Las Vegas: Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight title by recording a majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday (Sunday in the UAE).
The 32-year-old southpaw was tested to the full by his older opponent over the 12 rounds but his superior foot and hand speed made the difference as he improved his career record to 54-3-2 with 38 knockouts.
Dave Moretti (115-113) and Glenn Trowbridge (116-112) awarded the fight to the Filipino while Robert Hoyle made it a 114-114 draw.
"My fans are very happy because clearly I won the fight," Pacquiao said in a ringside interview as boos echoed around the arena from the disgruntled Mexican fans. "We have to accept that my opponent is not easy. He is good fighter and it's not easy, but I won the fight."
Marquez, who lifted his arms in triumph after the fight ended, was bitterly disappointed with the outcome. "It's hard when you are fighting against the fighter and the judges as well," the 38-year-old Mexican said in his dressing room.
Our blow-by-blow account of the match:
9:48am: This fight was close, but the winner by majority decision: Manny Pacquiao! Some booing is heard as Pacquiao is carried to the centre of the ring.
9:42am: Round 12. Pacquio has a cut on the left eyebrow. The area above Marquez's right eye is swelling. Pacquiao starts the round by landing right punches. Pacquiao lands a left on Marquez as the round ends.
9:37am: Round 11 starts. Marquez appears to have a long lead over Pacquiao right now. Pacquiao is still throwing punches to the head, but fails to land solid blows. Marquez ducks most of Pacquiao's punches.
9:33am: Round 10. Marquez is keeping away from Pacquiao's combination punches. Pacquiao looking for a head shot. Fighters clash heads. Pacquiao is cut above the right eye but signals to referee Tony Weeks that he had been head-butted. He finishes the round with a flurry of solid punches.
9:29am: Round 9. Both fighters trade blows at the centre of the ring. Marquez ducks a right hook by Pacquiao. Marquez throws punches that fail to connect. Pacquiao peppers Marquez with a series of combinations to the body and head while varying his angle of attack with slick foot movement. Pacquiao chases Marquez with punches at the end of the round. Pacquiao dominates the round.
9:28am: Round 8. Marquez looks like he is waiting for Pacquiao to advance before throwing power blows. He lands a good right hand on Pacquiao. The crowd goes delirious. Pacquiao lands a solid punch.
9:22am: Round 7.The two fighters exchange counter punches at every opportunity. Marquez gets the better of the seventh round, landing solid lefts and rights with pinpoint accuracy and cutting Pacquiao on the lip. Both fighters throw punches from every angle. Pacquiao lands a solid right punch. Marquez connects with a right hand. At the end of the round, Marquez lands an uppercut.
9:19am: Round 6. Pacquiao lands solid punches on Marquez. We are seeing more of his combination punches right now. More right jabs by Pacquiao. Pacquiao dominates the round.
9:15am: Round 5. Marquez dominates the fifth round, catching Pacquiao with a left uppercut to the head and later on with a crunching right.
9:10am: Round 4. Crowds chant "Manny!" as both fighters continue to trade blows. Manny dodges a right hook from Marquez. Marquez goes for body and head shots but fails to connect solid shots. Both boxers trade a flurry of telling counter punches late in the fourth round. Manny finishes the fourth round with a strong right punch.
9:05am: Start of round 3. Pacquiao throws punches but fails to land solid blows on Marquez, who attacks Pacquiao with counter punches. Third round ends after Paquiao hits Marquez in the head with a right hook.
9:02am: Round 2. Marquez lands body blows on Pacquiao. Pacquiao throws a left punch that grazes Marquez. Marquez dominates the second round.
9am: Round 1. Both fighters are feeling each other's punching power on the first round. Pacquiao is wearing blue shorts with a red waistband and red gloves. Marquez is wearing black shorts with a red waistband and black gloves.
8:49am: The fight begins at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pre-match comments
"I hope the judges score what they see, not like the other two fights when they were not impartial," Marquez had said before the fight began.
Marquez bulked up for the 144-pound fight so he can bring more power into the ring and Pacquiao is a far more potent puncher than the last time they met three years ago.
"I'm not thinking about the knockout," Pacquiao said earlier. "If the knockout comes, that's just the bonus for your sacrifices in training."
Marquez had taunted Pacquiao by saying he truly won both prior fights, inspiring "PacMan" to train like never before.
"This is one of the most important fights I have had," Pacquiao said. "This fight is really important to me because he says he won the first two fights. The question is what do I need to do to prove to people I won those fights."
"With the aggressiveness Manny has had in training, I'm sure that's what he's looking for," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. "He has a little extra fire in him. His attitude is aggressive. He wants this fight badly. If Manny puts him down I don't think he will get up."
Pacquiao knocked down Marquez three times in the first round of their first fight but could not win and knocked him down in the third round of the rematch before barely escaping with the decision.
"I will go to my death and know that (Marquez) won that second fight," said Ignacio Beristain, Marquez's Hall of Fame trainer.
"I thought we won both of them," Roach said. "They were great fights."
Coming up empty twice against Pacquiao drives Marquez, who at 38 is six years older than the champion.
"I'm just as motivated as he is. I'm just as upset as he is because I deserved to win those two fights," Marquez said. "We're going to cure a lot of doubts."
Pacquiao, 53-3 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, has given Beristain sleepless nights studying video while trying to find a strategy to end the 14-fight win streak of "PacMan".
"You can lose a lot of sleep thinking about Manny Pacquiao," Beristain said. "He is going to come like a lion to this fight. He has the whole Philippines on his shoulders.
"Pacquiao has a great punch. Every minute of every round you are in danger if you get hit. We have worked on ways to avoid that. We talked a lot about being more explosive with his punches.
"Manny Pacquiao is a spectacular fighter. He likes to exchange. He always wants to fight. And he has found a guy who wants to stay in there and fight with him."
With input from AFP
