Pacquiao vs. Marquez: Manny Pacquiao Unimpressive in Controversial Victory

Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Marquez in their much-hyped third bout, but he wasn't exactly impressive.

I was expecting a much more demonstrative performance from Pacquiao, who had been saying for months that he was determined to end this fight before it went to the judges.

I thought Pacquiao would be able to capitalize on Marquez's age (38) and use his powerful fists to cruise to victory. Instead, it was Marquez who landed the more devastating blows.

A lot of pre-fight chatter revolved around the improvements in Pacquiao's game, namely his mobility and the power of his right hand. But when his trainer Freddie Roach advised him to switch up his movements, Pacquiao refused.

"It was a very close fight. It could have gone either way," Roach said. "I asked Manny to move to the right and he didn't."

Pacquiao struggled in the beginning and was dominated by Marquez in the middle rounds. He was clearly frustrated at not being able to get inside of Marquez, who kept feeding him uppercuts and right hand counter punches whenever he got close.

Pacquiao won by majority decision, but this result was even more controversial than their last bout. Marquez's style obviously causes him major problems and he's lucky that the judges seem to favor his aggressive gameplan.

Pacquiao can take solace in the fact that he got the victory. But if he actually thinks he was the definitive winner, then he's kidding himself.