Pacquiao vs. Mayweather: Who’s the Best of the Era?

By Kelsey McCarson
 
Al Bernstein knows more about boxing than me. To be totally fair to him, it’s probably safe to say the recently inducted Hall of Famer has actually forgotten more about boxing at this point in his storied career than I know in total.
 
Bernstein has done it all as a boxing media member, and he’s done it well. He started as a newspaperman in the 1970s. Soon, he was contributing to Boxing Illustrated and RING Magazine. From 1980 to 1998, he was analyst and host of ESPN’s Top Rank Boxing show. In fact, from 1980 to 2003, Bernstein was the primary voice of boxing for ESPN. And, as you well know, since 2003 Bernstein has been lead boxing analyst for Showtime. He’s also the primary face and leader of our sister site, Boxing Channel.

Like I said, he’s done it all.
 
One of his signature shows over at ESPN was the Big Fights Boxing Hour. He wrote and hosted 26 episodes of the program, which chronicled some of the biggest fights in boxing history. Honestly, my first encounter with many of the finer points of boxing history came through watching these shows, where old-time masters like Sugar Ray Robinson and Jack Dempsey came to life again through the magic of film.
 
So when I chatted with Bernstein recently, I couldn’t help but ask him to compare legacies between the two preeminent fighters of this era, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Who is the greatest of this era, as of today? If I’m honest with myself, I was probably hoping Bernstein would validate my opinion on the matter: Mayweather is an all-time great, but Pacquiao is an all-time greater.
 
Look, I’m not saying Pacquiao would’ve beaten Mayweather at welterweight back when the fight should’ve happened around 2009-10. (I’m not not saying it either). But I submit to you, dear reader, that Pacquiao’s wins, both the men he fought and when he fought them, measure slightly better than Mayweather’s grand accomplishment of staying undefeated.
 
Sure, it’s close. But Pacquiao’s three best wins before he moved up to welterweight (Barrera, Morales and Marquez) are better than any one win Mayweather has enjoyed over his entire career. Right?
 
And his losses? Give me the fighter who tests himself over the one that doesn’t. I want to see a fighter go beyond his limits, and when he reaches them and gets knocked to the ground, I want to see if he can get back up again.
 
But what does Bernstein say on the matter? First, I asked him about the fight that never got made. What would a Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Superfight have looked like back in 2009?
 
“That would’ve been fun,” Bernstein said. “I always thought that version of Manny Pacquiao had a chance to do rather well against Mayweather. I mean, I may have been wrong based on what has transpired since, but I always thought that the fight would have been really interesting during that time period because of the speed and activity of Pacquiao. That was an A level fighter in Manny Pacquiao who had confidence that was skyrocketing and all the rest of it.”
 
So Pacquiao is on the same level as Mayweather at welterweight? Among the greatest of the greats?
 
“Now at those weight divisions, [Pacquiao] is not a Ray Leonard or a Tommy Hearns or a Roberto Duran. Down at featherweight, around those areas, to me he is one of the biggest superstars of all-time along with Barrera, Marquez and Morales. He’s not [quite at that level] at the higher weights, but still terrific.”
 
http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/17432-mayweather-vs-pacquiao-whos-best-of-the-era

Manny has the better wins but loses a fight with Floyd regardless of the weight. It depends the the emphasis you place on each criteria but I would plump for Mayweather over Manny, with not a great deal in it.

Floyd for me but Manny a close second.

Brave man posting this Haz, partiality seems to go out the window, whenever these get fused together.

As Jack alluded too, Pacquaio has the better W column for me. He tanked a raging Barrera in spectacular form back in 03 and that's a win that's downplayed for whatever reason. Add Morales, the Cotto victory and Floyd doesn't trump that for me, I'd say Corrales is the best win in Floyds column. However you add Floyd is undefeated and still performing incredibly well, I won't dwell on longevity as Mayweather has terribly long spells of inactivity. Very close to separate prob edge Mayweather but wouldn't argue if you rated Pacquiao higher.

Cheers Rodders

Even ignoring the early losses when he weighed about as much as a wet bag of sugar, you'd have to look at the manner in which Manny has struggled with certain opponents (despite the wins, Marquez has really had his number and made him look poor) and when you combine this with Manny's inability to wear the right socks (still the greatest excuse ever), you have to mark him down.
 
Mayweather has rarely struggled to that degree in a contest and you can count the times he's been troubled on the fingers of one hand. Always wears the right socks too!

Bernstein gives Manny credit for losing and having another go...therefore Audley must be his fav fighter of all time

Al Bernstein's top 10 fighters........

