Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Why Sport of Boxing Was the True Winner

Some people will tell you that there was a foul plot afoot on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez were once again dueling for the fate of the world.

Ultimately, Pac-Man walked away the victor, the happy recipient of a majority decision. But just like with the first two bouts between Pac-Man and Marquez, the result was (and still is) very much open to debate.

As is his custom when it comes to bouts against Pac-Man, Marquez openly complained that he was robbed. The crowd signaled their agreement by throwing bottles and other rubbish into the ring when the decision was announced.

Naturally, Pac-Man insisted otherwise, saying that he "clearly won the fight."

It is my personal assumption that we will never see these two fighters in the same ring ever again. Marquez must figure he's not going to catch any breaks against Pac-Man, and Pac-Man must figure that he's never going to beat Marquez convincingly. The best idea for him is to quit while he's ahead.

Of course, we can debate this. While we're at it, we can also debate whether or not Pac-Man deserved to win the third fight. Or the second, for that matter.

However, we should be able to agree on one thing:

What we saw on Saturday was one hell of a boxing match.

We can agree on this because it's true. It would have been enough had we merely gotten to see one of the best boxers in history back in action. As it turned out, we were treated to yet another epic 12-rounder between Pac-Man and the only boxer in the world who can proclaim to be his equal.

For 12 rounds, these two fighters beat the hell out of each other. And because we all thought Pac-Man was going to pound Marquez to a pulp, the drama only increased with each passing round.

So for all our talk of controversial finishes and cloak-and-dagger conspiracies, the fact remains that all of us were entertained. And when it comes to boxing, that means we all got our money's worth.

As boxing fans, that's all we can really ask for. As for the boxers themselves, giving us a great fight is the best thing they can hope to do. If nothing else, great fights ensure we'll keep coming back.

In terms of entertainment value, you can't help but compare Pacquiao vs. Marquez III to the first ever UFC on FOX event. It was an hour-long program that was ultimately sandwiched around a heavyweight fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez that lasted barely over a minute. It ended by virtue of a single punch.

Not exactly the ideal outcome for UFC head honcho Dana White. No doubt his army of MMA-obsessed minions were pleased, but White needed UFC's FOX debut to outshine the big boxing match as an exhibition.

Anybody who bothered to watch both bouts will tell you that UFC on FOX fell short in this regard. Dos Santos' knockout blow was pretty damned impressive, but it didn't quite stack up to the 12 rounds of brutality that ensued a short while later on pay-per-view television.

Because boxing lives forever in the shadow of its own doom, it couldn't ask for more than this. Saturday night was a taste of the old days.

You know, the days when boxing was king.