Manny Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight title in controversial fashion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Amidst a cacophony of boos, Pacquiao was declared a majority decision winner over Juan Manuel Marquez, when many at ringside, thousands in the stadium and millions more watching around the world on TV thought the fabulous Filipino had been defeated for the first time in 15 fights stretching back over six years.

Pacquiao had entered the fight a prohibitive 1/12 bookies favorite, despite the fact that Marquez, the reigning WBA/WBO lightweight champion, had given him nightmares in their two previous encounters. In 2004, Marquez survived three first round knockdowns to retain his WBA/IBF featherweight titles with a sensational and controversial draw. Four years later, the two met for Marquez's WBC super featherweight title, and this time Pacquiao won a split decision in what was once again a highly exciting yet ultimately controversial fight. 

In part three on Saturday night, the first thing that was apparent was how big Marquez looked in the ring. In his previous sortie at welterweight against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2009, Marquez looked small and inconsequential against the taller, more muscular Mayweather and lost a one-sided unanimous decision. This time around, Marquez has taken a full year away from boiling his body down to the lightweight limit. Since defending his 135 lb belt with a ninth round TKO over Michael Katsidis last November, Marquez has boxed only once - a first round knockout over Likar Ramos in July in which he weighed in at a solid 138 pounds.

In the lead up to this fight, Marquez had been working extensively with controversial strength and conditioning coach Angel Hernandez, the man who once swore before a grand jury in the United States that he had provided Olympic champion Marion Jones with steroids. Without doubt there would have been no such illegalities taking place in the Marquez training camp and the benefits that Hernandez brought to Marquez were 100% natural, but nevertheless he weighed in for Saturday's fight at a ripped and ready142 lbs - just one pound less than Pacquiao. On the night of the fight Marquez looked several pounds heavier again. It was this added bulk and increased strength that played a defining part in the outcome of Saturday's fight.

A the opening bell echoed, straightaway the two combatants slipped easily into their roles as if carrying on from the 12th round of their previous fight three years ago. Pacquiao was always going to be the aggressor, and Marquez the counterpuncher. The Mexican, although always on the back foot, retreats at a snails pace and literally walks backwards in a tight circle, therefore controlling the center of the ring and staying away from the ropes and corners.

Round after round, this tactic worked to perfection. Pacquiao loves to force an opponent on to the ropes so he can tee-off at will, but against Marquez those opportunities were few and far between. 

The first few rounds were close, with Marquez keeping a tight defense, and Pacquiao uncharacteristically cautious about pulling the trigger on his bigger punches. Rounds five through to eight saw Marquez take control, opening up a cut above Pacquiao's right eye with stinging left jabs and sharp right crosses.

32-year-old Pacquiao - six years the younger man - would come on strong from round nine until the final bell, bouncing around on his toes and moving in and out while throwing punches from all angles. The 12th round saw both men tee off at each other, although strangely Marquez's trainer Nacho Berenstein had informed his fighter prior to the final round that he was ahead on points. Had Marquez dominated the 12th, he would've won the fight on a split decision. Instead Pacquiao won the final round on all three scorecards, and that was enough to swing two of the judges in his favor and save his world title.

The scores were 115-113 and 116-112 both for Pacquiao, with the third judge calling it a 114-114 draw. The decision was booed long and loud, as was Pacquiao's post fight interview in the ring with HBO analysts Max Kellerman. So intense was the booing at one point, Pacquiao simply gave up trying to talk.

Close analysis of the fights shows that Pacquiao scored consistently with inside punches which were not as impressive to those at ringside and fans watching on TV as were Marquez's longer, showier punches. Lovers of conspiracies will believe that the result was rigged to save the possibility of a financial blockbuster bout against Mayweather next year. In reality the fight was indeed desperately close, and could have gone either way, but was hardly a daylight robbery.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Marquez did far better than virtually anyone believed he would, and once again he has proved to be the 'Ken Norton' to Manny Pacquiao's 'Muhammad Ali' (it was Norton more than Joe Frazier who drove Ali nuts in the ring, and theoretically could have won all three of their fights, instead of just their first encounter in 1973.)

Marquez was devastated by the defeat, and believes that this third ''robbery'' against Pacquiao in Las Vegas was the worst of all, and expressed doubts about continuing in boxing. Hopefully this proud warrior will go away and lick his wounds, then have a change of heart. Despite being 38 years old and having been a participant in some of the hardest fights in recent ring history, this mighty Mexican still has much to give to the great sports of boxing.

Pacquiao improved his record to 54-3-2 with 38 KOs, while Marquez saw his slate slip to a still impressive 53-6-1 with 39 KOs.

Clearly Pacquiao, his trainer Freddie Roach and his promoter Bob Arum have had more than enough of Marquez, and would prefer to move on to bigger and better options - i.e. a 2012 mega-matchup with WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

However, if that fight cannot be made, and the public demands it, we may yet see Pacquiao v Marquez IV in the very near future.