4. Joe Louis
5. Muhammad Ali
7. Jack Johnson
8. Marvin hagler
9. Roberto Duran.......

Rebuttal complete..

Good point Truss , I'd never have Ali that high.

Cheers Rodders

Give me the fighter who tests himself over the one that doesn’t.

The above quote comes from the guy who has Jack Johnson at seven. Good point Al because if you are looking for a title reign that is the definition of testing yourself Johnson's really is the gold standard.

Manny is great and has great wins, but there's no way you can put him in front of Floyd as the best of the era.

Id go with a Mayweather win over Pacquiao via a close UD of they fought. Mayweather handles all styles it seems but has yet to come across a pacman style.

I think he starts slow and takes over from 4/5 onwards. Wins around 115-113 or 116-123.

In terms of legacy id again go with mayweather. Pacquiao may have some terrific wins (Barrera, Cotto, Morales) but he has had some shocking losses, especially early on.

Mayweather, as Dave points out, has rarely been troubled and has never looked second best in any of his 40+ fights.

a good win last time out against his supposed toughest to date, and for me he outclassed Alvarez.

Mayweather top 5 ATG and Pacquiao around the 12/13 mark, possibly.

And i meant 116-112 not 116-123 (unless he fought in Macau)

Carl Froch

I'd rather watch a hundred Manny fights than one Mayweather but I'll agree that Floyd is the better of the two across their entire careers. I do however suspect that the Manny that smashed ODLH, Hatton, Cotto etc would have given Floyd his toughtest ever fight and I reckon Manny would have taken a split decision based on workrate. I cant see Floyd getting KO'd but I reckon Manny would have attacked constantly for 12 rounds.

I believe this fight will still happen, probably as Floyd's retirement fight, but it'll be a pale imitation of the one we should have got 3 or 4 years ago.

It's hard to go about tasks like these with too much logical rigour in my opinion. The best way for two men of roughly the same size to decide who is better at boxing is to have a boxing match, and since these two notably failed to do so, any decision regarding their comparative status is going to be very opinion based, given the stellar nature of both men's careers. With that in mind, I go for Mayweather based on the gut instinct that he is the superior fighter. Having said that, I do think Pacquiao is around twice as good as Mayweather's best opponent, who I take to be Corrales or De La Hoya.

Must say I find it amusing that the Op is willing to give Manny a pass on his defeats because he's fought the best...If it means he goes above Mayweather...

When the Op regularly holds Oscar's defeats against him even though he lost to great fighters and fought the best..

Not suggesting hypocrisy or anything like that........

I imagine Haz does agree with Bernstein....He does stick it to Floyd regularly on here........Hence this article I suspect....

Manny would be eating straight right hands all night long. Marquez was able to land this punch often so imagine what a guy with Mayweathers speed will do.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Al Bernstein's top 10 fighters........

4. Joe Louis
5. Muhammad Ali
7. Jack Johnson
8. Marvin hagler
9. Roberto Duran.......

Rebuttal complete..

I think this post sums it up (and it's not often I say that about one of Truss's posts )

mobilemaster8 wrote:

Pacquiao may have some terrific wins (Barrera, Cotto, Morales) but he has had some shocking losses, especially early on.

I'd question how shocking they were. I'm assuming you're referring to his losses against Medgoen Singsurat & Rustico Torrecampo, both of which were 3rd round KOs.

It's hard to comment on the Torrecampo loss as I know nothing about the guy and what goes on in the murky end of the local Philipino boxing scene, but Singsurat has 51 KOs from 74 wins so he's no slouch.

Also, worth mentioning that later in the article Bernstein goes on to praise Mayweather quite thoroughly, not that one would accuse the OP of having an agenda or anything by only copying the first half

This is an interesting discussion and one that I feel has been neglected over the years.

A thread about Mayweathers greatness? Whatever next!

both Manny and Flloyd are more interested in money than greatness. that's why they never fought each other. the fight was not as lucrative as most predicted, not when you consider they would both have to drop their percentage considerably and take into account the risk factor of losing and diminishing their future earning potential. They have both had great careers and although I always predicted Flloyd would win a fight between them we will never know for sure. You can mark both guys careers down a bit for not having fought the best viable opposition, but I don't think they will care, not when they look at their families wealth being secured for several generations.

Whenever Manny's 'best wins' are discussed Morales is always mentioned. Which win was the best? The one were Morales was coming into the fight after losing to Zahir Raheem and complaining that he was having a hard time fighting at 130lbs? Or the second win were Morales once again had to make 130lbs and lost his third fight in a row?

