Mayweather, Mayweather-Marquez, Pacquiao-Marquez III—as long as there are appealing fighters, the matchmaker in us will visualize these hypothetical bouts.