Las Vegas — On Saturday night, a bloodied Juan Manuel Marquez rallied to knock out eight division champ Manny Pacquiao with one second left in the sixth round and won the fourth fight of their epic boxing rivalry. The 39-year-old Marquez dropped Pacquiao face first to the canvas, giving him his first victory over the Filipino superstar.
Marquez knocked Pacquiao down in the third round then ended the fight with a savage overhand right that hit Pacquiao flush, sending him down hard.
“I feel great that I leave no doubt in the way I got this victory over Manny,” Marquez said. “I was counter punching him. He was throwing a lot of punches but he was missing and so I would try to counter punch. The right hand I got under his guard. I threw the right when he missed a punch on me.”
Marquez, with his newfound muscular body, said his muscles did not play a role in the victory.
"I don't think so [about my muscles playing a role]. We worked on strenght. We on worked speed and I think you could see the good results," Marquez said.
Pacquiao, who suffered his second consecutive loss, felt he was winning and got caught by a punch he never saw coming. He is open for a fifth fight.
“I got hit with a punch I didn’t see,” said Pacquiao. “I thought I was getting him in the last couple of rounds but I got hit by a strong punch. I did not expect that punch. I am going to rest and come back to fight. I would go for a fifth."