Though we seem in unanimous agreement that Floyd is the best..

One has to remember Bernstein is a historian.......of sorts..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Must say I find it amusing that the Op is willing to give Manny a pass on his defeats because he's fought the best...If it means he goes above Mayweather...

When the Op regularly holds Oscar's defeats against him even though he lost to great fighters and fought the best..

Not suggesting hypocrisy or anything like that........

I imagine Haz does agree with Bernstein....He does stick it to Floyd regularly on here........Hence this article I suspect....

I don't rate Pacquiao higher but I think they belong together and so if you rate Floyd top ten (I certainly wouldn't) then I can't understand why you wouldn't rank Pacquiao equally as high.

Oscar didn't win a big one, which is different to fighters such as Pacquiao, Marquez, Hearns, Leonard and others who won a few big fights and lost others (because they were willing to fight the best).

Also, Bernstein is non-committal and in fact quite effusive in his praise of Floyd.

I just thought it was an interesting point that there isn't anything between them when rating them all time.

*Oscar didn't win a big one convincingly

Atila wrote:Whenever Manny's 'best wins' are discussed Morales is always mentioned. Which win was the best? The one were Morales was coming into the fight after losing to Zahir Raheem and complaining that he was having a hard time fighting at 130lbs? Or the second win were Morales once again had to make 130lbs and lost his third fight in a row?

good point. personally I think Morales goes against him in this argument. He showed how to beat Pac. Nobody has done that with Mayweather yet

There are a few things seperating Mayweather and Pacquiao.

1. Marquez, it does go against Pacquiao that there is a problem he simply cannot solve and while Mayweather struggled with Castillo he put it right second time around.

2. Talent, Mayweather is the most supremely talented boxer since Leonard, he has a style that can overcome anything while Pacquiao has obvious vulnerabilities to counter punchers as both Marquez and Morales showed.

3. It's often said that Pacquiao has the better wins but to be honest it is just Barrera that seperates them, an inshape Morales beat him and in the second and third fights he was in the midst of an awful run of form.

Mayweather top ten, Pacquiao top twenty with a decent bit of breathing space between them. As always a very one sided view in the OP, facing the best only means something if you beat them all, you don't get credit for losing fights unless it's close.

I will add however that the losses to Torrecampo and Singsurat shouldn't be used against Pacquiao, we don't use the early losses of Henry Armstrong against him. Should also note that Singsurat is an accomplished boxer/puncher in his own right, he's not a cab driver like he's been described as by a certain poster.

hazharrison wrote:I don't rate Pacquiao higher but I think they belong together and so if you rate Floyd top ten (I certainly wouldn't) then I can't understand why you wouldn't rank Pacquiao equally as high.

Because Floyd wins.

If who you face is all that counts, Sunderland have been as good as Arsenal this season.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:There are a few things seperating Mayweather and Pacquiao.

1. Marquez, it does go against Pacquiao that there is a problem he simply cannot solve and while Mayweather struggled with Castillo he put it right second time around.

2. Talent, Mayweather is the most supremely talented boxer since Leonard, he has a style that can overcome anything while Pacquiao has obvious vulnerabilities to counter punchers as both Marquez and Morales showed.

3. It's often said that Pacquiao has the better wins but to be honest it is just Barrera that seperates them, an inshape Morales beat him and in the second and third fights he was in the midst of an awful run of form.

Mayweather top ten, Pacquiao top twenty with a decent bit of breathing space between them. As always a very one sided view in the OP, facing the best only means something if you beat them all, you don't get credit for losing fights unless it's close.

I will add however that the losses to Torrecampo and Singsurat shouldn't be used against Pacquiao, we don't use the early losses of Henry Armstrong against him. Should also note that Singsurat is an accomplished boxer/puncher in his own right, he's not a cab driver like he's been described as by a certain poster.

Marquez is a great fighter - naturally similar in size - and a far better fighter than Castillo. Not sure I follow that one? Both Castillo fights were close in the same way the Marquez fights were close (save the last one - which was unusual to say the least).

Talent shouldn't factor too high when rating fighters. No- one ranks Meldrick Taylor or Herol Graham in the top 100 fighters.

The wins over Barrera, Morales and Marquez trump anything Floyd has on his record (multiple wins with regard to the last two).

I'd rate both outside the top 20 but they'd sit together as of right now - don't see how they couldn't if we're judging them on achievements?

