By Gerardo Granados: Margarito will be fighting to reestablish himself as an elite fighter; if he wins he would be able to continue his career waiting for bigger fights and bigger purses. He must win, if he looses then it´s over, so he won’t be quitting as De la Hoya did. This is a really motivated fighter, but is this a really skilled fighter? His fight against Manny will be his 15th title fight, it´s been a long road for Margarito but it could end soon.

Stop arguing if Margarito knew about the illegal substance on his hand wraps its up to you if you believe he is innocent or guilty, he was suspended and now he got his license back, what matters the most is his next fight. Margarito has had only one fight in 22 months since he lost via TKO 9 to Sugar Shane Mosley who is slower than Manny and also doesn’t have as much power. He has been inactive for too long, so he will have problems finding his timing and range. Margarito is bigger and stronger than Manny and maybe that is his only advantage in the ring, because he does not have the skills or the speed needed to catch Pacquiao, besides he is not allowed to have a full advantage because of this tricky catch weight issue. Also Antonio is a one dimensional fighter who applies pressure but lacks of movement and his defense is average, he tends to stay in front of his opponent trading punches hoping to out-punch his rival but receiving a lot of punishing in the process. I think that the best chance Margarito has to win is to keep Manny at long range by using his jab and upper, pressuring and moving, and countering with combinations.

I think Pacman will move all night, hitting Margarito as he usually does in his fights, from every angle with both hands, the 151 pounds that Manny brings into the ring wont affect him as much (but indeed will affect him) as if this wasn’t a catch weight fight, Margarito wont be able fight at close range so Manny won’t have to push off Margarito round after round wearing out his legs. Once Pacman start connecting his power shots, Margarito could start to frustrate himself. The speed and movement of Pacman could be too much for Margarito to let him gain range and timing. If Oscar who is superior skilled than Margarito, wasn’t able to connect Manny, what can make things any different?

TALE OF THE TAPE:

Antonio Margarito – 5´11” height / 73” reach
WBA World – IBF – WBO welterweight.
Notables: Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams, Miguel Angel Cotto, Daniel Santos, Shane Mosley.
T38-W32 (23)-L4 (1)-D0-NC1 / Title fights: T14- W10 (8)-L3 (1) – D 0- NC 1
Manny Pacquiao – 5´6 ½” height / 67” reach

WBC flyweight, IBF – WBO super bantamweight, WBA Super World – IBF featherweight, IBA – WBC super featherweight, WBC lightweight, IBO light welterweight, WBO welterweight.
Notables: Chatchai Sasakul, Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Jorge Eliecer Julio, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erick Morales, Oscar Larios, Oscar De la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Angel Cotto.
T56-W51 (38)-L3 (2) –D2 / Title fights: T15- W11 (9) – L2 (1) –D 2

It doesn’t matter how ripped Antonio Margarito looks because this is not a bodybuilding contest, a lot has been said about how Manny is not ready or have been “distracted” and that is a real issue to consider, if Pacquiao didn’t train the way he should have, then he will have big problems when he steps into the ring.

One thing is for sure, this is going to be a very entertaining fight because Margarito and Pacquiao will fight all night until the end, not as the boring Clottey shell defense fiasco. If Margarito has enough fire left in him to win, it would be the upset of the year and a night to remember.