Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV

Build-up

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had met in three previous bouts. Their first fight on May 8, 2004, at the MGM Grand, ended in a draw. The second meeting on March 15, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay, was awarded to Pacquiao by split decision. Their third and final preceding match took place on November 12, 2011.

Each fight ended in controversy. While Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the opening round of their first fight, many ringside observers believed Marquez won a large enough balance of the following eleven rounds to earn the decision. Sources of further controversy included one judge scoring round one 10-7 for Pacquiao (as opposed to the customary 10-6 for a three knockdown round) and the widely divergent scores of the other two judges who scored the fight 115-110 Pacquiao and 115-110 Marquez respectively. It also bears noting that despite the three knockdowns in round one, referee Joe Cortez allowed the fight to continue, a decision without which the final three fights would never have occurred.

The scoring controversy continued into the second and third fights which Pacquiao won. Following each, Marquez and his supporters cried foul, citing Pacquiao's come-forward style opposed to Marquez's counterpunching style, as well as the Filipino congressman's standing in the sport and powerful promotor Bob Arum as reasons for him getting the nod from the judges. The majority decision following the third fight was booed loudly by the Las Vegas crowd.

HBO's 24/7 was broadcast on CNN in addition to HBO. Pacquiao-Marquez III was promoted during the Major League Baseball playoffs on TBS. A four-city press tour covering three countries and an estimated 25,000 miles started on September 3 in Pacquiao's adopted hometown Manila, Philippines, and ended on September 8 in Marquez's home of Mexico City, Mexico. The bout marked the 2nd time Márquez jumped from Lightweight to Welterweight. His first attempt was a September 2009 loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who was making his return to boxing.

Fight summary

The first two rounds were tentative, with neither fighter landing anything significant aside from a Pacquiao right hook to close the first stanza. Most ringside observers scored both for Pacquiao on account of his cleaner punches and head movement that prevented Marquez from landing his counters. In the third round, Marquez landed several left hooks to the body from range, attempting to halt Pacquiao's movement. The strategy paid off immediately as Marquez feinted again to the body before landing a looping overhand right that floored Pacquiao for the first time in their four fights. Pacquiao rose, but was reluctant to engage for the remainder of the round. Freddie Roach admonished his fighter between rounds to go under the overhand right, rather than pull away, as he appeared to retreat from the knockdown punch.

Pacquiao entered the fourth recovered from the knockdown, but spent most of the round looking for spots, with little success. Marquez however landed several signature right hand counters, securing him the round on each judge's scorecard. Round five, Ring Magazine's "Round of the Year" opened with Pacquiao landing several hard left hands in the early going before breaking through and flooring Marquez with a straight left hand. Marquez arose and answered with a massive straight right on the chin that wobbled his rival. In the final minute of the round, the fighters traded before Pacquiao landed several unanswered punches, including a right hook that buckled Marquez's knees and broke his nose. A bloodied Marquez retreated for the remainder of the round as referee Kenny Bayless looked on closely.

Pacquiao picked up where he left off in the sixth, tagging Marquez consistently. With ten seconds remaining, Pacquiao landed a left cross causing Marquez to wildly push him into the ropes. Positioning shifted, and Pacquiao had Marquez backing into the ropes as he regained his balance. Pacquiao double feinted a jab, presumably setting up his infamous jab-jab-straight left combo, but Marquez ducked under the second jab, and unloaded a right hand to Pacquiao's mouth. Pacquiao's head snapped back violently, as he fell face first to the canvas, prompting ringside HBO commentator Roy Jones to profess the now famous line "He's not getting up, Jim! He's not getting up, Jim! He's not getting up, Jim!". Marquez darted across the ring, right hand raised, before mounting the corner ropes and being mobbed by his trainer Nacho Beristain and promoter Fernando Beltran among others. Kenny Bayless didn't bother to count as Pacquiao lay on the canvas motionless until he was revived and sat on his stool, two minutes, twenty seconds after going down.

In the immediate aftermath, both fighters praised their opponent, with Pacquiao acknowledging that he "had no excuse and that he (Marquez) deserved the victory." Marquez called Pacquiao a "great fighter" after the fight, saying "I landed the perfect punch" and that "I knew he (Pacquiao) could knock me out at any moment."

Reported fight earnings

Manny Pacquiao was guaranteed $26 million and Juan Manuel Márquez $6 million, plus a share of the profits from a pay-per-view that exceeded one million buys. The Fight drew 1.15 million pay-per-view buys.

Repercussions

With the fight ending in a knockout, commentators speculated that Pacquiao could retire to focus on his congressional career. Pacquiao indicated a willingness to fight and said he would want a fifth fight with Marquez. Pacquiao has since fought, beating Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley, and Chris Algieri, and then losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr.. Ironically, Marquez lost his opportunity of retiring on a high note, by losing to Timothy Bradley but he made up for it by beating Mike Alvarado and retaining the WBO International Welterweight crown.