Pacquiao vs Marquez 'can never be a toe-to-toe fight' according to Nacho Beristain

One of the things that has made the rivalry between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez so great has been that they have perfectly complimentary styles. Not in the way that Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti were both toe-to-toe sluggers, but in that Pacquiao and Marquez are both skilled technical fighters who can brawl if needed and can fire hard power punches when needed.

Their tactical styles make for a very specific style of fight, as Marquez trainer Nacho Beristain made clear (via Boxing Scene):

"This can never be a toe to toe fight. It can never be that way because of their styles. Marquez is a smart boxer and Pacquiao doesn't fight toe to toe either. Pacquiao attacks his opponent and then pulls back. He doesn't stand toe to toe. He attacks his opponent, pulls back and makes them feel comfortable and then he jumps on them again and hurts them,"

It's actually somewhat amazing that the three fights to date have been so great to watch given their styles. A counterpuncher and a tactical, technical brawler don't always make for entertaining fights. Sometimes you have guys who are reluctant to open up because the counterpuncher might fire back and then the counterpuncher sits back waiting for an attack that isn't coming.

Instead, boxing fans have been treated to some of the best boxing of the last ten years in these fights.

The two men will meet a fourth and final time tonight on HBO pay-per-view.

You can follow all of our Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4 fight week coverage right here, or you can follow the tremendous SB Nation boxing blog Bad Left Hook for their in depth coverage.