Pacquiao escapes with a win

LAS VEGAS (AP):

The 28 stitches over his right eye weren't enough to keep Manny Pacquiao from headlining his own post-fight concert, which went on as usual into the early morning hours on the Las Vegas Strip.

They certainly won't keep him from his next fight, though that's the only sure thing when it comes to Pacquiao's immediate future.

He escaped with a win Saturday night against Juan Manuel Marquez, but that only tells part of the story. Seemingly invincible over the past three years, he looked anything but in scoring a majority decision over his Mexican nemesis in a win that enraged both Marquez and thousands of his supporters who packed the MGM Grand arena.

Sheer aggression

Pacquiao needed to win a few late rounds to pull out a decision almost as close as the one he won from Marquez in their fight three years ago. Pacquiao won the fight by sheer aggression, though Marquez seemed to land the harder punches, especially with his right hand.

One judge scored the fight even, as did The Associated Press. Two others had Pacquiao winning, 115-113 and 116-112. When the decision was announced, an infuriated Marquez stormed from the ring in protest and fans started throwing beer bottles toward the ring.

"For me, the best judges are the audience and you see how they responded," Marquez said. "I don't know what type of performance I need to give. It was a robbery once again."

"It could have gone either way," said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer. "I thought Manny edged it out in the last two rounds."