Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Controversial Trilogy Good for Marquez's Legacy

Juan Manuel Marquez did not hide the fact that he was not happy with the judges' decision to award Manny Pacquiao with a majority decision victory after their bout on Saturday night.

"This is the second robbery of the two that we had, and I think this was even more clear than the first," Marquez said, per ESPN.com. "We won with the clearer punches. The audience protested because they saw us win again. I thought I got robbed. It happens again and again. I don't know what else I can do to win."

Marquez's renowned trainer, Nacho Beristain, echoed that sentiment, and also went so far as to hint at a conspiracy. 

"I've always confided in this commission here," he said, "but this has been a robbery in the utmost."

If you're familiar with the general attitude of the Marquez camp toward Manny Pacquiao and his rivalry with Dinamita, these words should come as no surprise. Pac-Man and Marquez have fought three times, and Marquez will insist that he won all three fights until the day he dies.

As a boxing fan, you have to love it. Rivalries are great, but rivalries shrouded in uncertainty are even better. These are the rivalries that tend to withstand the test of time.

And make no mistake, the Pacquiao-Marquez rivalry is not disappearing from memory any time soon. It's arguably the greatest in recent boxing history, and their trilogy of fights will go into the books as one of the all-time greats.

People will remember this trilogy for two reasons. The first and foremost is because it gave us three classic fights. The second, and possibly just as important, reason is that these three fights alone proved that the world's greatest pound-for-pound boxer was not infallible.

Obviously, that's a huge credit to Marquez. And if you ask me, I'll wager he wouldn't have gotten nearly as much credit had he actually managed to win one or more of the fights.

As great a boxer as Marquez is, his legacy will be forever tied to Pacquiao's legacy, which is quite secure at this point. Pacquiao has done things that no other boxer in the history of the sport has done, and he deserves to be remembered as the greatest non-heavyweight in boxing history. 

Had Pac-Man actually lost to Marquez, this legacy would be in jeopardy, perhaps even nonexistent altogether. Instead of being an all-time great, Pac-Man would be a really good boxer. A contemporary great, perhaps, but certainly nothing special from a historical perspective.

Because of that, there would be very little renown for Marquez to claim (or reclaim) by beating Pac-Man. A victory or victories over Pac-Man would be more of a bullet point than an exclamation mark.

As it is, Pac-Man is indeed an all-time great, and Marquez is, for now anyway, the only boxer in the world that can claim to be his equal.

In so many words, Marquez is the one guy that Pacquiao came, saw, but didn't concur completely. That may be robbery from Marquez's perspective, but it's also something that he can hang his hat on if he so chooses. Of all the fighters who have ever taken on Pac-Man, nobody gave him hell quite like Dinamita.

Of course, this could all change once Pac-Man fights Floyd Mayweather, Jr.