The race is over. If any Fighter of the Year award for 2008 goes to any fighter besides Manny Pacquiao, it's bogus. Let's recap Pacquiao's incredible 2008:

• March 15: Pacquiao beats Juan Manuel Marquez in a thrilling rematch via split decision, capturing the vacant Ring Magazine crown as junior lightweight world champion. I scored it razor-thin for Marquez, but it was a toss-up fight and a Fight of the Year candidate. The fight did phenomenal PPV numbers, coming in with around 400,000 buys, an astonishing mark for a card headlined by 130-pound boxers.
• June 28: Pacquiao moves up to 135 pounds for the first time, dismantling David Diaz and knocking him out in the ninth round. Pacquiao uses the extra five pounds well, looking stronger and even faster than ever. The world agrees David Diaz is no world-class fighter, but also not a pushover. And he was never in the fight.
• December 6: "The Dream Match" arrives, and Pacquiao makes it a nightmare for Oscar de la Hoya. Pacquiao embarrasses and humbles de la Hoya, forcing the Golden Boy to quit after eight rounds of punishment. Moving up to 147 pounds has no effect on his speed whatsoever. He is a fighting machine that has no peer in the sport, pound-for-pound.

Photo © Isaac Brekken / AP

Both men fought. Both men bled. Both men put it all on the line, and left every ounce of energy they had in the ring.

One man won, and one man lost. Whether or not I agree that Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez last night (I scored it 114-113 for Marquez), the fact of the matter is that two of three ringside judges saw what was a tight, hotly-contested, and wonderful fight go the way of the Filipino superstar, Pacquiao.

Every time one seemed to have a definitive edge, his foe came storming back into the fight. The ebb and flow was amazing.

Manny is now 46-3-2, and Marquez is 48-4-1. That's the way it is.

Sadly, though, it rarely just ends that way. Yes, the Marquez camp has the right to say they won the fight in their own minds. And if Juan Manuel hadn't tasted canvas in the third round courtesy a monster shot from Pacquiao, they would've maybe won the fight, or at least had another draw.

If Juan Manuel hadn't so frequently eaten the power shots from Pacquiao, maybe they win.

But the fight was what it was -- a sensational series of momentum shifts, with scoring coming down, basically, to what you like in your fighter. Much of the fight saw Marquez dictate pace and counter-punch, and even totally control the offense in spurts. And much of it saw Pacquiao's raw power and speed make him look too damn good for Marquez.

It was such a good, memorable fight that were this a year with no Vazquez-Marquez III, we might be looking at, ultimately, a Fight of the Year, and at the least a very strong contender. It reminded in many ways of their first encounter four years ago, and in some ways of Marquez's win over Marco Antonio Barrera one year ago.

When the dust settled at Mandalay Bay, both men raised their arms, just like the first time around. And like that first time, scoring could've gone either way. There was no robbery. The cards even read similarly: one strongly in favor of Marquez (115-112), one for Pacquiao (115-112), and one very, very close. This time, that close one had a one-point difference rather than making it a draw.

It was a fight so good that you hated to see one guy have to lose. But someone loses, and that's the sport. Either someone wins or, really, no one wins.

Both Pacquiao and Marquez did their jobs to the absolute best of their abilities last night. Pacquiao hasn't looked so good since he creamed Erik Morales in November 2006. Marquez looked every bit as outstanding as he did in his two wins last year.

Neither man should be ashamed. And while Bob Arum, Pacquiao and Top Rank have no intention of making a third fight, that's just business. Sure, I'd love to see them square off again, but Pacquiao's headed to 135. The fact that he ballooned up 16 pounds between the weigh-in and fight time is a sign that he probably does need to.

The fight was great. Afterward? Well...

Photo © Eric Jamison / AP

Sour Grapes

I really hate to say what I'm about to say, because I so truly respect and enjoy the two fighters, and I have a great amount of respect for the abilities of Nacho Beristain.

There is not a bigger trio of whiners in boxing right now than the Marquez brothers and Beristain.

It's not that I think they don't have a right to say, "You know what? I think I won that fight." It's Beristain and Co.'s eyeroll-worthy claims that there is some vast conspiracy by the WBC against the Marquez brothers and their trainer.

After wanting to protest calls made against Rafael Marquez two weeks ago -- right calls, by the way -- Beristain called the judging of Marquez-Pacquiao "a disgrace", and has gotten so annoying that even Bob Arum, king of the crybabies, has called down the thunder on the situation.

Again, I hate to say it. And I don't hold heat of the moment, emotional comments against fighters. And both fights were close, and both guys have the right to think they won. But they didn't. They lost.

It all just comes off so sadly for what should be remembered as two outstandingly great fights and rivalries. In time, the comments will be forgotten, but right now they just leave a bad taste in my mouth. There's no point to it. Like Arum said, accept the losses, and hold your heads high, because all of you did a great job in both fights.

