Manny Pacquiao: Boxing Will Finally Upstage the UFC for Once

As quickly as mixed martial arts has risen in recent years, boxing has fallen just as fast.

There have been some big boxing matches lately, but for the most part the true greats of this era have disappointed.

Pacquiao vs. Mosley and Mayweather vs. Ortiz were supposed to headline the last year, but instead they've made headlines for being among the biggest disappointments in boxing.

Meanwhile, the UFC continues to rise in popularity, where fights actually live up to exaggerated promotion in the end.

That's why it may make sense for fight fans to tune into Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos on Saturday, two giants of the sport headlining the UFC's biggest title fight of the year. Velasquez holds a perfect 9-0 record, while dos Santos has a 13-1 MMA record.

But boxing reigns supreme on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Manny Pacquiao, this generation's greatest pound-for-pound boxer (yes, that includes Mayweather), will fight his bitter rival Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday at the MGM Grand.

This goes far beyond it projecting as a great fight. While opponents have dropped left and right against Pacquiao throughout his exceptional career, Marquez has been his toughest foe. Marquez battled him to a draw and a split-decision in their first two fights, and some feel Marquez should have come away with at least one victory.

While Velasquez and dos Santos are two UFC legends, Pacquiao and Marquez have the edge in that this is a rivalry that has been going on for years. There is so much depth to their rivalry, so much history, that there almost isn't any need for promotion.

This is the third and final fight between Pacquiao and Marquez. For Pacquiao, it's his chance to silence Marquez's claims that he won both fights. For Marquez, a victory would send his already historic career into the sunset.

Mixed martial arts may have overtaken boxing in recent years, but on Saturday boxing will deliver the biggest knockout.