More aggressive Marquez has chance of shocking Pacquiao

Speculation that Juan Manuel Marquez is working on a change to his legendary counter-punching style may offer slightly greater chance of the 6/1 in the boxing odds of him beating Manny Pacquiao being profitable.

Marquez has beaten some big names in boxing by sitting on the back foot against aggressive opponents and then picking them off with hooks and jabs when they leave themselves exposed.

However, with Pacquiao possessing more speed than arguably all of these opponents and Marquez himself losing some of his explosive footwork at the ripe age of 38, this strategy was unlikely to work in the same manner as the past in the MGM Grand.

Therefore, Marquez is set to follow a style far more synonymous with the majority of Mexican fighters and start aggressively himself.

His trainer Nacho Beristain has previously stated that much of his training has been about building power and this is no real surprise bearing in mind that he is taking a rare forage into the welterweight division to challenge for Pacquiao’s WBO title.

One thing that cannot be doubted is Marquez’ warrior mentality and the fact he has never been stopped is testament to his desire to never give in and the resilience he is capable of showing.

Turning the fight into a mini tear up in the opening rounds may therefore best suit him as it will prevent Pacquiao settling early and working his way into the fight.

Meanwhile, Marquez has shown in his first two fights with Pacquiao an uncanny ability to neutralise his southpaw stance and prevent the Filipino champ finding the right angles to land his big left hand, particularly after the opening three rounds.

It is 12/1 in the boxing betting that Marquez triumphs by knockout and the same price that he collects a more unlikely victory on points.