Hits: Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, who had already produced two memorable battles in featherweight and junior lightweight le bouts, met for the third time Nov. 12 and gave fight fans a worthy trilogy with another outstanding and highly compe ive fight. With Pacquiao's victory, the path is wide open for him to at long last meet Mayweather in the fight the world wants to see.
Misses: Pacquiao, who was a massive favorite to beat Marquez because they were fighting at welterweight, looked as vulnerable as he has in a long time. Although he eked out a majority decision, few would have quarreled had Marquez gotten the win or had the fight been ruled a draw. Pacquiao looked confused at times and lacked snap on his punches in a less-than-stellar outing. It just wasn't the kind of performance we have come to expect from Pacquiao, especially in light of the fact that Marquez had been wiped out by Mayweather in 2009 in his only other welterweight fight. Although a fourth fight with Marquez is certainly warranted at some point, it absolutely should not be next, which is what Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, is talking about pursuing. Mayweather should be next, and it's going to have to be up to Pacquiao to stand up to Arum and tell him to make a deal. Period.
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