By Eughine Dunnion: With the farce of a Heavyweight title fight that was Haye v Harrison and the underwhelming undercard on the Pacquiao v Margarito bill, it is high time that boxing pulls out all the stops and repays it fans sometimes blind faith in the sweet science. Now this is not a knee jerk reaction of the Saturday night and Sunday morning (GMT) title fights of the before mentioned fighters but a multitude of factors over the last couple of years.
Pacquiao-Margarito
Hoping Pacquiao gets knocked cold by Margarito
By Chris Williams: I’m really hoping Manny Pacquiao gets knocked out tonight by Antonio Margarito. I don’t want Margarito to merely pound on Pacquiao for 12 rounds, because I honestly don’t think Margarito can win a decision over the Filipino fighter unless Margarito knocked Pacquiao down at least 4 times in the fight in separate rounds.
Khan picks Pacquiao to stop Margarito with a flurry of shots
By Dan Ambrose: World Boxing Association (WBA) light welterweight champion Amir Khan is picking Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO’s) to stop Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO’s) tonight when they meet at the Cowboys Stadium. Khan, who trains with Pacquiao and shares the same trainer as him with Freddie Roach, sees Pacquiao as being too fast for the slower, bigger Margarito. Speaking to Reuters, Khan said “I was quite surprised to see his weight at 144.6 pounds. But the power he hits with, it’s easy for him to hurt anyone. Manny’s going to use his footwork and speed, move in and out, and he’s going to plaster him with so many shots that the referee’s going to jump in and say no more.”
Roach: “I’m going to be in the history books with Manny Pacquiao for the rest of my life” [If Pacquiao wins an 8th world title]
By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach sees a Manny Pacquiao victory over Antonio Margarito as putting both he and Pacquiao in the record books for all time if Pacquiao wins an 8th world title in as many divisions. Roach believes that if Pacquiao can capture an eighth world title, it will never be broken by any other future fighter. Roach said “We’re [Pacquiao] going to win an 8th world title on Saturday. And you know what? That record will never be broken. I’m going to be in the history books with Manny Pacquiao for the rest of my life.”
Roach says Pacquiao is going to exchange with Margarito
By Dan Ambrose: Although trainer Freddie Roach would like for his fighter Manny Pacquiao to box more with Antonio Margarito tomorrow night in their fight at the Cowboys Stadium, Roach thinks Pacquiao will seek to exchange with the big 5’11” Mexican Tornado. “He could box more and be a little smarter,” Roach said in an article at Tampabay.com.
Weights: Pacquiao 144.6, Margarito 150
By Chris Williams: Two-time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO’s) came in right at the 150 pound catch-weight mark for today’s weigh-in for Saturday’s fight with Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO’s) at the Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao, however, came in at six pounds less at 144.6.
Pacquiao vs. Margarito: David vs. Goliath
By Nick Ryan: Most would think by this title that I am referring to Pacquiao as David and Margarito as Goliath, but it is, in fact, the exact opposite. In this fight, we have the champion Manny Pacquiao, who has been tearing through weight divisions and leaving only a bloody trail of past boxers broken dreams. While on the other end of the spectrum, we have Antonio Margarito, the underdog, the written off, accused cheater, who was given a punchers chance at redemption. Calling this fight controversial would be an understatement, casual fans and gurus alike cursing it to the gills. Yet, it has managed to stir up press coverage and flaring opinions from every corner.
Arum and Roach disagree about whether Pacquiao should retire after Margarito
By Eric Thomas: According to Sportsillustrated.cnn.com, trainer Freddie Roach believes that Manny Pacquiao should consider retirement after the Antonio Margarito bout on Saturday due to a lack of interesting opponents for Pacquiao. Roach has previously been open about wanting Pacquiao to get out of the sport at the top after a big money fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. But now that the Mayweather fight looks as if it may never happen, Roach thinks Pacquiao might be better off getting out sooner rather than later. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum believes just the opposite about Pacquiao, and wants him to continue fighting beyond the Margarito fight.
Will Pacquiao rise or fall?
By Daniel Tagg: If Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO’s) wins on Saturday night in good fashion against Antonio Margarito then what will Pacquiao do next? It’s believed that he will have three more fights at welterweight and/or light welterweight, but I think that he could go another way. If Manny wins on Saturday night in a way that’s not damaging to him, then he could go up another weight class and fight for an amazing 9th weight world title. A lot of people think this will be a huge mistake but I don’t think so. Margarito is 5′ 11″. If Manny doesn’t struggle with the height then why shouldn’t he be able to fight others who are the same height. Fighters like Sergio Martinez (5′ 10″), Felix Sturm (5′ 11½″), Sebastian Sylvester (5′ 7½″) and Dmitry Pirog (6’1″). All of these fighters are basically the same height as Margarito, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Margarito not bigger than Pacquiao
By Will Cruz: Read columns stating that Antonio Margarito is the bigger fighter Manny Pacquiao. This statement is not totally correct. There is a false impression that if the other person is vertically taller that he is bigger. When both fighters fight at the same weight, not one would be bigger than the other. The taller fighter gives up body mass, which makes him more easily feel the opponents punches. The fighter with the less vertical height would have additional body mass, which allow stronger punches and gets less affected when hit by the opponent.