JuanMa going for knockout, too

LAS VEGAS – Juan Manuel Marquez did a lot of talking Wednesday and vowed to knock Manny Pacquiao out on Saturday at the MGM Grand.

That’s if Pacquiao gets careless. And that’s a big if.

“I’m ready, and I know he’s ready. But I’m ready for him to come after me and to be aggressive,” Marquez told the media during a 30-minute Q and A.

“And if he does that, then he will open up a lot of avenues for me to hit him. And trust me, if Pacquiao comes in wide open, then that will leave an opportunity for me to knock him out also.”

Marquez was born to fight Pacquiao, and his counter-punching style is like a big puzzle for the Filipino champion.

Pacquiao has floored Marquez four times in their two previous fights, but more than a couple of times he was hurt by the 38-year-old Mexican.

This gives Marquez reason to believe that he can beat Pacquiao, and reason to believe as well that he won both fights in 2004 and 2008.

“They always say that styles make fights, and I think my style happens to be difficult. All boxers have a difficult opponent, and I guess my style is the most difficult for Pacquiao,” he said.

He’s right on this.

“It’s all experience. You have to know how to land your punches and when to land your punches, and I think that I’ve always been able to do that against Manny Pacquiao. 

“It’s a perfect match between the way that I fight and the way that he fights. We just mesh very well. I will say that for me, it’s just as difficult fighting him as it is for him to fight me.”

Lem Satterfield of www.ringtv.com <http://www.ringtv.com/> shared the juiciest quotes during the Q and A where Marquez oozed with confidence.

“If either one of us gets careless in there, he’s getting knocked out, so you have to be very careful in there. We know each other so well. I think that will help to make it a great fight,” Marquez added.

Less than an hour after Marquez left the room, Pacquiao came in. First thing he said up in the stage was that he’s excited for the fight.

“I’m excited everything is all set,” said Pacquiao, the heavy favorite in Saturday’s fight for his WBO welterweight crown.

Pacquiao has said many times that he’ll come out to erase any doubt regarding their two previous fights, the controversial draw of 2004 and his equally-intriguing split decision of 2007.

He said things have changed, and Saturday’s result should end all the discussions surrounding the past.

“I’m a bit different now with my style. I’ve improved my technique. I’m more experienced now and I’ve developed my right hand and he’s moving up in weight,” said Pacquiao.

“The problem before was I never studied his style as a counterpuncher. But after we fought two times I studied how to fight a good counterpuncher,” he added.

Then he insisted that those two fights won’t play a role in this one.

“We did not base this camp looking or watching our last two fights. What I watched was his last fights and what he has learned,” he said.