Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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Saturday night's pay per view bout between Mexican greats Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez was a great fight, and my cousin Scott checks in to recap Marquez's victory, which came with some controversy. One of the fights on the undercard was also a bit shady, and Scott also uses this space to reflect on how we saw the best and worst of the sport Saturday evening. Last night I was a witness.

I witnessed in a three hour period why people love the sport dubbed the "Sweet Science". And also why people refuse to watch the sport at all.

At the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, there was a great show put on by two warriors. Juan Manuel Marquez won a decision against fellow countryman and boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera. It was as close and competitive of a fight as I have seen in sometime.

Almost every round was fought as if it was the 12th and final round. Accurate punches, crisp counter punches, and all thrown with bad intentions.

In the earlier rounds Barrera seemed to be landing the better shots and more of them. He never once had Marquez hurt but you wouldn't have known by looking at his swollen face. Juan Manuel's power shots were spot on and as accurate as I can remember seeing. He landed a bomb in 7th round that seemed to change the fight in his direction.

The 7th round was marked with controversy as boxing always seems to find. Barrera was rocked and Marquez was stalking him landing shots after shots. With 10 seconds left in the round Barrera landed a beautiful counter punch that knocked Marquez off balance and clearly knocked him down. He put his hands on the canvas to catch himself.

Referee Jay Nady did nothing so Barrera went in and punched Marquez on the top of the head as he was holding himself up. It reminded me of the Roy Jones vs Montell Griffin fight. Nady then said there was no knockdown, which there was, and proceeded to take a point away from Barrera for punching Marquez while down.

After that round, the fight was all Marquez. He was dominating with fast skillful shots. He was quicker with his punches and much more powerful.

Now comes the garbage that makes me cringe when I watch boxing. In my eyes Barrera won four of the first five rounds and probably five of the first six. If he would have been awarded the knockdown like he should have been, I would have had Barrera the winner. The three judges scored the fight 118-109 and 116-111 (twice) for Marquez.

Overall, the fight was fast paced and very entertaining. HBO has already announced the rematch will probably take place in September.

The undercard is where I saw something horrible.

Many people know that boxing is shady and full of politics and run by promoters. Bernard Hopkins (part of Golden Boy Promotions who were the promoters for last night's event) nephew, Demetrius, and three judges committed a robbery against "Contender" alum Steve Forbes. The fight was tooth and nail, a near draw on my card as well as HBO's Harold Lederman's. The judges scores were 118-110 (twice) and 117-111. It was a disgrace to to the sport. HBO analyst and Hall of Fame trainer Emanual Steward said he was speechless and couldn't believe it.

The worst thing about it is that I could.