Freddie Roach has confirmed Manny Pacquiao will be going for a knockout victory when he defends his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Dallas. Roach originally predicted a ninth round KO, but is confident his charge can finish the night in the sixth or seventh round.

Roach revealed Pacquiao would be going for the knockout as a birthday present to his acclaimed trainer who was awarded Trainer of the Year for 2009.

Clottey meanwhile has never been knocked out in his three defeats to date with two coming on points and one by disqualification, but Roach is adamant his Filipino superstar is in the best shape of his life.

“Manny looked very, very sharp today. I’ve never seen him sharper,” revealed Roach following a training session in his WildCard gym in Los Angeles where he also trains Britain’s Amir Khan.

The 50-year-old is eager for Pac-Man to take the fight to the challenger from the first bell in a relentless attack which saw him floor Ricky Hatton and wear down a tough Miguel Cotto last time out.

“We’re going to throw [Clottey] off in the first four rounds. He has never been attacked like this before," Roach said.

Pacquiao, 50-3-2 (38 KOs), is widely regarded as the pound-for-pound greatest and has won world titles in seven weight divisions – the first person to ever do so.

Clottey is coming off the back of a close split decision loss to Miguel Cotto, who was later the victim of Pacquiao by a 12th round TKO back in November, and will be eager to succeed in his second attempt at the WBO strap.