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

The idea of Floyd Mayweather knocking out Manny Pacquiao may seem ludicrous on its face, considering Mayweather has stopped one opponent since 2007, and that one was quite controversial.

However, Mayweather has a legitimate chance to remain undefeated at the end of his May 2 fight with Pacquiao, and the victory could very well come by knockout.

Mayweather appears to be a fighter who has decided that he wants to go through his career undefeated, and he does not take any chances once he figures out his opponent. Make no mistake about it, that's just what Mayweather does. In addition to his great hand speed and defensive talents, Mayweather is a brilliant tactician.

He figures out his opponents' greatest strengths, comes up with a plan to neutralize them and then takes away nearly every other option that fighter has available.

That's why Mayweather will take a 47-0 record into the ring with him Saturday night. He may not have faced as dangerous an array of opponents as Pacquiao has, but he has come up with a way to dispatch every fighter who has tried to beat him.

Money Man has certainly figured out Pacquiao at this point in his preparations. There's not a lot of mystery involved because Pac-Man is a fast-paced, aggressive fighter. Instead of fighting carefully and looking for an opening, Pacquiao is going to throw punches in bunches. His swarming style is dangerous to every fighter he comes in contact with.

Think about Pacquiao's knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012. In that fight, Pacquiao was knocked down early in the fight, but he came back and registered a knockdown of his own and was ahead on all three judges' scorecards when Marquez starched him in the sixth round with a right-hand punch he never saw coming.

Pacquiao was somewhat careless when he got hit with that knockout punch. He had been quite effective in the sixth round and had hit Marquez with a barrage of punches a round after he had put Marquez down on the canvas. Pacquiao approached Marquez as if he believed that his opponent had already delivered his best shot, and that he was no longer facing a dangerous fighter.

Pacquiao was wading in during the final seconds of the sixth round and looking for one more chance to deliver a combination. Instead, Marquez brought down the hammer.

That's not what should concern Pacquiao. He's not likely to lose respect (or fear) for Mayweather at any moment in the fight, no matter how it's going. As a result, he's probably not going to walk into any unseen shot.

However, it's the third-round knockdown that should give Pacquiao cause for concern and should encourage Mayweather. Marquez hit Pacquiao with a hard overhand right that was in the fighter's field of vision. Marquez delivered it with speed and power, and it landed cleanly even though Pacquiao saw it coming.

Mayweather has significantly more hand speed and quickness than Marquez, and he is also a very accurate puncher. While he may not have quite the raw power of Marquez, he has the ability to throw a very similar punch and land it on the button. That would spell danger for Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is going to take punches, because the name of his game is offense. With his style, it seems that he regularly takes one or two punches to throw a combination that includes four or five shots.

Mayweather is not a regular opponent. He is fast, smart and dangerous, and his goal is to win the fight. If he can build an advantage early, his game plan is usually to stay away, use his defensive skills and pile up even more points.

But against Pacquiao, Mayweather is going to be fighting an opponent who is not going to try to play it safe. When you fight aggressively and look for a chance to knock your opponent down, you will give your opponent chances to counterpunch.

Is there any fighter in the world who can counterpunch like Mayweather? He is going to have the opportunity to land hard right hands on a regular basis throughout this fight.

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

Mayweather's last knockout came in a 2011 fight against Victor Ortiz. Mayweather stopped Ortiz in the fourth round with a left-right combination that came immediately after the referee had called a halt to the action after Ortiz had head-butted Mayweather.

Ortiz wanted to hug Mayweather to show he was contrite about his action, but Mayweather had none of it and sent him to the canvas with his combination. Some thought that Mayweather's attack came before Ortiz was ready to fight, but Mayweather offered no apologies.

The point is that Mayweather has a strong right hand that can cause a lot of damage when he sees an opening.

Pacquiao's swarming style is designed to hurt his opponents and give himself the opportunities to stop his opponent. Against an undefeated champion like Mayweather, that style just may give Pacquiao the opportunity to taste the canvas once again