Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez: The Pros Pick Pacquiao

If I had to compare the amount of predictions that have been made by the fans as well as boxing professionals and officials for the Manny Pacquaio vs. Juan Manuel Marquez bout, to something colossal and awe inspiring, I would imagine something along the lines of Niagara Falls. They started pouring in by the thousands as soon as the idea of the fight was barely plausible and splashed all over the internet by the millions as the fight became a signed fact.

While looking up and going through the fan predictions would take months to do, it is always interesting to see what the bigger names in boxing have to say. Movie stars and sportsmen also like to have their voices heard, making it that much more interesting to see the fight. In a way, all of them are a good way to market the fight and bring it closer to the people that might not necessarily watch boxing religiously. Below are some of those predictions for the Pacquiao vs. Marquez III bout on November 12, in Las Vegas, NV.

Emanuel Steward made a pretty safe prediction, picking Manny Pacquiao to win. Steward thinks that the main attribute to make the most difference will be the weight. While Pacquiao walks around and is more comfortable at the weight of 144lbs, Marquez is not as familiar and as effective in such a heavy body. This might slow him down enough to make him way too sluggish in the ring against someone as far as Pacquaio. Disregarding Steward’s prediction is a boxing sin, as this man has been involved in the sport for a very respectable amount of time, and has molded many great champions.

Current boxing superstar as well as Pacquiao’s countryman, Nonito Donaire, predicts a win for Pacquiao as well. His prediction is very similar to that of Emanuel Steward, claiming that the weight will cause Marquez to perform poorly: “It’ll be an exciting fight. Marquez is slower now. He’s even chunkier. But he won’t fight Manny like Mosley. Marquez will go out there trying to take out Manny. That’s why it’ll be a lot more exciting than Manny’s fight against Mosley. Manny won’t have a problem finding Marquez. It’ll be over in five to eight rounds.” Donaire seems like a pretty clever guy to me, and I think is pretty fair in his prediction.

Miguel Diaz, one of the renowned cornermen in boxing history, also picked Pacquiao to win. His bold prediction seemed to come out of his as if it was brewing in his mind for a long time; when asked, Diaz predicted a knockout of Marquez before the seventh round. Diaz went on to say that Pacquiao is simply too much for Marquez at this size. In Diaz’s opinion, Marquez has also deteriorated quite a bit over the years. I think that as a corner man, Diaz gets to see the fighters between rounds and tell how they really feel while sitting on that stool waiting for the next round to resume. Maybe they can even tell tiny details of discouragement in fighters’ eyes.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. is yet another boxing persona that gave Manny the win. “Marquez won't win this one. Marquez is gonna get his a** whooped. Marquez is gonna get the sh*t beat out of him." I don’t have much confidence in Mayweather Sr., nonetheless he is a man with a boxing background and experience, thus it is always interesting to see what he has to say.

As the fight approaches, more and more big names will be heard, and more interesting predictions will come to our attention. Meanwhile, enjoy the hype and get yourselves mentally ready for the trilogy closing mega fight!