Manny Pacquiao: Improvements Pac-Man Must Make in 2012 from 2011

Manny Pacquiao heads to the ring for the first time this year in a few weeks when he's slated to take on Timothy Bradley in defense of his WBO welterweight title. While he won both of his fights last year, there's always room for improvement for "Pac-Man."

In his first fight of 2011, Pacquiao took down Shane Mosley by unanimous decision. Even though he had control throughout the entire bout, he wasn't able to secure the knockout. It's something that's become a disturbing trend for him as of late.

He received a tougher test from Juan Manuel Marquez in another bout that went the distance. Pacquiao wasn't able to solve the veteran's defensive riddle, which made the fight closer than it should have been based on their respective talent levels.

Even though Pacquiao still picked up the majority decision victory, it should have served as a wake-up call that he needs to keep improving to maintain his spot atop the sport. Even a dominant boxer like him can finds areas to get better.

The biggest thing would be finishing fights via knockout. He has enough endurance to last all 12 rounds against anybody, but if he keeps leaving the decision to the judges, he's eventually going to get burned.

Of Pacquiao's 54 career wins, 70 percent of them have come by knockout. His last four fights have all gone the distance, however. And while he faced some tough opponents during that stretch, going for the knockout a little earlier should be his top priority.

Another thing that's been a minor concern has been his frustrations with boxers who use a defense-first game plan. Whenever his opponents have decided to sit back and let the fight come to them, Pacquiao doesn't perform at his best. It's almost as if he starts pressing instead of waiting for them to open up.

The best way to counteract that is showing patience for the first few rounds. Rack up enough early points so his opponent can't afford to sit back anymore, and then go on the attack looking for a KO.

These are only minor adjustments, but they would take him to another level of dominance that he hasn't yet reached. They would also help in a potential super fight with Floyd Mayweather, if they could ever reach an agreement.

It's been more than six months since Pacquiao last stepped in the ring. It will be interesting to see if he makes these or any other adjustments after not being at his best the last time out.