Pacquiao slips past Marquez again amid controversy

Apparently, the third meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title didn’t do anything to settle who is truly the better fighter.

Pacquiao, who had beaten Marquez in a 2008 rematch after they battled to a draw in their first meeting, was the beneficiary of a 12-round majority decision Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden.

Glenn Trowbridge had Pacquiao ahead 116-112, and Dave Moretti scored it 115-113. Robert Hoyle scored the bout 114-114. All three judges are from Las Vegas.

The decision was greeted by boos from a sellout crowd of 16,368, and Marquez shared its anger.

"I’m not sure what else I can do to win," Marquez said. "I hit him with more punches. I won the fight. But I was robbed again. Of the three fights, this is the worst. We won with clearer punches."

His trainer, Nacho Beristain, echoed his fighter’s thoughts, saying, "This is a robbery of the utmost."

The victorious Pacquiao said: "He wants a rematch? No problem. But I thought I won the fight. I blocked a lot of his punches."

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said: "It was very close and could have gone either way. But I thought Manny did enough to win the fight."

Pacquiao, who closed a minus-950 betting favorite, improved to 54-3-2 and made $22 million. Marquez, who made $5 million, dropped to 53-6-1.

Unlike in their first two meetings, Marquez remained on his feet the entire time. The bout was fought at a contracted catch weight of 144 pounds, and a bulked-up Marquez didn’t seem adversely affected in moving up in weight after facing Pacquiao at 126 and 130 pounds in their previous meetings.

Marquez did an excellent job of keeping his distance from Pacquiao and not letting Pacquiao get inside on him where he could inflict serious punishment.

But Pacquiao didn’t get flustered, even when Marquez headbutted him in the ninth round. Pacquiao picked up the pace, pressured Marquez and landed the harder and more significant shots.

As the fight wound down, it was Pacquiao who was more aggressive. He nailed Marquez with quality left hands in the 10th and 11th rounds and did just enough to win the 12th on two cards. Had Moretti given the last round to Marquez — a round he appeared to have done enough to win — the fight would have been a draw.

Now the question is, will they meet again? There was a rematch clause in Pacquiao’s contract but not Marquez’s. However, if what Pacquiao said after the fight holds true, look for Part Four in the spring.

On the undercard, Timothy Bradley dominated 38-year-old Joel Casamayor and retained his WBO junior welterweight title with an eighth-round technical knockout.

Bradley (28-0), who last fought Jan. 27, went after Casamayor from the opening bell and never stopped attacking. He knocked down Casamayor in the fifth and sixth rounds and again in the eighth. Casamayor (38-6) headbutted and hit low, but couldn’t throw Bradley off his game. Referee Vic Drakulich stopped the fight with one second remaining in the eighth.

"I was a little rusty. I was rushing my punches," Bradley said. "My corner told me to relax and start putting my punches together. Once I did that, I was fine."

Mike Alvarado rallied from behind in his 10-round junior welterweight bout to score a TKO over Breidis Prescott to improve to 32-0. Alvarado, who trailed on all three scorecards (89-84, 87-84, 86-85) entering the final round, knocked down Prescott early in the 10th with a right uppercut. Prescott (24-4) soon was unable to defend himself, and referee Jay Nady stopped it at the 1:53 mark.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.