Scottrf wrote:

hazharrison wrote:I don't rate Pacquiao higher but I think they belong together and so if you rate Floyd top ten (I certainly wouldn't) then I can't understand why you wouldn't rank Pacquiao equally as high.

Because Floyd wins.

If who you face is all that counts, Sunderland have been as good as Arsenal this season.

You don't know that. You can only rate them on the work they got done.

I meant the fights they've had, not if they fought.

Lance wrote:

Atila wrote:Whenever Manny's 'best wins' are discussed Morales is always mentioned. Which win was the best? The one were Morales was coming into the fight after losing to Zahir Raheem and complaining that he was having a hard time fighting at 130lbs? Or the second win were Morales once again had to make 130lbs and lost his third fight in a row?

good point. personally I think Morales goes against him in this argument. He showed how to beat Pac. Nobody has done that with Mayweather yet

To be fair to Pacquiao the cut he sustained in round five played a major part (and he wrecked Morales in returns).

Scottrf wrote:I meant the fights they've had, not if they fought.

Really? I think Pacquiao has the better wins.

Well Pacquiaos win over Morales is no different to Mayweathers over De La Hoya, as for Marquez he's won one and lost three in my opinion so don't think you can credit him with that. If it based purely on the three best wins and taking nothing else into consideration then Pacquiao is on top but you also have to factor in wins below that. Mayweather numerous very good wins not necessarily any great ones but even then Pacquiao himself only has the one. When comparing two boxers you rate around the same then ability does come into it, Mayweather lives with the greats between 130-154lbs far better than Pacquiao does between 122-147lbs.

The first Castillo fight was close the way the Marquez fights were close but the rematch was a clear cut victory with no doubt over the result, some believe Pacquiao has lost all four Marquez fights. He has a bogeyman but Mayweather doesn't, that is because one is head and shoulders above his peers while the other isn't.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Well Pacquiaos win over Morales is no different to Mayweathers over De La Hoya, as for Marquez he's won one and lost three in my opinion so don't think you can credit him with that. If it based purely on the three best wins and taking nothing else into consideration then Pacquiao is on top but you also have to factor in wins below that. Mayweather numerous very good wins not necessarily any great ones but even then Pacquiao himself only has the one. When comparing two boxers you rate around the same then ability does come into it, Mayweather lives with the greats between 130-154lbs far better than Pacquiao does between 122-147lbs.

The first Castillo fight was close the way the Marquez fights were close but the rematch was a clear cut victory with no doubt over the result, some believe Pacquiao has lost all four Marquez fights. He has a bogeyman but Mayweather doesn't, that is because one is head and shoulders above his peers while the other isn't.

I'm not sure on your Morales/De la Hoya call. Oscar was a part-time fighter when he fought Floyd. It was only his 6th fight in 4 years where he went 3-3 (including a gift against Sturm). He only scored legit wins over dog meat versions of Campas and Mayorga. He didn't do a thing post Floyd.

Morales, too, was a shade past his best but, as the narrow victory over Pacquiao had shown, he wasn't that far removed from his best.

I agree the second Castillo fight was a solid win for Floyd but we're talking 7-5 in rounds which was extremely close (despite being clear).

While some feel Marquez won three of four Pacquiao fights there are probably as many if not more who voted the other way. Pulling out the knockdown in the rematch was a great moment.

The fights with Morales, Marquez and Barrera trump those over Castillo, Hernandez and Corrales.

Post lightweight they fought similar opposition (Oscar, Hatton, Cotto, Mosley). Mayweather has Alvarez, Guerrero and erm Ortiz. Pacquiao has Clottey, Margarito and Bradley.

Taking personal preferences out if it - there's not a lot between them.

I very much doubt that the majority think Pacquiao has the upper hand in the series with Marquez, the second fight is the only one he has a claim to.

With regards to Morales I was thinking more that he was in the middle of losing 5 out of 6 fights which certainly does not suggest a fighter on top of his game, losing to Raheem too is not a good sign.

Why bring up the Sturm robbery but ignore the juiced up Mosley loss? A clear vendetta possibly.

hazharrison wrote:The fights with Morales, Marquez and Barrera trump those over Castillo, Hernandez and Corrales.

Post lightweight they fought similar opposition (Oscar, Hatton, Cotto, Mosley). Mayweather has Alvarez, Guerrero and erm Ortiz. Pacquiao has Clottey, Margarito and Bradley.

Taking personal preferences out if it - there's not a lot between them.

