Juan Manuel Marquez knocked out Manny Pacquiao in the sixth round tonight in Las Vegas, putting his stamp on their incredible rivalry with a perfect right hand.
Marquez (55-6-1, 39 KO) had knocked Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO) down for the first time in their four fights in the third round on a monster right hand, but Pacquiao was winning the fight on most scorecards, and had his own knockdown in the fight, in the fourth round.
But the sixth round right hand that Marquez landed on a lunging Pacquiao was a thing of beauty -- and there is, for the first time, zero debate about a Pacquiao-Marquez fight. Tonight, Juan Manuel Marquez was the better man.
These are two great fighters, who still fight splendidly at advanced ages. To take anything away from what we saw tonight would be ridiculous. Boxing has been on a magnificent run since September. Yes, there are still major problems in the sport, but in the ring, the action is delivering time and time again.
This was special. Treasure what you saw tonight.