Last year, the third bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez became a source of controversy. Pacquiao won the official decision, but most analysts scored the fight in favor of Marquez.
Karma would later work against Pacquiao, with the standout boxer losing a decision to Timothy Bradley despite a consensus opinion that he won the scrap.
Given the controversy, Pacquiao’s stock was only slightly affected by the loss, and a fourth match with Marquez represented a chance for the high-profile fighter to officially get back to his winning ways. A win would have basically allowed Pacquiao to move forward as if the Bradley fight never happened.
Unfortunately, that win would not come. On the same night that UFC featured two “changing of the guard” fights with Alexander Gustafsson and Rory MacDonald beating Shogun Rua and BJ Penn, respectively, one of boxing’s top two names waved goodbye to his status of dominance (though, in this case, Pacquiao is actually the younger competitor). Marquez knocked Pacquiao out at 2:59 of the sixth round of their fourth fight, avenging the third-fight controversy and ending the notion that the Filipino athlete is unbeatable.