This is a mentality that unfortunately comes from the fact, though, that too much of boxing's recent history for matchmaking has been based less on fights people want to see than promoters and TV networks getting hard-ons for spotless records. Do you think the public now wants to see the Marquez brothers less than before? That's laughable. The losses raised the profiles of both brothers. They are even more well-known for being great fighters now than they were before.

Juan Manuel and Rafael will both have their chances to be in more big fights. If Manny Pacquiao indeed bolts to the lightweight ranks as expected, who do you think the guy to beat at 130 is going to be? It's Marquez. If Vazquez goes to featherweight, Rafael is the man to beat at 122.

Nacho has in the past led both of them astray with shitty business decisions, and it's understandable if either brother feels a bit burned from past happenings in their careers. But the game, lucky for all of us, has changed, and continues to do so. That's why Shane Mosley and Zab Judah are going to fight each other on PPV coming off of high-profile losses to Miguel Cotto. They both fought very well, put on a great show, and people still want to see them fight.

Competitive losses are not the end of the world. Sadly, I think it's fair to say that a lot of fighters are probably still under the impression that every fight is do or die.

What Now?

Pacquiao-Marquez III ain't gonna happen without some massive offer from HBO or something unexpected. Pacquiao is headed to 135 pounds to smoke David Diaz before, I fear, running into someone that can punch and is simply too big for him, and Marquez will likely move forward against Joan Guzman or somebody else -- Marquez-Guzman, for the record, is a fight I'd love to see.

When it comes right down to it, we saw a great fight that was worth the $50 pricetag on its own, making up for yet another lackluster, dull (if never outright boring) undercard with no happenings of any real significance. These two men went out and put on a tremendous show, and we should all stand up and cheer them for what they gave us and the sport of boxing.

The image I'll want to remember?

Photo © Steve Marcus / Reuters

We have a new WBC super featherweight champion, and what is to be a short-lived Ring Magazine champion, and it's Manny Pacquiao.

Official scores: 115-112 Pacquiao, 115-112 Marquez, 114-113 Pacquiao

The difference in the official cards wound up being Pacquiao's third round left hook knockdown of Marquez.

I had it 114-113 for Marquez, and Kevin had it 115-112 for Marquez. Both of us agree that it was a hell of a great fight, and everything you could have expected.

The undercard went exactly as expected, with Steven Luevano, David Diaz and Abner Mares winning without any trouble.

Marquez feels he won. Well, of course he did. On the cards, he came up just short. I thought he won what was a very close, very competitive fight. But I don't feel he was robbed or anything.

We'll have much, much more tomorrow.

MAIN EVENT
For The Ring Magazine and WBC Super Featherweight Titles
JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ
(48-3-1, 35 KO, Mexico City, Mexico)
versus
MANNY PACQUIAO
(45-3-2, 35 KO, General Santos City, Philippines)

For the WBO Featherweight Title
STEVEN LUEVANO
(34-1, 15 KO, Los Angeles, CA)
versus
TERDSAK JANDAENG
(29-2-1, 19 KO, Tasae, Thailand)

ABNER MARES
(15-0, 9 KO, Montebello, CA, by way of Guadalajara, Mexico)
versus
DIOSDADO GABI
(30-3-1, 21 KO, Davao City, Philippines)

DAVID DIAZ
(33-1-1, 17 KO, Chicago, IL)
versus
RAMON MONTANO
(15-4-2, 1 KO, Las Vegas, NV, by way of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico)

We've talked up the main event, and you already know what that's about. I'm sticking with my gut, though I'm maybe 55% confident in the pick: Marquez via tight unanimous decision

Let's take a quick look at the PPV televised undercard.

Steven Luevano v. Terdsak Jandaeng
Hearing Michael Buffer say "Terdsak" is going to be a highlight of the night, I believe. Luevano was last seen dominating Antonio Davis on the undercard of Pacquiao-Barrera II in October, and this seems like a very similar matchup, to be honest. Luevano isn't going to make you forget the all-time great featherweights, but he was a class above Davis and I suspect he'll be a class above Jandaeng as well. Luevano in a unanimous decision rout

Abner Mares v. Diosdado Gabi
Mares, 22, is a good prospect with some solid stepping stone developmental-type of wins. Gabi, 28, is a past Vic Darchinyan victim, falling in the 8th round against the ex-flyweight champion in 2006. After that, he proceeded to knockout Mauricio Pastrana in the first round in his debut at 115, and has now jumped all the way up to 118 pounds. Mares has to be considered the favorite, and this is a PPV showcase for his skills. But, to Harold Lederman it up for you briefly, I gotta tell ya somethin': this one smells heavily like upset city. Gabi is a more experienced fighter, has been in with good fighters, and he's a southpaw. I rarely go off and call upsets of this magnitude, but I'm feeling it with this one. Gabi via decision

