In front of a sellout crowd at the Las Vegas hotspot, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Manny Pacquiao struggled to find a rhythm as he pressed forward against his opponent Juan Manuel Marquez all night long. The fight turned into a real scrap over the second half of the fight and Marquez appeared to often get the better of the action.
At the end of twelve rounds it was Pacquiao who pulled out a majority decision by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and the last card was even at 114-114.
Pacquiao stopped by the post-fight press conference only for a brief minute, as he had a big cut above his right eye that required 28 stitches.
“I know I did my best,” Pacquiao said to the media in the room. “It’s very clear that I won the fight. That’s part of the game.”
Pacquiao was then asked how hard it was to fight someone like Marquez and why he always had been able to give him trouble.
“He’s waiting for me to create action and he’s willing to counter,” said Pacquiao. “It’s not always easy to create action when he’s looking for a shot. He’s a good counter-puncher and I have to accept that.”
The decision of the fight was booed loudly after Pacquiao was awarded the winner, but Pacquiao explained that it was simply because there were so many Mexicans in the building rooting for Marquez.
“Half of the fans is Filipino and half of the fans are Mexican,” he said. “Of course the fans of Marquez are upset but it’s very clear that I won the fight and they are going to watch that on replay.
Who knows if Pacquiao and Marquez will fight for a fourth time or if Floyd Mayweather Jr. will enter the picture but this certainly was a fight that lived up to its billing.
