Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Will Prove Previous Marquez Fights Were Flukes

Lieutenant Colonel Manny Pacquiao improved more than his military rank in the past three-and-a-half years.

Pacquiao isn’t the same fighter who fought Juan Manuel Marquez back in March of 2008 and just escaped with the split decision.

Since then, Pac-Man has beaten David Diaz and Miguel Angel Cotto on technical knockouts, knocked out Ricky Hatton in the second round and defeated Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley in unanimous decisions. 

While Marquez failed to come away victorious in the two fighters’ pair of bouts, Pac-Man is equally motivated.

According to ESPN, Pacquiao feels like he must diffuse any and all doubt, as he told the media:

"

Marquez has the right to make alibis about not winning our two previous fights. It's because of those alibis that I am so motivated for our upcoming fight. I want to end all the questions he has raised about who won our past fights and who the better fighter is. I have something to prove in this fight. I just want to clear out the doubts in the minds of some fans.

"

This isn’t just another fight for Pacquiao; he wants to destroy Marquez. For a fighter as legendary as Pac-Man, the fact that a number of boxing fans believe that Marquez has a strong chance to pull the upset must eat away at him. 

Pacquiao won’t approach this fight looking to win in 12 rounds; an early knockout would be more than enough to make his previous tight bouts look like flukes.

Pacquiao went into detail about how he’s more prepared than ever going into a Marquez-fight, saying:

"

I'm bigger. I've been fighting bigger guys for a few years now; [Antonio] Margarito, [Oscar] De La Hoya, [Shane] Mosley, Miguel Cotto. They're all big. My right hand is well-developed and I know how to fight. I am a more complete fighter than when we fought previously. I am now a two-fisted fighter. My right is as potent, as powerful and as dangerous as my left. I have as much confidence in my right as I do in my left.  I've been studying since the last two fights how to fight a counterpuncher. Before, we didn't study how to fight a counterpuncher.  Now we have perfected how to fight a counterpuncher.

"

If you’ve been watching film of prior Pacquiao-Marquez fights, don’t expect a re-run. Marquez may be confident that he can hang with Pac-Man because he’s done it in the past, but if he’s expecting the same boxer this time around, he’ll be horribly disappointed.  

Expect nothing less than a knockout.

For the latest news and updates on Pacquiao Vs. Marquez, and for all the latest news and insight on all things boxing, be sure to check out Bleacher Report's Boxing Central. 

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.  Follow him on Twitter.