Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Controversial Decision Digs Boxing Deeper Hole

Boxing is in dire straights, and the uphill path to resurrection becomes even steeper with the controversy surrounding last night's marquee fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

The competitive balance in boxing is off. It's as though Pacquiao was predetermined to win the fight.

There is no scoreboard in boxing. Subjective judges take to the scorecards and we all saw last night how that system falls short at times.

Mayweather vs. Ortiz ended with an anticlimactic sucker punch and this one ended with a scoring controversy.

The world loves undisputed victories and an even playing field for participants. It's why March Madness, the World Cup and all playoff systems with brackets are wildly popular.

Boxing doesn't offer that. Barring a knockout, there isn't a clear winner and days of controversy surrounding the end of a fight aren't something people want to hear about.

Last night, Cain Velasquez was mopped up by Junior dos Santos in a thrilling first-round knockout. In a night where the UFC and boxing offered up two big fights, the UFC put forth the more exciting fight without question.

That's part of the reason why MMA is currently putting boxing to shame. It seems like the sport can't turn out a marquee event that captivates the world and ends up delivering.

Everyone is waiting around for the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather super-fight, but the manner in which both of them won their last fights makes even that fight less appealing. People grow more and more disappointed with boxing every time something like this happens.

Boxing needs a marquee fight with this sort of buildup that actually delivers. Unfortunately, a shameful scoring debacle caps off the controversy-laden trilogy of fights.