One of the year's best fights will be remembered for a scoring error that cost one participant a victory.
On Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, WBC featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao knocked down WBA and IBF champ Juan Manuel Marquez three times in a furious first round, then Marquez stormed back and controlled the action the rest of the way.
(Do yourself a favor and catch the replay at 11:15 tonight on HBO2.)
The fight was scored a draw. While two judges had it 115-110 (inexplicably, one judge for Marquez and the other for Pacquiao), Burt Clements scored it 113-113.
But Clements was the only judge who scored the first round 10-7, instead of 10-6 as it should have been. He cost Pacquiao a chance at unifying the division and sent both battered fighters home with the belts they entered with.
Clements was unaware he could have scored the first round 10-6. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he thought the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not want judges scoring a round 10-6.
"It used to be that a three-knockdown round was 10-7," Clements said. "I take full responsibility. Had I been aware, I would have scored it 10-6."
The 10-6 score is not, however, a rule. So Pacquiao has no grounds for a protest.
And maybe he was lucky to get a draw. Most ringside media scored the fight for Marquez, who put on a remarkable display after the first round.
According to CompuBox, the fighters threw 1,186 punches, with Marquez holding an advantage in jabs landed and power punches. It might not have been the fight of the year, but the nonstop action provided more excitement than the four heavyweight title fights held last month combined.
Clements' scoring error meant the victory wasn't delivered to the right fighter. But it might have delivered a rematch to fans.
ECHOLS A WINNER: Dade City native and super-middleweight contender Antwun Echols won on the undercard, a 10-round decision over Ross Thompson by 98-90, 98-92 and 99-91.
NO OSCAR FOR WINKY: Oscar De la Hoya is hinting he will retire after two more fights. St. Petersburg's Winky Wright always has had a desire to fight the "Golden Boy," but it appears his scheduled bouts with Felix Strum next month and Bernard Hopkins in September might be it.
ALI UPDATE: Laila Ali will defend her super-middleweight championship June 12 against Nicki Eplion, then she's leaving the 168-pound division behind.
Ali has said she will relinquish her titles and move up to 175 to challenge Ann Wolfe, one of the few women who can give Ali a good fight. Wolfe won over the weekend, knocking out former University of Tennessee basketball star Vonda Ward in one round.
IBF RUMBLINGS: Heavyweight contender Jameel McCline wants the IBF to reverse an earlier decision and make him the mandatory challenger for Chris Byrd's next title defense. The IBF last week decided Byrd could go ahead with a rematch with Andrew Golota first.
ZZZZZZZ: Heavyweight DaVarryl Williamson, who won the NABF title last month at the Florida State Fairgrounds, takes on former WBO heavyweight champion Ray Mercer June 8 in Hollywood, Fla., on ESPN's first Tuesday Night Fight telecast of the year.
Mercer is 43, Williamson is 35.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