David Diaz v. Ramon Montano
The question has been asked. "Who the hell is Ramon Montano, and why is the WBC lightweight champion fighting him in a non-title bout after being inactive since August?" This is a Top Rank publicity stunt -- get Diaz an easy win on PPV, and set up Diaz-Pacquiao for this summer. But all things considered, Diaz is no special talent. He's a tough son of a bitch and an enjoyable fighter to watch because he actually comes to fight, but Montano is sort of a Jesse Feliciano-type of guy, a possible fly in the ointment. Not a pretty record, and that's no typo -- he has one career knockout. But he has sparred with some excellent fighters, and he also deserved a win over Dmitriy Salita in their 2006 draw, a really bogus decision. But I won't call the upset here. I'm just saying, don't be shocked if Diaz-Pacquiao doesn't look attractive at all after tonight. Diaz via TKO

The show starts live at 9PM ET, and the non-televised undercard bouts will be streaming at Yahoo! and ESPN360 in just moments. I'm going to watch those, but probably not score them. Settle in for a great night of boxing with us! We'll be scoring the PPV fights round-by-round in the comments below.

The Las Vegas odds continue to put Manny Pacquiao as the favorite in his rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The odds have remained steady at -230 for Pacquiao, with Marquez at +190. For those unfamiliar with betting odds, that simply means that a $230 winning bet on Pacquiao would give you $100, while a $100 winning bet on Marquez nets you $190.

But this is probably one of the worst possible bets out there, either way. Unless you have some kind of inside information that amounts to more than "Manny is in good shape!" this seems like one where you should stay away. This isn't a fight with a truly heavy favorite, and it's not one where the underdog is a sleeper. This is a straight-up clash of big-time, real deal fighters.

If you can say you're 100% confident in the winner of Marquez-Pacquiao II, then God be with you, but one day from the fight and I'm still struggling mightily to pick a winner. Right now, my gut just says Marquez in a close decision in a great fight, but my gut has certainly been wrong before.

What you see above is the worst three minutes of Juan Manuel Marquez's career, a career that finally saw him reach the pinnacle of the sport in 2007. When a fight starts the way Marquez-Pacquiao did back in 2004, it doesn't last 12 rounds. It doesn't last five. Hell, most referees would have stopped it after the third knockdown, even without a three-knockdown rule, and even if the fighter doesn't appear to be that shaken up.

Miraculously, Marquez not only survived the 12 rounds, but he wound up spending the majority of the fight beating Manny Pacquiao with superior boxing skills. They fought to a draw on May 8, 2004. It won't happen again on Saturday.

Almost one year ago to the day of Saturday night's much-anticipated rematch with Manny Pacquiao, Marquez decisioned Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in a fantastic fight that announced to the world that, at long last, Marquez had arrived as one of boxing's biggest players.

It's not as if he never had chances before.

Marquez received his first world title shot way back in 1999, when he challenged WBA featherweight titleholder Freddie Norwood, underneath Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s, win over Carlos Gerena in Vegas. Marquez was a notorious slow starter at the time -- still can be, frankly --and Norwood was able to build a comfortable lead, then managed to hang onto it after Juan Manuel made his charge later in the bout.

Had he not started slow, Marquez would have beaten Norwood. But he did. So he didn't.

Four years later, he won his first world title by defeating Mexican veteran Manuel Medina in a one-sided affair, a night where youth definitely conquered experience. He unified his IBF featherweight title with the WBA title in 2003, when he forced legendary runner Derrick Gainer to expose just how terrified of a real fight he was. The stat of great lore that night? Gainer jabbed 107 times. He landed once. Anyone that ever calls Floyd Mayweather a "runner" should really watch Gainer -- that's a runner.

So, here was Marquez, holding two 126-pound belts, but sadly for him, doing it at a time when his division was stacked. Even though he held two belts and considered by many to be among the world's best fighters, he was competing for cred in his own division. Frankly, it was also a time where you could have made a fine argument that the pound-for-pound top ten had four 126-pounders, which is unreal.

He stood in the shadows of countrymen Barrera and Erik Morales, as well as fast-rising Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao -- the man he would face after beating Gainer.

Pacquiao's rise to fame in America is well-documented. As a replacement challenger to 122-pound titlist Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in 2001, Pacquiao made his American debut on HBO pay-per-view, part of the undercard to de la Hoya-Castillejo. The fight did around 400,000 domestic buys, and that night, Manny Pacquiao became a star.

He blitzed Ledwaba -- the champ was never really in the fight, overwhelmed by Pacquiao's speed and power right from the get-go.

But let's not totally revise history the way some hype pieces -- such as HBO's Countdown shows -- occasionally will. Pacquiao was not totally unknown. He was known to diehards. And though he was a titleholder and had a good record, Ledwaba was not some great fighter. The fight was mercifully stopped in the sixth round, with Ledwaba clueless as to what had really happened.

