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Did Manny Pacquiao Win

November 13, 2011 by · Comments Off on Did Manny Pacquiao Win 

Did Manny Pacquiao Win, Manny Pacquiao knew that to validate what he always believed in, to finally lay to rest the ghost chasing after him, he would have to pull off a definitive victory over an opponent who had troubled him the most.

But once again, Juan Manuel Marquez made life difficult for him.

On Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) at MGM Grand Garden Arena, the eight-division champion defeated his greatest nemesis yet again, but—as it always seemed when these two warriors collide—he needed to squeeze out everything he could from the rounds that mattered to earn a majority decision.

But the victory raised more questions than it answered.

Pacquiao won on the scorecards of two judges—the third judge scored the fight a draw—and when the decision was announced, a deafening chorus of boos shook the arena.

Seconds after Pacquiao’s hairline win that enabled him to keep his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown, promoter Bob Arum said he was going to set up a fourth fight between the two boxers.

As he made his way through an angry crowd that shouted obscenities at him, Arum told Yahoo! Sports: “It was a great, great fight. I had Manny, but it was close, so why not bring them together in May? It makes a lot of sense to do that.”

The camp of American Floyd Mayweather Jr. had reserved MGM Grand for May 5, ostensibly for a fight with Pacquiao. On Friday, Golden Boy’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya said that fight was closer than ever.

But with Arum’s latest statement, the richest fight in history that would pit Pacquiao against Mayweather would be on hold for a while longer.

The Filipino boxer’s trainer, Freddie Roach, also said Pacquiao should fight Marquez a fourth time before climbing into the ring with the unbeaten American.

Rain of debris

“It was clear I won the fight,” Pacquiao said after struggling against Marquez. “(But) that’s boxing.”

“This was the closest they ever fought and I thought it would end in a draw,” Roach said. “But Manny won the last two rounds and I wasn’t surprised by the judges’ decision.”

The booing from the huge Mexican throng in the sellout crowd of 16,368 at the MGM Grand drowned out the on-ring interviews. As if that wasn’t enough, they pelted the ring with debris—half-empty cups of beer and ice cubes, even hitting reporters at ringside.

Security was doubled as Pacquiao made his way from the ring to his locker room, where he received 28 stitches to seal a cut above his right eye opened by a headbutt in the 10th round. Even then, some Mexican fans managed to fling projectiles at him, including a popcorn bucket that still had its contents.

“I don’t know what I have to do to win the fight,” Marquez said.

“Maybe I have to knock him out. But then, [the judges] might help him up and give him the win anyway,” the three-division champion said, speaking to reporters through an interpreter.

Marquez had taunted Pacquiao before the fight with claims that he was the true winner of their first two fights. But the latest near-miss was almost more than Marquez could stand.

“They robbed me again,” Marquez said. “It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and three judges, too… I’m frustrated. I’m really, really frustrated.”

“I felt like I connected with a lot of solid punches in the fight,” he said. “I felt so good. I never felt his punches.”

Judge Glenn Townbridge saw it 116-112 for Pacquiao. Dave Moretti had it 115-113 for the fighting congressman from Sarangani province in Mindanao, while Robert Hoyle had it 114-114.

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