Pacquiao vs. Marquez: KO Win Would Quiet Pac-Man's Doubters

Manny Pacquiao's critics have been incredibly vocal in recent months, claiming that the eight-class champion doesn't have the power to be an elite fighter. Sure, he's got the speed, and the smarts, but without that knockout punch, Pac-Man just doesn't have what it takes. 

I realize that this is a bit silly, but consider this: The last fighter Pac-Man knocked out (Miguel Cotto wasn't KO'd, the fight was stopped) was Ricky Hatton, nearly two years ago. Since then, Pac-Man has been on an impressive, but knockout-free, run of success. 

There is one simple way to silence those doubters, those critics, once and for all: knockout Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Sure, it's only one fight, but Marquez is without a doubt the best fighter Pac-Man has ever squared off against, the fifth-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and a man who pushed the Filipino champ to the brink of defeat in both of their first two fights. 

If there's a fighter who Manny can use to silence his critics (Floyd Mayweather notwithstanding, since that fight's not happening), it's Marquez. 

Dinamita remains one of the top fighters in the world; he may be reinventing his style to be more swarming and aggressive than he's been in the past, but he packs some serious pop in those mitts. If Pacquiao's not prepared for the new-look Marquez, he's going to be in for a very long night. 

With a fighter as talented as Marquez in the opposite corner, a knockout would be a big deal regardless of his history. 

But the 38-year-old Mexican has never been knocked out during his career. He's never had a fight stopped, and while all of his losses were decisions, he's never hit the mat long enough for a fight to be ended prematurely. 

If Pacquiao, with his blazing quickness and surprising power manage to knock Marquez out? Suddenly, the "little man" isn't so little anymore. Suddenly, he's got that pop that people say he's been lacking during his meteoric rise up the weight classes. 

With a knockout, the critics' only real gripe against Pac-Man's fighting skills disappears. With it, he will have knocked out one of the strongest jaws in the sport, someone who has never gone down. Don't you think that will be enough power for his critics? 

If it's not, then there's just no pleasing them. 

Unfortunately for Pac-Man, talking about the possibility of a knockout is a whole lot easier than actually knocking out a fighter with Marquez's iron jaw. Odds are good, this fight won't see a knockout; it will go the full 15 rounds, and there will be a judges' decision. 

But if you're Pac-Man, and the opportunity presents itself, why not take the chance and gun for the knockout?

It probably won't happen, but if it does, you can bet that Pacquiao's power critics won't have much more to complain about going forward. He'll have flashed the elite power necessary to knock out one of the elite chins in the sport, to go along with the elite speed he's shown throughout his career. 

If that's not enough to please everyone, what is?