On a night on which UFC made its broadcast network debut with a definitive TKO decision, boxing revealed the extent to which the judges can cause controversy with their decision.
During the third fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, all indications seemed to be that Marquez was winning the fight. He was outpointing and out-timing Pacquiao, who never seemed to get a rhythm going. He was circling to Marquez’s power, he rarely threw combinations and body shots, and he simply couldn’t connect with anything meaningful.
Marquez never did huge damage, but he clearly seemed to be getting the better of most exchanges.
Yet when the cards were read, it was Pacquiao, the more commercially-attractive winner, who claimed victory. The judges gave Manny the fight by a majority decision, 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112. The latter score, in particular, raised eyebrows, as most felt that was the score by which Pacquiao lost to Marquez.
The crowd heavily booed the decision.
Though one might have trouble claiming Marquez “beat the champ,” it would similarly be hard to justify a Pacquiao win on a round-by-round scoring system.
