Pacquiao vs Marquez: Why Pacquiao Needs a KO Victory

Manny Pacquiao needs more than just a win over Juan Manuel Marquez…he needs to bash his brains in. Anything short of a knockout is going give all of his haters a plethora of ammunition that Pac-Man is not the best boxer in the world.

As a potential Floyd Mayweather fight continues to sound like nothing but a pipe dream, Pacquiao doesn’t have very many opportunities to prove himself. Pulverizing lesser opponents get old after a while, and, eventually, we need to see greatness from the congressman to consider him….great.

This is the way to do it.

With the history between these two fighters, another split-decision isn’t going to cut it.  Tim Starks of the Queensberry Boxing blog talks about just how intense the first two rounds of this series have been:

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The rivalry was, no doubt, one of the best of the previous decade. Both fights were bloody, evenly-matched, dramatic affairs. There's even been a rare bit of hostility by a Pacquiao opponent: Most everyone he fights seems to genuinely like the man, an outgoing and jovial sportsman. Marquez thinks he won both fights, and after some bad business decisions following the first fight, has largely spent the latter part of his career chasing him for a rematch.

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A knockout would shut up Marquez once and for all. A knockout would be even more pressure on Mayweather to finally cave in and agree to a fight.

Considering how Marquez has put on a considerable amount of weight to hit the 144-pound level, I think Pacquiao can pummel him. Never the fastest puncher to begin with, the 38-year-old is going to be considerably slower with the additional weight. There have also been whispers that Marquez hasn’t been training as hard as he once did for a fight of this magnitude.

When you watch him on HBO’s 24/7, it just seems like his heart isn’t completely in it.

So, when you factor in his age, bulkier frame and lack of passion from his opponent—anything less than a Pacquiao knockout would be a severe blow to a legacy on the brink of greatness.