Pacman: Is a KO the only right last card?

Manny Pacquiao. AP/Julie Jacobson

There are, to tell the truth, several ways Manny Pacquaio can/could beat the unsinkable Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao could, in fact, take a shallow, predictable stand the way he did in their last fight, their third, and still emerge the winner.

But we must first listen to trainer Freddie Roach, who has drastically pared down Pacquiao’s winning chance to a last-ditch stoppage.

It’s only with a last-card knockout, Roach cried, Pacquiao could close his long-standing feud with Marquez in their once awaited road show that has also turned tiresome and trite.

* * *

Roach took horribly long before he sounded the ultimatum in his cornering job that saw Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. losing the world middleweight crown to Argentine marvel Sergio Martinez last Sunday.

The many-time trainer of the year has, however, made sure he won’t be caught napping again.

If possible Roach has obviously asked Pacquiao to dig in for the kill the moment he crosses paths with Marquez in the prefight weigh-in.

The fight has been scheduled Dec. 8 at the MGM Las Vegas Grand Hotel and Casino.

* * *

“I think we need to knock this guy out, I don’t think we’ll need a decision, regardless of how the fight goes,” Roach told Robert Morales of boxingscene.com.

For his part, a suddenly fired-up Pacquiao, 34, says he plans to travel 10 years back to reclaim his ball-of-fire artillery that had cut down and consumed a slew of prizefight greats.

The Pacman said they should be prepared to see him fight as splendidly as he did when he was only twenty-four.

One question that must be asked though is whether or not Pacquiao is honestly convinced he could take a quickie ride back to knockout town by just wishing to be there again.

* * *

It’s like this: Going by the bout-by-bout result of Pacquiao’s trilogy with Marquez, it was the Mexican dynamite who appeared on track to closing the rivalry with a bang.

Bout One was a draw, Bout Two taken by Pacquiao on a disputed majority decision, and the third a split decision for the Pacman, who had visibly agonized and was bloodied after being punished by his long-time nemesis last November.

Take it from Roach, Marquez, 39, has definitely grown tougher, sharper through the years.

“I’ve had three chances to come up with the strategy and style to beat the guy and we haven’t done well in any of them,” Roach was quoted by philboxing’s Maloney Samaco as saying.

* * *

Meanwhile, it’s no secret Marquez will be a lot more awesome than the last time he met Pacquiao.

In fact, Marquez has sounded doubly confident when he vowed to also knock out Pacquiao at the start of the fight’s press tour in California.

Close-in viewers claimed Marquez has acquired more power and put on more muscle.

There was also a promise of vaster artillery and sharper techniques from his trainer.

Who knows? Maybe Freddie Roach has decided to keep his cards close to his chest.

Last heard of, all he could say was that his prize warrior would be there to overrun Marquez who, by the way, had taken advantage of Pacquiao’s crouching, crowding style in previous encounters.

Yes, Pacquiao is most predictable, an easy target, when digging in for a knockout.

Marquez did not have to be told he could beat Pacquiao either by decision or knockout.