Roach urges Manny to go for knockout

MANILA, Philippines -  Manny Pacquiao should settle things once and for all when he faces Juan Manuel Marquez for the third and hopefully the last time.

Freddie Roach, the chief trainer of the Filipino boxing icon, said he will urge Pacquiao to go for the knockout on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas.

Roach said over On the Grind Boxing Radio that while Marquez may be the toughest opponent out there, he stands no chance against Pacquiao this time.

“I know the guy will be very game,” Roach said, referring to Marquez, the last fighter who really came close to beating Pacquiao.

They’ve fought twice, to a draw in 2004 and a equally controversial split decision for Pacquiao in 2008, and on both occasions Marquez claimed he was robbed.

“But I think Manny will be way too strong for him (this time). I’m going to urge Manny to put the pressure on this guy and get him out of there so there is no doubt,” Roach said.

“He does know how to fight Manny Pacquiao. He’s a very smart fighter. I sometimes wonder if he has our number, but Manny has come a long way since the last fight. He’s a more complete fighter.”

Roach also talked about Pacquiao being a little too nice on his opponents, but against Marquez he’d like the reigning WBO welterweight champion to drop his “Mr. Nice Guy” attitude.

“I can’t wait for this fight, for Manny to finally shut them up and show that they were not robbed the first two times,” said Roach.

Pacquiao hasn’t knocked out an opponent for over a year, since he stopped Miguel Cotto in the 12th and final round of their 2009 encounter.

Then he went the distance against Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley, scoring unanimous decisions when everybody felt he could have won by knockout.

This early, Freddie Roach is calling for a knockout.