LAS VEGAS – Juan Manuel Marquez furiously insisted his controversial defeat to Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night was a “robbery” and accused two members of the judging panel of conspiring against him.
A dejected Marquez, 38, said it might have been his last fight.
“Maybe I will retire,” he said. “It is difficult after this. I also don’t want to throw away everything we have worked for but I just don’t know.”
Pacquiao’s victory keeps alive the prospect of a superfight against Floyd Mayweather, possibly as soon as May 5, 2012. Yet there will also be calls for another rematch with Marquez, and the controversial decision would ensure that Pacquiao-Marquez IV would attract huge attention.
“I think there is now a viable possibility that they should do it again,” said Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum. “It was so close, there were so many close rounds and it was a great fight.”
In their third meeting Saturday, Marquez lost a majority decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with judge Robert Hoyle scoring it 114-114 and Glenn Trowbridge and Dave Moretti giving it to Pacquiao by 116-112 and 115-113, respectively.
Marquez felt cheated, so much so that a rematch was the furthest thing from his mind.
“It is a robbery and of the two robberies I have had against him, this one is the more terrible,” Marquez said in his locker room moments after storming from the ring in anger. “I was the one with the clearer punches and I won again. The audience protested because they knew that I won again. It is difficult to fight against a fighter and two judges as well.”
Pacquiao was roundly booed by the crowd with most fans believing Marquez was a clear victor. The Filipino champion was pelted with beer and popcorn as he left the arena. Marquez also felt he had won the second fight of the trilogy in 2008, only to lose on the scorecards.
Heading into the closing rounds of the fight, Marquez was informed by trainer Nacho Beristain that he was clearly ahead.
“I always thought the judges and the commission in Nevada were the fairest,” Beristain said. “But this has been a robbery of the utmost.”
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