Pacquiao vs. Marquez : Going to Scorecards Extremely Dangerous for Pac-Man

Manny Pacquiao needs a knockout.

Arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport typically dominates opponents with his fast fists.

Unless the opponent’s name is Juan Manuel Marquez.

Marquez is the only fighter to consistently give Pac-Man fits, and the longer Round 3 of this epic trilogy goes the better chance Marquez has to securing the 8-to-1 upset.

It’s all about style, and Marquez’s slow and patient counter preference of fighting has given Pacquiao fits. When you protect yourself like Marquez, who doesn't over step his boundaries with a foolish haymaker that doesn’t connect, you become very hard to take down.

Remember, he may be 38 and he may not be the fighter of years past, but he’s incredibly smart in the ring, and when you combine that with the experience he has against Pacquiao you can understand why this is the hardest Pac-Man has ever trained for a bout.

But let’s not underscore the improvements Pacquiao has made to his game. At the age of 32, Pac-Man is currently in the best shape of his life. The 2008 version would get pummeled by the current version of himself. Even Marquez’s trainer, Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, acknowledges the vast improvements he has made since the last Marquez fight:

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His punches are now more clinical, he is not as wild as he used to be. He looks like he knows what he is doing and that's directly the effect that Freddie Roach, his trainer, has had. He has learned a lot of techniques and a lot of new things and he is doing them better, especially the right hook.

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The right hook poses a whole new threat and I think that will ultimately be the difference here. Marquez is getting slower by the day and he isn’t ready to handle a strong right hook on top of his already patented left hook.

Marquez needs to weather the storm of the first few rounds, and keep Pacquaio at bay. If this fight goes down to the scorecards, it will be a repeat of the previous two bouts (draw, split decision victory for Pacquiao) with a controversial ending.

Nobody wants a controversial ending and as Pacquaio’s trainer Freddie Roach puts it:

You win by knockout, and there’s no rematch.