By John F. McKenna (McJack): When eight division champion Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) takes on WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1, 39 KO’s) for the 4th time will the Filipino icon finally succeed in figuring out the riddle of the style of “Dinamita”? Pacquiao and Marquez will square off on December 8 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Hopefully the 4th fight will answer the question the first three fights have been unable to, who is the best fighter Pacquiao or Marquez?

Once again we are hearing from Pacquiao’s training camp that “Pacman” will approach this fight with a set of new tactics which will attempt to nullify Marquez’s ability to counter punch as Manny moves in for the kill. Of course we have heard it all before. Prior to the 2nd and 3rd Pacquiao – Marquez fights Team Pacquiao was convinced that it had solved the remedy of Juan’s frustrating counter punching style.

To say that Team Pacquiao had underestimated Marquez for the Trilogy fight last November would be an understatement. Prior to the fight Manny’s trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza were brimming with confidence or over confidence if you will. Roach was predicting an early knockout over Marquez, possibly as early as the 1st round. Ariza went way out on a limb by saying that that even if God himself came down he would not be able to save Marquez from the fate that awaited him at the hands of Pacquiao.

Evidently God had other ideas as “Pacman” was fortunate indeed to escape with a split decision victory over Marquez. It was an unpopular decision to say the least. Even some of Manny’s most ardent supporters were of the opinion that their hero had lost to Marquez.

There were numerous distractions in the Pacquaio training camp ahead of the Trilogy fight. Manny had not yet seen the light and was still engaged in after hours entertainment which involved drinking, gambling and at his own admission womanizing. As if that were not enough there were other distractions involving Manny’s burgeoning political career. Manny’s wife Jinkee having had enough of it allegedly served him with divorce papers on the eve of the fight.

Supposedly all the extra curricular activity is now behind Pacquiao. For the 4th fight Manny has vowed to get his groove back. He has not KO’d any of his opponents in over three years. Ask any fighter who has lost the edge and he will tell you that it is nearly impossible to get it back once you’ve lost it.

As famed baseball manager Yogi Berra put it as only he could, 90% of it is half mental. Manny can get into the best condition of his life, but can he get back to the fighter he was when he KO’d Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto? And perhaps even more importantly, can he figure out how to handle the counter punching Marquez? It is extremely difficult for a fighter to undo the way he has fought his entire career. Joe Louis had the best quote ever for a fighter who is attempting to change his routine in the ring. Louis said: “Everybody has a plan until he gets hit.”