Manny Pacquiao Won't Let Fight Go the Distance

"What I need to do with my performance on Saturday is prove that I won the fight, so that there can be no argument this time.”

After reading that statement by Manny Pacquiao, it’s clear what he’s trying to accomplish.

Pac-man wants a knockout of Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, and he’s going to do everything in his power to get it.

Pacquiao has been training harder and longer than ever before because he is determined to put the questions around the previous two fights with Marquez to bed. The 2004 bout was a draw and the 2008 fight ended in a very controversial split-decision Pac-man victory.

Pacquiao is sick and tired of hearing Marquez run his mouth, claiming he won the both fights. He wants to put to bed any doubts about his status as one of the top two fighters in the world. That’s why promoter Bob Arum has these words when asked about Pacquaio’s training regiment:

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The only time that I saw Manny train as hard for a fight was when he fought De La Hoya. Manny is so anxious to prove himself in this fight that he started training early and he's trained at full speed ever since he started.

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He wants this more than any other fight. It’s personal.

Pacquiao knows that letting Marquez hang around will only hurt his chances to avoid another split decision. The patient, counter punch style of Marquez wears down the Energizer bunny known as Pacquiao.

The 32-year-old Pac-man, with his improved speed and strength since their last bout, needs to be extremely aggressive early to ensure Marquez doesn’t wear him down yet again. At the age of 38, it’s unlikely Marquez can endure another pounding in the early rounds like the previous fight.

Expect an incredibly aggressive Pacquiao to come out swinging early, and expect the fight to earn a knockout in the first five rounds.

Finally, he will show the world once and for all who is the better boxer.