Las Vegas, NV at the MGM Grand Arena– Manny Pacquiao eked  out a another decision victory over his bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez in their third fight in 7 years.

Like the two previous fights, this fight was a close one. Unlike the previous two bouts, Marquez did not touch the canvas. Marquez was in sensational shape. Nearly each round was up for grabs around the :30 second remaining mark. Pacquiao needed the final two rounds to solidify the majority decision he was awarded.

Leading up to the fight, we were told history would be made from an electric performance from both fighters. We were not disappointed.

During the wait for the decision, Marquez was ran to the ropes to celebrate in jubilation as his fans cheered him on and chanted his name. When the decision was levied, the Mexican Warrior left the ring disgusted, again. ”It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and the three judges, too,” Marquez said.

Manny stayed behind to interview with HBO Ringside correspondent Max Kellerman. The post fight interview was no match for the collective boos from the crowd as they voiced their sentiment for the decision in favor of Pacquiao. Manny Pacquiao finally output Marquez in total punches landed, and in the power punching department. The crowd was not happy with the decision but finally, there’s closure, well at least for Manny, well sorda-kinda. The look of confusion, and helplessness dominated Manny’s face as he gave his best effort to focus on answering Kellerman’s questions about Floyd Mayweather.

Pacquiao won on two scorecards, while the third ringside judge had it a draw. It was a narrow escape for the Filipino congressman, who took as much punishment as he got over 12 rounds, and Marquez was so upset he stormed from the ring.

It didn’t take long for Manny to realize he was in for  along night as Marquez showed even more slipperiness than he did in the previous two bouts. His training paid off. Angel Heredia should be proud.

There was a clashing of heads that caused a cut over pacquiao’s right eye. Freddie Roach, as always did a great job at stopping the bleeding. He didn’t have the same luck stopping Manny’s mouth from bleeding.

Marquez was a 10-to-1 underdog going into the fight. Marquez showed them they were sadly mistaken. One ringside judge had it a 114-114 draw, while two others favored Pacquiao by 115-113 and 116-112. The Associated Press had it 114-114.

Ringside punch stats showed just how close the fight was. Pacquiao was credited with landing 176 of 578 punches, while Marquez landed 138 of 436.

The power punches were even closer, with Pacquiao connecting on 117 to 100 — though Marquez seemed to land the harder punches.

Manny Pacquiao is on a 15 fight winning streak, improving his record to 54-3-2. With this fight, he will earn a minimum of $22 million, while Marquez earns $5 million and falls to 52-6-1.