Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Must Defeat Marquez by Knockout to Maintain Momentum

When Manny Pacquiao stares across the ring at Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time next Saturday there should only be one thing on his mind—getting a knockout. That's the only result that will ensure Pacquiao remains atop the boxing world after Floyd Mayweather, Jr. won by KO in his last fight.

Pac-Man played coy when asked about the importance of a knockout in a recent conference call (via BoxingNews24.com).

"

“I am not going to say I am going to knock Márquez out but I will say that I trained really hard for this fight and we did a lot of things and made a lot of sacrifices so if the knockout comes it will come. I just want to make sure I am in the best condition come November 12.

“If the knockout comes it will be a reward for the hard work that I did. I worked hard for this fight making sure that I am ready for the fight and in 100% condition on that night mentally and physically.”

"

Pacquiao has won his last three fights by unanimous decision and hasn't scored a knockout since 2009 when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the final round. He needs to get back to ending fights before giving the judges a chance to decide his fate.

Not to mention, the last thing Pac-Man wants to do is give Mayweather any extra ammo as the two continue to battle through media jabs instead of in the ring. If he struggles to beat an aging Marquez, Money will be able to dance around a potential meeting once again.

In the first two fights pitting Pacquiao vs. Dinamita, Pac-Man was relegated to a draw and a split decision victory because he couldn't solve Marquez's defensive riddle. He doesn't want to get stuck with another underwhelming result, which could also hurt purse sizes in the future.

The Fighting Pride of the Philippines is a heavy favorite and should have no trouble accomplishing a knockout goal, but he must avoid overconfidence.

Pacquiao hasn't lost since 2005 and when a fighter is that dominant, it's tough to bring the same intensity to every fight. However, the history between these two boxers should be enough to keep Pac-Man on the offensive inside MGM Grand Garden Arena.

And that's the only way he'll be able to knock out Marquez, who will be more than happy to go the distance for a third time. Even though he feels the results of the first two encounters weren't correct.

Pac-Man should leave no doubt who the better fighter is this time around and the only way to do that is via knockout.