“In my opinion the second fight was the closest of our trilogy. It was a very hard-fought fight and much more exciting than the first one.
“This time Pacquiao surprised me a bit as he was not as aggressive as he had been in the first fight. He seemed to have become a more complete and certainly a much better all-around fighter. He was no longer a one-handed fighter like he was the first time we fought. The left-hand-happy Pacquiao had become a two-fisted fighter, using his right effectively.
“I was able to control the first half of the fight by dictating the pace and I was able to build a lead. I felt that I was hurting him which made me more confident, so I became a little more aggressive and it cost me as I caught with a left hand and went down in the third round. I was angry at myself but I was not hurt.
Photo courtesy HBO
“The last six rounds were very competitive and I felt he was trying very hard and I was able to counter him very effectively. I was landing a lot of right hands and knew I had the fight won.
“But once again the judges took my victory away by giving Pacquiao the nod by split decision. I still get very angry when I think about hearing those scores being read.
“After two fights I felt I had won at least 19 of the 24 rounds. Pacquiao’s four knockdowns made the scores closer than they really were. Look, after 24 rounds, I have two scores in my favor and one even and Pacquiao’s got three his way but one of them was by only one point.
“Just like the first fight, I knew I beat him. And just like the first fight the judges did not see it my way. There is not much I can do about that. I did my best. Too bad the judges did not do the same.”
