Pacquiao vs. Marquez 3: Why Pacquiao Must Knock out Marquez to Validate Legacy

He has fiddled, toyed and flirted with Juan Manuel Marquez for 24 rounds, and now it is time for Manny Pacquiao to finish what he started. 

Like a pest that just wn't take a hint, Marquez has comeback to nearly steal two bouts from Pacquiao. He has done it with stirring resolve and unmeasurable passion. 

Like one last trial by fire, Marquez has time and again shouted with legs that don't waver, you cn't put me down for good and you can't knock me out. 

For a boxer that can apparently do it all, he has never been able to knockout Juan Manuel Marquez. Oh, he has put him on the mat. He has punched him to the point of near annihilation, but has never finished the job. 

Instead, Marquez has comeback in each bout to nearly steal the show. It's time that Pacquiao not only win handily, but settle the score that he can do what has proved impossible. He can knockout Marquez once and for all. 

This rubber match is more than just another fight. This bout will have lasting repercussions in each boxer's legacies. The method and manner that this is stopped will be added to the mystique of the most respected boxer of the modern era. 

We continue to dissect Pacquiao and measure him to the greats of the sport. Such minutiae as to how he wins the third in the trilogy is not nearly as small as you would think. 

Marquez has been the closest thing to a benchmark we have had for Pac-Man in his prime. Another decision will have many fans thinking that Marquez almost won rather than Pacquiao came away unscathed. 

The only way to put all these questions to rest is a knockout, pure and simple. Pacquiao has to knock Marquez out cold and then he can walk off into the sun with his head held high.