The wild fight ended with both men bleeding — Barrera from his left eye and Marquez from his right — and raising their arms in victory.
"Barrera is a great champion," Marquez said through a translator. "He deserves a rematch."
A furious Barrera claimed he was robbed.
"They were bad judges," he said through a translator. "I won this fight and I don't know what happened. I did the necessary things to win."
Controversy erupted late in the seventh round. Barrera (63-5, 42 KOs) connected with a right to the chin that left Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) crouched with one glove on the canvas, but referee Jay Nady ruled it a slip. When Barrera stepped in and hit Marquez again, Nady subtracted a point from the champion.
Marquez conceded that he had been knocked down.
"He connected," Marquez said. "He got me right on the chin."
When Barrera stepped in and swung at the crouching Marquez again, Nady subtracted a point from the champion. That meant Barrera lost the round 10-8 instead of winning it.
Barrera denied hitting Marquez when he was down.
"I never connected," Barrera said. "I never threw the punch because I knew he was down. He hit me four times below the belt and I never said anything." (AP)
