When the final bell rung on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Arena, signaling the end to yet another 12-round slugfest between Juan Manuel Márquez (52-6-1) and WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2), Márquez had the look of a champion.
His trainers hoisted him on their shoulders as he pointed glowingly to his throng of fans cheering "Si Se Puede, Si, Se Puede!"
For me, the best judges are the audience. Honestly, I felt like I connected solid punches tonight, very good punches.
But it all came to a crashing halt when the results were announced: 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112--- all in favor of Pacquiao.
"Honestly, I don't know what I need to do to change the minds of the judges," said a defeated Márquez through a translator during the post-fight conference. "It's the result of the fight that's making me think about retirement. We really wanted to tell the judges to score the fight the way it was happening and not the way that they scored."
Márquez's frustration may have to do with the fact that he was extremely successful in landing power punch after power punch on Pacquiao, specifically a series of uppercuts and rights jabs in the fifth and ninth rounds, that got the crowd of 16,383 out of their seats at the MGM Grand Arena.
It's something that typically doesn't happen to the lightning-fast Pacquiao, considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Unfortunately for Márquez, crowd reaction doesn't translate into victories on the final scorecard.
"For me, the best judges are the audience," said Márquez. "Honestly, I felt like I connected solid punches tonight, very good punches."
Pacquiao, who spoke briefly to the media during the post-fight conference, felt the judges got it right. The Compubox score gave Pacquiao the edge in overall punches at 176 to Márquez's 138.
"It's very clear that I won the fight," said Pacquiao. "That's a part of the game."
And for those who disagree with the final decision, promoter Bob Arum has a simple solution: Pacquiao-Márquez IV.
"I was scared to death," said Arum during the post-fight conference. "They brought me into this (press conference) past a whole crowd of people, mostly Mexicans that wanted to lynch me! The only way I'm going to get off the hook is if I have them fight again."
Pete Griffin is a Junior Reporter for Fox News.com.
Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino
Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino