Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in a split decision last night in Las Vegas that is already controversial. It was an action-packed fight, but given the potential payday for a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., it’s not surprising that the decision will be questioned by many.

The reaction from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports will likely be typical from the boxing world:

When the final bell rang, 12 rounds of furious fighting complete, Juan Manuel Marquez lifted his right fist high into the air, turned to the ringside crowd and offered a knowing wink through an eye nearly swollen shut.

Standing in front of him at that very moment, his opponent, Manny Pacquiao, let his head sag as he turned to walk to his corner. Seconds later Marquez was carried around the ring on the shoulders of two of his corner men. Pacquiao was on his knees in prayer.

What Pacquiao lost was clearer – his cloak of invincibility, his reputation for destruction, even, in some ways, a measure of his credibility.

Marquez is 38 years old and was dominated in his fight with Mayweather.

Attention will now turn to that potential blockbuster fight, and this close call probably won’t dampen excitement for that fight too much.

The superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. has hit another snag. According to SI.com, the deadline set by promoter Bob Arum passed on Saturday without Mayweather agreeing to a deal to fight Pacquiao.

In the latest improbable twist in the torturous negotiations for the most tantalizing prospective fight in boxing, Arum said Mayweather’s camp simply hasn’t responded to a contract proposal with no obvious points of contention.

Pacquiao already has agreed to extensive drug testing and an equitable split of the earnings from what’s likely to be the richest fight in boxing history.

“Floyd, for whatever reason – and I’m sure he has some valid reason – didn’t want to commit,” Arum said.
Although Arum was careful not to criticize Mayweather, saying the fighter who calls himself Money could take the incredibly lucrative offer at any point in the next week or so, Arum plans to open discussions with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto for a fight with Pacquiao in November.

It’s interesting to read above that Pacquiao “already has agreed to extensive drug testing� seeing as how that was a sticking point earlier in the negotiation process. Mayweather’s camp wanted blood tests conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which does random tests, while Pacquiao’s people were only willing to allow blood to be taken if the tests were scheduled.

If Pacquiao’s camp willing to do random tests now? And if so, what’s the holdup from Mayweather? The two fighters already agreed to a fight and for a $50 million split up front, so I wonder why Mayweather’s camp has been silent as the deadline passed.

Whatever the reason, this is a prime example of what has killed boxing over the years, and why MMA has taken over as the king of fighting. Dana White can actually get his fighters in a ring (or cage, that is), while professional boxing can’t.

Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

– Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, and Dan Henderson were dominant at UFC 100 — but Lesnar’s post-fight antics made him a villain in the eyes of many fans.

– The UFC’s new ring girl is hot, blonde, and all-natural.

– Kimbo Slice’s “Ultimate Fighter” housemates should be thankful he wasn’t allowed to bring a gun on the set.

– Fedor Emelianenko will probably never face Brock Lesnar in the UFC due to disagreements on contract terms. But that isn’t stopping some bookmakers from offering bets on the non-existant fight.

– Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg visited New York to hype the biggest women’s MMA match of all time. Sounds like a perfect time for Carano’s scumbag ex-boyfriend to release that sex tape.

– Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is not a fan of either Rashad Evans or Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

– PRIDE legend Igor Vovchanchyn will return to action in September, while Jose Aldo and Mike Brown will get it on for the WEC featherweight belt in November.

– Floyd Mayweather Jr. says white people invented MMA because they couldn’t compete in boxing. What a fascinating theory, Professor Money…

At the end of the year, it’s always interesting to look back at all that has happened in the world of sports over the last 12 months. 2008 brought us a host of compelling sports stories, including the culmination of the Patriots’ (unsuccessful) quest for perfection, a Bejing Olympics that featured incredible accomplishments by the likes of Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Redeem Team, and, of course, Brett Favre’s unretirement, which managed to hold the sports news cycle hostage for a solid month or more.

As is our tradition, we’ve once again broken our Year End Sports Review into three sections. The first is “What We Learned,� a list that’s packed with a number of impressive feats. And when there are feats, inevitably there are also failures.

Don’t miss the other two parts: “What We Already Knewâ€� and “What We Think Might Happen.â€�

The New England Patriots weren’t so perfect after all.

After rolling through the 2007 regular season unscathed, the Patriots entered the 2008 Super Bowl as overwhelming favorites to roll over the pesky, but seemingly inferior New York Giants. The Pats were just one win away from staking their claim as the best football team in NFL history. But thanks to a dominating Giants’ defensive line, an improbable catch by David Tyree, and a virtually mistake-free performance by Eli Manning, the unbeatable New England Patriots were beat. It’ll go down as one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, and considering Tom Brady’s season-ending injury in 2008 cost the Pats a chance for redemption, it seems that many have forgotten how New England stood just one win away from perfection. – Anthony Stalter

Michael Phelps is part fish.

Eight gold medals in one Olympiad? No problem. Michael Phelps made the seemingly impossible look (relatively) easy en route to one of the most – if not the most – impressive Olympic performances ever. Phelps had to swim all four strokes, compete in both sprint and endurance races, and deal with the constant media attention and pressure that came along with his quest. Sure, NBC turned up the hype, but what Phelps accomplished is simply incredible. – John Paulsen

Usain Bolt is part cheetah.

First, Usain Bolt made Jamaica proud by setting a new world record (9.69) in the 100-meter sprint. Then, he broke the 12 year-old 200-meter world record with a time of 19.30 seconds. He showboated during the first race but cleaned up his act to win the second race in a professional manner. Some even say that Usain Bolt – not Michael Phelps – was the biggest story to come out of the Bejing Olympics. – JP

The Big 12 has the best quarterbacks in the nation.

The Big 12 housed some of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in 2008. Texas’s Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell were all considered Heisman candidates at least at one point during the season, while McCoy and Bradford are still in the running. Amazingly, Bradford and McCoy aren’t done; both will return in 2008. And although they don’t receive as much attention as the top signal callers in the conference, Kansas’s Todd Reesing and Baylor’s Robert Griffin certainly turned heads this year as well. In fact, the highly versatile Griffin is only a freshman and could make the Bears a very dangerous team for years to come. – AS