A fourth Pacquiao-Marquez match would put off a mega-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. ? the only other man in the sport with a claim to the mythical title as boxing?s pound-for-pound best ? for at least a year.
That, though, may be good for Pacquiao. Mayweather is a master counter puncher and is far quicker than Marquez. Given the way Pacquiao struggles with Marquez?s counter punching, it?s hard to imagine he?d be able to do much with Mayweather without making some sort of significant adjustment.
?Counter punchers give us problems,? Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said, shrugging his shoulders. ?We need to get to work on how to deal with counter punchers better.?
Pacquiao was an offensive machine in running off 14 consecutive wins since his 2004 draw with Marquez. He had become the most intimidating fighter since Mike Tyson in his prime, destroying much bigger men such as Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, and knocking Ricky Hatton stiff with a single shot.
He went off as a massive 8-1 favorite Saturday and few gave Marquez much of a chance to even compete.
But Marquez fought on more than even terms. When the scores were announced ? judges Glenn Trowbridge and Dave Moretti had it 116-112 and 115-113 for Pacquiao, while Robert Hoyle had it a draw, 114-114 ? the fans booed lustily and showered the ringside area with cups of beer.
It was Marquez, not Pacquiao, who landed the more telling blows, though Pacquiao was more active. According to CompuBox, Pacquiao landed 176 of 578 punches, compared to 138 of 436 for Marquez.
