Pacquiao vs. Marquez Predictions: Why Speed Will Be the Deciding Factor

The most important aspect of the third fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be speed.  Speed is vital in all fights, but because he may have lost some of his, Marquez could be in for a rough night.

After consenting to let Marquez have a third crack at him, Pacquiao hasn't had to adjust his weight much for this fight.

On the other side, Marquez was listed at 132 pounds last year.  For this fight, he has had to put on a lot of weight, and recent photos have shown that he has packed on quite a bit of muscle.  While this may help him hit Pacquiao harder, it will also make it harder for him to land punches.

Anyone who's put on a lot of muscle in a short amount of time—or has even gone through a growth spurt—can tell you that once it's over, you're not used to your body.  Marquez is the heaviest he has ever been for a fight, and it's got to be hard for him trying to adjust his strategy to incorporate this size.  Marquez is going to have to fight in a relatively new body, and that spells trouble.

His new, bulky self will be much slower than the 132-pound version, giving Pacquiao a huge advantage.

We've seen that Marquez has issues when he is forced to add on weight for fights.  When he fought Floyd Mayweather in 2009 he had to reach about 140 pounds with 144 being the limit.  Marquez then lost the fight in a unanimous decision, losing 120-107, 119-108, 118-109.

If that fight is any sign of his inability to add weight, then he is screwed against Pacquiao in a fight that he had to add about 15 pounds for.

The reason I'm picking Pacquiao to win is because Marquez is going to be so slow.  It's going to be hard for Marquez to land any punches on Pacquiao, making speed the most important factor.

You know what they say: The bigger they are the harder they fall.  If that's true then I'm picking Pacquiao in five to seven rounds.

Josh Schoch is an aspiring sportswriter dedicated to bringing you everything related to the Pacquiao vs. Marquez fight, college basketball, the NFL, MLB, NBA, college football and much more.  Follow him on Twitter.