By Chris Williams: For what it’s worth, Alex Ariza, the strength and conditioning coach for World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao thinks his November 13th fight against former two time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito is a good fight. In an interview at Philboxing.com, Ariza says “It’s a very good fight.” Of course, it would be a shock if Ariza said it was a crummy fight, which is pretty much what the entire civilized boxing world is saying. Diehard fans of both Margarito and Pacquiao just love the fight, they say, but then again they probably would back Pacquiao even if he were fighting a 3rd tier fighter.

Ariza is very impressed with trainer Freddie Roach, saying “Watching him completely analyze an opponent, break them down finding his weaknesses, finding his habits and all that, I think it’s going to be an easy fight” [against Margarito]. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to see that Pacquiao has all the advantages in the Margarito fight, including a nice catch weight that will likely cause Margarito problems. Margarito has lost one out of his last two fights and looked horrible in both. The once big power that he used to possess is gone and now he looks like he’s trying to turn into a boxer to cover up for the loss of his power.

Ariza says “Manny hits a lot harder and is a lot faster than [Shane] Mosley. “ I don’t believe that. I think Pacquiao is faster than Mosley, but he doesn’t hit harder than him. I think Mosley hits a little harder, but he’s unable to throw as many punches as Pacquiao and he doesn’t have the same hand speed.

Anyone can predict the winner of the Pacquiao-Margarito fight. It doesn’t take Ariza to tell what is obvious to everyone. This is why boxing fans are so upset, because Bob Arum picked Margarito, a fighter that is nowhere the same class. Now Arum, and the HBO Pacquiao-Margarito 24/7 series has to hype the fight and try to make it so that people believe that it’s going to be a competitive fight , which it will not be.