WORLD Boxing Organization (WBO) light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes said that Juan Manuel Marquez’s big muscles are useless without skills. Nietes believes his compatriot Manny Pacquiao would easily clip the Mexican when the two boxers collide on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) for the fourth time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas City.

“It’s the fighting skills and speed that win fights. Having big muscles are good but it is up to you how you carry and use it during a fight,” the 5-foot-3 Nietes, who holds 31-1-3 win-loss-draw record with 17 knockouts, told The Manila Times in a telephone interview.

Nietes, 30, who defeated Danai Meendaeng of Thailand in Dumaguete City in November, said that Pacquiao’s current physical condition is enough to take down the bigger and more muscular Marquez. For his fourth encounter with Marquez, Pacquiao trained for mere eight weeks compared to the usual 10-month training camps he went through for his fights against Oscar de La Hoya and Ricky Hatton.

“Pacquiao works hard and fights hard. I guess he’s faster and powerful puncher than the last time I saw him,” said Nietes, noting that some of his previous opponents are more muscular than him but he conquered them nevertheless. “If you are bigger but you don’t know how to fight, that’s useless.”

Nietes also explained that there are boxers who became weaker after adding muscles because the added bulk affected their natural fighting form but there are others who turned stronger and faster.