LAS VEGAS — The Fates have played a cruel joke on Manny Pacquiao, who had to settle for a controversial majority draw with Mexican WBA and IBF featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez despite knocking down his opponent thrice in the first round Saturday at the MGM Grand Arena here.
As Michael Buffer announced the majority draw verdict, many fans booed the result while majority remained dumbfounded, as they accepted the result and went for the nearest exits, shaking their heads in disbelief.
Mexican fans and Latino media people and a couple of so-called boxing experts saw Marquez as the victor by the slightest margin. Filipino fight fans honestly believed Pacquiao, on the strength of his sensational three-knockdown performance in the first canto, could have coasted to a victory.
