By Dan Ambrose: Juan Manuel Marquez made Manny Pacquiao look bad tonight in beating him every which way a fighter can beat someone. However, the judges saw it differently from most of the boxing fans at ringside at the MGM Grand, giving the decision to Pacquiao by a 12 round majority decision. This was supposed to have been an easy win for Pacquiao if you were to listen to Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, both of which picked Pacquiao to win by a 1st round knockout.

The first round came and went quickly tonight without note other than Marquez pounding Pacquiao in that round and most of the subsequent rounds in the fight.

Here are the judges and how they scored the fight: Glen Trowbridge – 116-112 for Pacquiao; Robert Hoyle – 114-114, and Dave Moretti – 115-113 for Pacquiao.

I couldn’t see Pacquiao winning this fight. I scored the fight 116-112 for Marquez. He was better fighter in this bout and had Pacquiao looking really overmatched for most of the fight. Obviously, this is an unexpected thing for Pacquiao’s promoters. They waited three years after Pacquiao last fought Marquez and got a questionable decision to fight him again. The thought was that they were waiting for Marquez to get old before they fought him again. Well, I guess they needed to wait another two or three years, because looked to be the younger fighter tonight as he made Pacquiao look like an ape at times. The skill difference between the two fighters was staggering. Marquez looked a lot better skilled and really did a great job of countering Pacquiao every time the Filipino would throw anything.

Naturally, Marquez was pretty upset about losing the fight, saying after the fight “This is the second robbery of the two fights we’ve had. This one was even more clear than the first.”

You got to feel sorry for Marquez. He deserved the win tonight. But it’s not easy beating Pacquiao, because he’s so important to boxing because of the money he brings in. Trying to beat a guy that is very difficult because you’re working against a symbol more than just an athlete. And to get a decision against a big money maker like him you’ve got to pretty much dominate every round and/or score a knockout to win. Just beating a guy by four rounds, which is what Marquez appeared to do tonight, isn’t enough. You’ve got to really put a whipping on Pacquiao.