Pacquiao's next fight is generally ignored and lost in the annals of time, as tough Dominican Agapito Sanchez gave Pacquiao a good fight before it was stopped on headbutt-caused cuts in the sixth and declared a draw. Scores at the time of the stoppage were 58-54 Pacquiao, 57-55 Sanchez and 56-56. Manny didn't show up and beat the hell out of everyone.

Well, not right away. After the Sanchez fight, he scored four straight knockouts. And signed on to fight Barrera.

What happened next is one of those fights you'll always talk about. Here he was, Marco Antonio Barrera, living legend of the Mexican fight game. A true Mexican fighter -- a trench warrior. A guy that would mix it up with anyone, had a mean streak, and could be positively savage in the ring when momentum was in his favor.

And Manny Pacquiao kicked the shit out of him.

With Pacquiao now a superstar, who would step up for the Mexicans and try to take him down? Marquez.

It was a fight meant to be great, pitting Marquez's deft boxing skills and sometimes overlooked power against Pacquiao's lethal frenzy attack and awkward southpaw style. After one round, it didn't look like it was even going to be a contest. But the heart and determination of Marquez never failed him, even if his legs did three times in the opening stanza. By the end of the fight, it was Pacquiao who was escaping Marquez, and not the other way around.

Within the confines of scoring a boxing fight, a draw was really the best thing Marquez could hope for after the first round were the fight to go the distance. It took a heroic effort on his part just to get there.

But who really fought better that night?

Pacquiao's supporters will point to the fact that he knocked Marquez to the floor three times. Marquez's boosters will say he won the vast majority of the fight.

It was a draw. It was an electrifying, dramatic, epic draw. If ever there's been an epic draw, this was it.

The flame for a rematch has been burning ever since.

Since that night in 2004, Pacquiao has gone 7-1, with his lone loss to Erik Morales in a classic toe-to-toe battle -- a loss he emphatically avenged not once, but twice. Pacquiao also beat a shell of Marco Antonio Barrera again last October, and dropped Mexicans Hector Velazquez, Oscar Larios and Jorge Solis along the way.

That's why Manny Pacquiao is "The Mexecutioner" -- the two best of the generation, Morales and Barrera, both have been essentially retired by Pacquiao. The Mexicans have been lined up, and they've all fallen.

Except for Juan Manuel Marquez. While Marquez once stood in the great shadows of Morales and Barrera, he now stands alone, the Mexican king of the game.

The Last Mexican Standing has the weight of a country on his shoulders this Saturday night. If Pacquiao is going to lose to a Mexican fighter, Marquez is the guy that can do it.

You should order this fight. We're talking about two top five pound-for-pound fighters, who have already proven that they make for a great fight together, fighting for something that's bigger than money, titles and even personal pride. Both of them are fighting for the pride of their nations on Saturday.

This is a huge fight -- as big as any on the calendar. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that this is the most important fight out there right now. This is bigger than Hopkins-Calzaghe, more relevant than Floyd-Oscar II, and it promises great action to boot.

Pacquiao is a better fighter than he was in 2004. Marquez might even be a little better. They took opposite paths to get here -- Marquez got more aggressive, and Pacquiao settled down a little bit and used his speed to his advantage. While 2007 was not Manny's best year, he still won every fight he had, and did it convincingly.

And while Pacquiao is the general public's favorite, there does seem to be a rising tide in support of Marquez winning this fight. I think I'm in that camp. As great as Pacquiao is, it just feels like Marquez is coming in solely focused on defeating Manny Pacquiao, while Manny is looking down the road, even if only a bit.

Whatever happens, this is a fight that will deliver bang for your 50 bucks. Saturday can't come soon enough.

Manny Pacquiao reported to trainer Freddie Roach's Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles, and according to observers is looking fit and motivated.

Philboxing's Ed de la Vega Freddie Roach himself, who has in the past been very vocal with his concerns about Pacquiao's focus and training habits, was sounding positive. "When Manny gets into serious training, he trains as if there is no tomorrow."

This is all good news for those of us that are anxiously awaiting Marquez-Pacquiao II, because I think everyone is confident that Juan Manuel Marquez will be in great shape and come to fight hard. Even with the win over Barrera that made him a bigger star than he's ever been, Marquez is still behind Pacquiao in the minds of most, the second-best fighter in the 130-pound division. This is Marquez's chance to become a superstar.

Some choice quotes from the first big press conference to hype the March 15 rematch between WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and challenger Manny Pacquiao:

Marquez:

Pacquiao:

Point being, not much in the way of choice quotes. Just two guys that want to fight for the recognized title at 130 (the fight will decide a new champion in Ring Magazine's ratings) and for national pride.