Mayweather has no losses to those opponents above Lightweight while Pacquiao has two but I might as well start waxing lyrical about Len Morrow if it's only about your three best wins. Wins over Bivins, Moore and Lytell trump those over Morales, Marquez but lets ignore that he also lost to them too but the win column is all that matters.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I very much doubt that the majority think Pacquiao has the upper hand in the series with Marquez, the second fight is the only one he has a claim to.

With regards to Morales I was thinking more that he was in the middle of losing 5 out of 6 fights which certainly does not suggest a fighter on top of his game, losing to Raheem too is not a good sign.

Why bring up the Sturm robbery but ignore the juiced up Mosley loss? A clear vendetta possibly.

Hardly a vendetta. I don't feel strongly enough about him. Throw out the Mosley fight and you still have an Oscar way past his best (in 2007).

Morales was only around a year removed from battling Pacquiao and Barrera to the wire. Different case entirely (he also had something of a rennaisance years later).

Beg to differ regarding Pac-Marquez and whatever your view the first three were close enough for argument (in the same manner Floyd's first fight with Castillo was). Wasn't he something of a bogeyman for Floyd?

hazharrison wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I very much doubt that the majority think Pacquiao has the upper hand in the series with Marquez, the second fight is the only one he has a claim to.

With regards to Morales I was thinking more that he was in the middle of losing 5 out of 6 fights which certainly does not suggest a fighter on top of his game, losing to Raheem too is not a good sign.

Why bring up the Sturm robbery but ignore the juiced up Mosley loss? A clear vendetta possibly.

Hardly a vendetta. I don't feel strongly enough about him. Throw out the Mosley fight and you still have an Oscar way past his best (in 2007).

Morales was only around a year removed from battling Pacquiso and Barrera to the wire. Different case entirely (he also had something of a rennaisance years later).

Beg to differ regarding Pac-Marquez and whatever your view the first three were close enough for argument (in the same manner Floyd's first fight with Castillo was). Wasn't he something of a bogeyman for Floyd?

No-one outside of the Bradley household thinks Pacquiao lost that fight. And the Marquez defeat was suspicious to say the least (not that I'm a Pacquiao sympathiser - he, too, utilised a "conditioner" with eye-opening results).

The third fight was in no way close, it is one of the worst judging decisions of recent years equalled by Pacquiaos loss to Bradley. I would say that Castillo is not a bogeyman as Mayweather solved the problem something Pacquiao hasn't managed to do, he hasn't had a single clear cut victory out of four. A year can be a long time in boxing especially when you go from beating Pacman to losing to Raheem, either way it doesn't change that Morales beat him first time round anyway.

Thing is Haz if we rightfully acknowledge that he beat Bradley we at the same time have to acknowledge he lost the third Marquez fight, either way he lost twice to similar opposition that Mayweather has comfortably been beating.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:There are a few things seperating Mayweather and Pacquiao.

1. Marquez, it does go against Pacquiao that there is a problem he simply cannot solve and while Mayweather struggled with Castillo he put it right second time around.

2. Talent, Mayweather is the most supremely talented boxer since Leonard, he has a style that can overcome anything while Pacquiao has obvious vulnerabilities to counter punchers as both Marquez and Morales showed.

3. It's often said that Pacquiao has the better wins but to be honest it is just Barrera that seperates them, an inshape Morales beat him and in the second and third fights he was in the midst of an awful run of form.

Mayweather top ten, Pacquiao top twenty with a decent bit of breathing space between them. As always a very one sided view in the OP, facing the best only means something if you beat them all, you don't get credit for losing fights unless it's close.

Seems like a fair assessment to me.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:The third fight was in no way close, it is one of the worst judging decisions of recent years equalled by Pacquiaos loss to Bradley. I would say that Castillo is not a bogeyman as Mayweather solved the problem something Pacquiao hasn't managed to do, he hasn't had a single clear cut victory out of four. A year can be a long time in boxing especially when you go from beating Pacman to losing to Raheem, either way it doesn't change that Morales beat him first time round anyway.

I thought Marquez won the third fight but the Bradley decision was something else.

I'm not sure Mayweather worked Castillo out - I could certainly have stood a third fight.

The Morales fight was close (first one) and, as I stated earlier, the cut played a big part (great win for Morales, though). Pacquiao put that one right, though.

Losing isn't a crime when it's a close loss against a fellow great.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Thing is Haz if we rightfully acknowledge that he beat Bradley we at the same time have to acknowledge he lost the third Marquez fight, either way he lost twice to similar opposition that Mayweather has comfortably been beating.

Different cases - there were some who scored the third match for Pacquiao (it was a tough fight to score - Pacquiao was a hive of activity and some judges go for that).

