Manny Wins! Split Decision

Manny Pacquiao’s rematch victory over Juan Manuel Marquez was worth every minute of the four-year wait.

Pacquiao won a narrow split decision to claim Marquez’s WBC 130-pound title Saturday night in a sensational fight that left two of the world’s best boxers bloody and triumphant.

Though Marquez landed more punches at a higher percentage, Pacquiao (46-3-2) knocked down Marquez (48-4-1) in the third round and persevered through a nasty cut. Marquez also was cut in the fight, but neither backed down from one scintillating exchange after another.

Their first matchup ended in a draw in May 2004. Marquez was knocked down three times in the opening round of that acclaimed bout, but improbably rallied to win most of the later rounds in a possible career-saving performance.

And that meeting was just a warmup.

Judge Duane Ford favored Pacquiao 115-112 and Jerry Roth called it 115-112 for Marquez, while Tom Miller gave a 114-113 edge to Pacquiao. The Associated Press narrowly favored Marquez, 114-113.

But with outstanding action in nearly every round producing bloody injuries and heart-stopping moments, the fight was befitting of a matchup between two of the world’s most gifted boxers.

From the opening bell, the action was fast and frenetic at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Marquez staggered Pacquiao in the second round, but Pacquiao knocked down Marquez in the third with a left hook. Pacquiao then wobbled Marquez again late in what’s sure to be one of the year’s best rounds, but couldn’t finish off Marquez.

“I don’t like the decision,” Marquez said. “I still feel I am the champion. It was a bad decision. That first knockdown, he got me cold, but then I adjusted my game plan and I thought from then on, I dictated the whole fight. … The people are the best judge, and the people are booing him. I won.”

Pacquiao won a major world title in his fourth weight division, and he intends to take on a fifth when he moves up to 135 pounds for his next fight against David Diaz, the WBC lightweight champion who won on Saturday’s undercard.