Manny Pacquiao Wants to Make a Statement Against Juan Manuel Marquez

Manny Pacquiao went into his third fight against Juan Manuel Marquez with a lot of distractions hanging over his head. He admitted this much after the fact. And those distractions, ultimately, led to a performance that many people felt wasn’t as good as the one Marquez put forth. Pacquiao won the match officially, however, in the hearts and minds of a lot of viewers at home he wasn’t the rightful winner.

The Filipino champ vows to do better this time around.

Over the past few weeks, both Pacquiao and Freddie Roach have made it clear that they would be training harder than ever for Dec. 8’s showdown against Marquez. On top of that, both have indicated that they won’t simply leave this one to the judges – this match will end via knockout.

Now, it’s worth noting at this point: no Pacquiao versus Marquez match has ever ended with a knockout. Furthermore, Pacquiao hasn’t recorded a knockout in nearly three years. If he really plans to end the bout the way he says he plans to end it, his dedication to training has to reflect that desire.

So, has the Filipino champ been working out more intensely as of late? Yes, apparently. Check out this recent report by the good folks over at Boxing Scene:

"Fighter of the Decade" Manny Pacquiao hammered his sparring partner, welterweight  Anthony "Rocky" Marcial, in his first session and forced Marcial to quit.

Pacquiao's friend since his amateur days in General Santos City told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard that Pacquiao has been training diligently every day, joging in the mornings and working out at his gym in the afternoons with childhood friend Restituto "Buboy" Fernandez, and also playing basketball to help improve his physical condition.

Golingan said Pacquiao appears to be "very serious and is training hard and looks good" in preparation for his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez…

Look, making a guy give up during a training session doesn’t mean a whole lot. Nobody is trying to blow this out of proportion.

That said, it does show that Pacquiao isn’t as washed up as some seem to think he is. And it also shows that he is really dedicating himself into handling business against Marquez. Will he record a knockout on Dec. 8? It’s tough to say. Marquez is really crafty and, if Pacquiao couldn’t knockout Timothy Bradley, it’s tough to see him faring any better against a superior fighter. But if he trains hard and can actually manhandle Marquez throughout the entire match, he won't need a knockout.

Regardless of what ultimately happens, this is definitely the right way to kickoff fight prep.