I don't know a single soul who scored for Bradley.

Well if you think the third Marquez fight was close then that's me out of the discussion, you quite clearly have not seen that fight.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

hazharrison wrote:The fights with Morales, Marquez and Barrera trump those over Castillo, Hernandez and Corrales.

Post lightweight they fought similar opposition (Oscar, Hatton, Cotto, Mosley). Mayweather has Alvarez, Guerrero and erm Ortiz. Pacquiao has Clottey, Margarito and Bradley.

Taking personal preferences out if it - there's not a lot between them.

Mayweather has no losses to those opponents above Lightweight while Pacquiao has two but I might as well start waxing lyrical about Len Morrow if it's only about your three best wins. Wins over Bivins, Moore and Lytell trump those over Morales, Marquez but lets ignore that he also lost to them too but the win column is all that matters.

I'm not sure that's a valid comparison. Pacquiao also happened to have taken Floyd's mantle as the best fighter in the sport.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Well if you think the third Marquez fight was close then that's me out of the discussion, you quite clearly have not seen that fight.

Why would I pretend to have seen a fight? I scored for Marquez (by a few rounds) but others didn't and it wasn't an easy fight to score.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (3rd meeting)
CompuBox Punchstats
Total Punches Pacquiao Marquez
Landed 176 138
Thrown 578 436
Pct. 30% 32%
Jabs Pacquiao Marquez
Landed 59 38
Thrown 304 182
Pct. 19% 21%
Power Punches Pacquiao Marquez
Landed 117 100
Thrown 274 254
Pct. 43% 39%
2011-11-12 : Manny Pacquiao 143 lbs beat Juan Manuel Marquez 142 lbs by MD in round 12 of 12
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Referee: Tony Weeks
Judge: Dave Moretti 115-113
Judge: Robert Hoyle 114-114
Judge: Glenn Trowbridge 116-112
World Boxing Organization Welterweight Title (3rd defense by Pacquiao)
Promoters: Top Rank, Golden Boy Promotions
Ring Announcer: Michael Buffer
Aired on: HBO Pay-Per-View (Main Event)

Notes


Catchweight: 144 lbs.
Weigh-in photos: [1]
HBO 36 second highlights (approved clip) plus post fight Yahoo Sports Commentary by Alan Springer. [2]
There were no knockdowns in the bout.
Pacquiao was cut by an accidental headbutt in the tenth round. The cut required twenty-eight stitches.
Had Marquez won the 12th round on Judge Dave Moretti's scorecard, the bout would have ended up as a draw.
HBO polled a group of boxing writers and experts; 46% saw Marquez winning, 42% saw it a draw, 12% saw Pacquiao winning.
Sports writer Kevin Iole in the post fight video commentary stated that the controversial ending in Pacquiao-Marquez III presented a better case for a fourth match between the two, and predicted Floyd Mayweather would fight Amir Khan instead on May 5, 2012. Khan then lost a split decision to Lamont Peterson the following month. Mayweather and Miguel Cotto then agreed to fight on May 5.
CompuBox statistics showed that, in terms of overall landed punches, Pacquiao out-landed Marquez in nine rounds. Marquez out-landed Pacquiao in one (Round 8). They landed an equal number in two (Rounds 3 & 9). In terms of power punches landed, according to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao out-landed Marquez in eight of the rounds.
After the decision was announced, some of the pro-Marquez crowd reacted by throwing food, ice, and beer; a beer can hit a ringside writer, though no injuries were reported.
Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, Marquez's trainer, indicated that he would pursue legal action against the judges shortly after the fight; however, he has yet to do so.
The bout generated 1.4 million pay per view buys, a figure which equaled the second highest for a non-heavyweight bout in boxing history (tied with the September 18, 1999, bout between Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya and the May 7, 2010, match between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley).

