Manny Pacquiao: Why His Win Against Juan Manuel Marquez Was Hollow

It's been a few weeks since the Pacquiao-Marquez fight and though talks about Pacquiao and Mayweather have dominated boxing, a fourth fight between Pacquiao and Marquez should be dominating the headlines.

And that is because his third fight with the Mexican superstar didn't get the desired result that usually happens at the tail-end of a trilogy.  He didn't prove that he was the superior fighter.

Trilogies have occurred in boxing for decades because they follow the same pattern.  Two opponents trade a win and a loss with each man standing at 1-1 and then fight one final match to see who is the better fighter.

In Pacquiao's case, it was slightly different, as he had already won two fights against Marquez, but both were somewhat controversial in how they were scored and it could be argued that Marquez won either fight.

This final fight was supposed to prove that Pacquiao had evolved from the days when he was a one-dimensional prizefighter into the pound-for-pound champion he has become today.  It was supposed to help build up to a fight with Mayweather.

Now the idea of a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout seems tarnished and it will remain so until Pacman steps into the ring with Marquez one last time.  He needs to do it so that he can prove that not only is he the better fighter in the ring, but that he is one of the best in the world.

The third fight was supposed to wrap up their rivalry.  It was supposed to end the years of conflict that both men have had with one other and once and for all stamp Pacquiao as one of the two best fighters in this generation.

And even though Pacquiao is great, that didn't happen, and now a talk that should have centered around him and Mayweather has a third party.

Marquez.

Even if Mayweather did sign to fight Pacquiao, a portion of the fans would be too distracted to think about the fight.  They would be thinking about the fact that Marquez had been so easily beaten by Mayweather and had been arguably robbed of a win from Pacquiao.  It would make the fight lose its luster and it would cripple the buy rate.

So, there is only one way that Pacquiao and boxing can fix his pointless "victory" over Marquez.

Do it one last time, and then win or lose, move on.