Manny Pacquiao Owes Juan Manuel Marquez Fourth Bout After Controversial Decision

After narrowly escaping with a much-maligned majority-decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night, the last thing Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao probably wants to do is fight Marquez for a fourth time.

With that said, Pacquiao has to know that Marquez can stake claim to at least one of their three fights against each other. Despite Marquez's consistently good performances against Pacquiao, all he has to show for it is a draw and two decision losses.

While Pacquiao can technically say that he has won the trilogy and put it to bed once and for all, he owes Marquez another fight. Pacquiao is considered to be an honorable fighter and man in general, and if that has any credence, then he will grant Marquez yet another well-deserved rematch.

That isn't to say that Pacquiao shouldn't pursue a bout with Floyd Mayweather next, but there is no reason why he can't go back to Marquez when that is all said and done. Not only does Pacquiao owe Marquez another fight, but he owes it to himself to give it another go.

Pacquiao can say whatever he wants when asked about it, but you have to believe that there is some doubt in his mind with regards to whether he can beat Marquez decisively. Pacquiao was outmaneuvered by Marquez on Saturday, but he scraped together just enough rounds to get by.

While the record says he is 2-0-1 against Marquez, Pacquiao did nothing to prove that he is definitively the better fighter in their third meeting. Until Pacquiao does that, there will always be a stigma surrounding him that suggests that he can't truly beat Marquez.

All we can go by is results, and Pacquiao has ultimately gotten results against Marquez, but that won't change the minds of people who have actually seen the fights. On at least two occasions, Marquez has looked like the better fighter as he has frustrated Pacquiao with his counter-punching style.

That is something that gave Pacquiao problems in the first two fights, but he has still been unable to find a way to counteract that. Marquez most definitely has the formula to beat Pacquiao, but it is just a matter of getting some help on the scorecards.

Had Marquez kept his foot on the gas in the latter rounds of the fight, then he would have won the fight and would have earned a rematch. He overestimated how far he was ahead on the scorecards, though, and he paid the price for his assumption.

Even though Pacquiao has the right to refuse another Marquez fight, I think he should prove that he is unafraid of "Dinamita." If Pac-Man agrees to yet another match with Marquez and is finally able to defeat him cleanly, then his legacy will be clear of the black mark that is Marquez.