Unofficial scorecards



Official scorecards
Blake Dreisbach, BleacherReport.com: 116-112 Marquez
Gabriel Montoya, MaxBoxing.com: 116-112 Marquez
Ron Borges, The Sweet Science/Boston Herald/Ring Magazine: 117-112 Marquez
Tim Smith, New York Daily News: 116-112 Marquez
Lem Satterfield, Ring Magazine: 117-111 Marquez
Mark Lyons, 8CountNews.com: 116-112 Marquez
Michael Marley, The Examiner: 115-113 Marquez
Mike Coppinger, RingTV.com: 115-113 Marquez
Al Bernstein: 115-113 Marquez
Wayne McCullough: 115-113 Marquez
Ryan Maquinana, BoxingScene.com: 116-113 Marquez
Matt Hamilton, EsNews.com: 116-115 Marquez
Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal: 115-113 Marquez
Bob Sheridan: 115-114 Marquez
John Katsilometes, Las Vegas Sun: 115-114 Marquez
Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com: 117-113 Marquez
Bill Dwyer, Los Angeles Times: 115-113 Marquez
Pedro Fernandez, RingTalk.com: 116-113 Marquez
Chris Williams, BoxingNews24.com: 117-111 Marquez
Eric Raskin, TheSweetScience.com: 116-112 Marquez
Lyle Fitzsimmons, The Sports Network: 116-112 Marquez
Steve Bunce, BBC: 117-111 Marquez
Matt Lynch, BoxingToday: 116-112 Marquez
Chuck Giampa, Retired Boxing Judge: 116-112 Marquez
Glyn Leach, Boxing Monthly: 115-113 Marquez
Briggs Seekins, BleacherReport.com: 115-113 Marquez
Oly Goldstein, BadLeftHook.com: 116-112 Marquez
Johnny Benz, DogHouseBoxing.com: 118-111 Marquez
Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times: 115-113 Marquez
George Willis, New York Post: 115-113 Marquez
Rich Thomas, ProBoxing-Fans.com: 116-112 Marquez
Raj Parmar, 3MoreRounds.com: 115-113 Marquez
Norm Frauenheim, 15Rounds.com: 115-113 Marquez
Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports: 115-113 Marquez
James Slater, EastSideBoxing.com: 116-112 Marquez
Nick Tylwalk, BoxingWatchers.com: 115-113 Marquez
Bob Velin, USAToday: 115-113 Marquez
Chris Manix, Sports Illustrated: 116-112 Marquez
Igor Guryashkin, ESPN: Marquez by one round
Brent Brookhouse, SB Nation: 115-113 Marquez
Will Cooling, FOX Sports/InsideFights: 118-110 Marquez
Andrew Fruman, The Boxing Bulletin: 116-112 Marquez
Ben Thompson, FightHype.com: 115-113 Marquez
Rich Marotta, KFI Los Angeles: 115-113Marquez
Dan Ambrose, BoxingNews24.com: 116-112 Marquez
Kevin Mitchell, The Guardian: 117-114 Marquez
Paul Magno, The Boxing Tribune: 115-113 Marquez
Jerry Izenberg, Newark Star-Ledger: 115-114 Marquez
Robert Morales, Los Angeles Daily News: 116-112 Marquez
Scott Christ, Bad Left Hook: 115-113 Marquez
Fox Doucette, The Boxing Tribune: 115-113 Marquez
Henry Ramirez, Boxing Trainer: 116-113 Marquez
Thomas Hauser, SecondsOut.com: 116-113 Marquez
Gerardo Granados, BoxingNews24.com: 116-112 Marquez
Robert Guerrero: 116-112 Marquez
Steve Kim, MaxBoxing.com: 115-113 Marquez
Graham Shaw, SportingLife.com: 116-113 Marquez
Max Kellerman, HBO: 114-114 Draw
Brian Arman Graham, Sports Illustrated: 114-114 Draw
Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press: 114-114 Draw
Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports: 114-114 Draw
Kieran Mulvaney, ESPN/Reuters: 114-114 Draw
Dan Rafael, ESPN: 114-114 Draw
Brian Campbell, ESPN Mobile: 114-114 Draw
george Elsasser, BraggingRightsCorner.com: 114-114 Draw
Jake Emen, ProBoxing-Fans.com: 114-114 Draw
Anthony Whitby, BoxingIQ.com: 114-114 Draw
Jeff Powell, The Daily Mail (UK): 114-114 Draw
Pace Miller, BleacherReport.com: 114-114 Draw
Gareth Davies, London Telegraph: 114-114 Draw
Larry Merchant, HBO: 114-114 Draw
Elie Seckbach, ESNews.com/AOL News: 114-114 Draw
Roy Jones, Jr.: Draw
Joe Bruiser, FightFan.com: 116-116 Draw
Michael Wright, ESPNChicago.com: Draw
Mark Lichtenfeld, Ring Announcer/Member, Ring Magazine Ratings Panel: 114-114 Draw
Teddy June, RingJunkies.com: 114-114 Draw
Rick Reeno, BoxingScene.com: 114-114 Draw
Robert Ecksel, Boxing.com: 114-114 Draw
Frank Baltazar, Fight Manager/Inductee, California Boxing Hall of Fame: 115-115 Draw
Justin Tate, BleacherReport.com: 114-114 Draw
Doug Fischer, Ring Magazine: 114-114 Draw
Steve Carp, Las Vegas Review-Journal: 114-114 Draw
Gary Andrew Pool, The Atlantic: 114-114 Draw
