Pacquiao vs. Marquez: 3 Keys to Dominating Marquez

Manny Pacquiao comes into this fight with a clear advantage in age and ability in the welterweight division.  Marquez has been deemed much slower when he fights in the heavier weight classes as he is seen as a true Super featherweight.

Pacquiao also comes in with a leg up after being given the split decision victory in the last fight in 2008.  Many felt Juan Manuel Marquez had won more rounds over the first two fights, and some even scored him to win the fight.  Still, after the scorecards were tallied up, he was left with a draw and a loss.

Pacquiao knows this will be another battle, even against a 38-year-old Marquez nearly four years later.  Here are some keys for him to winning the decisive third fight on Saturday night.

Be the Attacker

In the last fight where Pacquiao very well could have been given a draw or even a loss, he got into the most trouble when he let Marquez be the aggressor.  When Marquez was able to throw the first punches, and he often did en route to winning a lot of rounds, he was able to keep Pacquiao off balance the majority of the round.

It will be deeply embedded in Marquez's mind how he was able to have success against Pacquiao the last time.   He will know that when he was the aggressor he had a lot of success meeting Pacquiao's counter-punches, especially with a lot of straight rights. 

It remains to be seen how Marquez will truly look against Pacquiao at age 38 and up a couple weight divisions out of his comfort zone, but he will have a sort of blueprint on how to stay in a fight with Pacquiao. 

The more Pacquiao can change his game plan, the more Marquez will be left guessing and leave himself exposed to a powerful 144-lbs Pacquiao.

Utilize the Advantage in Power

While Pacquiao landed far fewer punches than Marquez in both fights, he was able to come away with a draw and a win largely due to his four knockdowns.  He had three knockdowns of Marquez back in 2004, which helped him come to a draw, and the only knockdown of the 2008 fight which he won by split decision.

He will again be hunting for those big knockdowns, especially after having excelled against successful career-welterweights such as Miguel Angel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, then completely dominating Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito (who weighed 17 lbs more than Pacquiao during the fight).

His ability to throw punches with the bigger guys who made their living in those weight classes will come in handy against Marquez who has looked shaky when having to move up to just 135 lbs.

Pacquiao doesn't necessarily need to search for his power because he will also have a speed advantage in this one, but he will surely be looking for the decisive knockdowns when the spot comes.

Don't Allow Marquez to Get in a Rhythm

In the two prior fights Pacquiao was able to land the more punishing blows throughout, but the counter-punching style of Marquez and never-give-up attitude he possessed kept him in both.

Pacquiao likes to come in and land a few and then bounce back out, which gets him a lot of points in the judges' eyes.  Where Marquez really handled Pacquiao in the first two fights and won a handful of rounds was when he got into a rhythm and felt really comfortable in how he was attacking Pacquiao.

What Manny needs to do in this third go-round is stick to that in-and-out style and fluster Marquez who can really build momentum in the middle rounds which his counter-punches.  If Pacquiao sticks in too long, that's where Marquez really gains confidence and starts attacking. 

Pacquiao should have the decisive advantage in speed, thanks to his youth, compared to Marquez who has always flashed quick hands but is slower also due to the increase in weight for this fight. 

As long as Pacquiao doesn't allow Marquez to get that surge of confidence, the knockdowns will come from a much smoother 144-lbs Pacquiao and will keep the fight out of the reach of Marquez.