Manny Pacquiao's Blueprint to Knocking Out Floyd Mayweather in Superfight

Manny Pacquiao heads into his hyped battle with Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the underdog. Yet, the Filipino sensation looked more like his old self in recent fights after a brief lull. The question is whether he still features enough power to knock out the undefeated American.

Pac-Man knockouts were common during his peak fighting years with 38 of his first 50 wins coming via that route. His last one came back in 2009 against Miguel Cotto, however.

Eight of his last nine fights have gone to the scorecards. The only exception was a KO loss at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez. It was part of a two-bout losing streak that also included a controversial split-decision defeat to Timothy Bradley.

Pacquiao bounced back nicely with victories over Brandon Rios, Chris Algieri and Bradley, in a rematch. Although he was unable to finish any of those fights early, he looked more like the dominant boxer of the past.

Longtime boxing stalwart Freddie Roach, who works with Pac-Man, recently won his seventh Eddie Futch Trainer of the Year award. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times passed along a message the legend received from his protege about the honor.

"What would be most special is No. 8, and Manny says, 'You'll win that next year, because I'm going to knock Mayweather out,'" Roach said. "I've never heard Manny be so bold. I was really happy he said that to me."

Confidence certainly cannot hurt, but it's a task easier said than done.

The biggest key for Pacquiao is coming out of the gate with an incredible amount of aggression. It's no secret Mayweather is at his best when he's able to slow a fight down to highlight his defensive and counterattacking skill. This will be no different despite the increased mainstream attention.

If Pac-Man sits back and allows his unbeaten foe to find his comfort zone, it will be a pretty mundane fight, and Mayweather will likely win easily on scorecards.

He must come out of the gate in full-on attack mode, pressure Money, push him toward the ropes, absorb some of those counters and keep on throwing a lot of power punches.

They won't all land, and Mayweather is going to get his fair share of shots in, too. That said, Pacquiao isn't going to win this fight at a slow pace. He needs to push it as much as possible, trying to a win a couple of early rounds to bring his opponent out of his defensive shell.

Perhaps then, with Money out of his comfort zone knowing he needs to score points, there will be some openings for Pac-Man to go for the knockout.

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman highlights the fact a KO for either fighter is a long shot, though:

Mayweather has gone 47 professional fights without a loss because he's one of the best in boxing history at adapting. He makes in-fight adjustments to regain control. Sometimes, the clutching and grabbing tactics he uses to do it aren't crowd friendly, but they are highly effective.

Pacquiao, at his peak, could have posed some serious problems. The question now is whether Pac-Man has enough pop left in those jabs to wear down and eventually knock out Mayweather. He's been trending in the right direction in recent bouts and will be hoping to peak at the right time.

If he does, boxing fans may witness a shocking result Saturday: a Pacquiao knockout victory.