Beau Denison, SportsPageMagazine.com: 114-114 Draw
Daniel Herbert, Boxing News: 114-114 Draw
Leighton Ginn, Desert Sun (Palm Springs): 114-114 Draw
Doveed Linder, BoxingTalk.com: 114-114 Draw
Bob Papa, HBO: 114-114 Draw
Andrew Eisele, Boxing.about.com: 115-115 Draw
Charles Horgan, Boxing Tribune: 114-114 Draw
Gordon Marino, The Wall Street Journal: 114-114 Draw (Note: At the end of his live blog of the fight, he indicated his belief that Marquez had won; however, in his round-by-round, he scored Rounds 1-2, 5-7 and 12 for Marquez and Rounds 3-4 and 8-11 for Pacquiao.)
Kevin Cunningham, Boxing Trainer: Draw
Harold Lederman, HBO: 116-112 Pacquiao
Joseph Herron, FightSaga: 116-112 Pacquiao
Cliff Rold, BoxingScene.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Will Carroll, Sports Illustrated: 116-112 Pacquiao
Allen Barra, The Atlantic: 116-113 Pacquiao
Chris Koegler, TheRealHook.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
David Kassel, FightHype.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Rob Rutz, MyBoxingFans.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Sean Sullivan, BoxingDigest: 115-114 Pacquiao
Ted Sares, Boxing.com: 116-112 Pacquiao
Brian Mazique, BleacherReport.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Glen Anglin, BoxingNews24.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Michael Rosenthal, Editor, Ring Magazine: 115-113 Pacquiao
Skip Bayless, ESPN: 116-112 Pacquiao
Jake Donovan, BoxingScene.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Ken Hissner, DogHouseBoxing.com: 118-110 Pacquiao
Bill Shimizu, Examiner.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Massimo Lopes Pegna, La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy): 115-114 Pacquiao
James Foley, BleacherReport.com: 115-114 Pacquiao
Anthony Lee, BoxingNews24.com: 116-112 Pacquiao
John McCormick, BoxingTalk.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Graham Houston, FightWriter.com/FightNews.com/ESPN: 115-113 Pacquiao
Nick Fors, Pasionsports.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Ronald Geronimo, NowBoxing.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Danny Serratelli, EastSideBoxing.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Ace Freeman, FightFan.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Sean Faye, Eurosport Yahoo!: 116-115 Pacquiao
Scott Shaffer, BoxingTalk.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Nate Ravitz, ESPN: 117-111 Pacquiao
Mike Chiari, BleacherReport.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Patrick L. Stumberg, SBNation: 115-113 Pacquiao
Colin Seymour, FrontPageBoxing.com/Examiner.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Jason Peck, EastSideBoxing.com: 116-112 Pacquiao
Steve Busfield, The Guardian: 116-114 Pacquiao
Nick Fox, Bad Left Hook: 115-113 Pacquiao
Stephen Edwards, BoxingTalk.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Max Parker, Boxing Watchers: 115-114 Pacquiao
Adam Hirshfield, Bleacher Report.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
King J Gladney, BleacherReport.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Ben Weisman, BoxingAsylum.com: 116-113 Pacquiao
Ken Pollitt, the13thround.com: 116-113 Pacquiao
Michael David Smith, AOL NEWS/MMA Fighting.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Madra Uladh, EastSideBoxing.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Michael Woods, ESPN/TheSweetScience.com: 115-114 Pacquiao
Brad Cooney, 8CountNews.com/Examiner.com: Pacquiao by one round
"Old Yank" Schneider, Boxing.com: 115-114 Pacquiao
Greg Leon, BoxingTalk.com: 115-114 Pacquiao
Steve Marzolf, InsideHBOBoxing.com: 115-114 Pacquiao
Darrell La Montre, BoxingTalk.com: 115-113 Pacquiao
Terra (Brazil): 116-112 Pacquiao
Joel Huerto, SportsFanLive: 115-113 Pacquiao
None of the above scores for Marquez or a draw is from Mexican media/boxers.
None of the above scores for Pacquiao or a draw is from Philippine media/boxers.
Among the unofficial scorers above, 57 scored the bout for Marquez, 51 scored the bout for Pacquiao, and the remaining 36 scored the bout a draw.