Say what you want about Pacquiao vs. Margarito but there won't be any running in this fight

Manny Pacquiao (left) next to the toweringly taller Margarito
Photo: Chris Farina / Top Rank

More than a month ago when Bob Arum initially announced that he was leaning towards Antonio Margarito as Manny Pacquiao's next opponent, I was one of the most vocal critics of the proposed clash. Obviously none of my protests including several boxing fans along with the other writers who have penned a similar if not harsher disapproval, was enough to derail Arum and crew for making this fight. Now that the first press conference in LA announcing the fight for November 13 at the Cowboys Stadium is done, there really isn't any sense in crying over spilled milk. This fight is going to happen, and unless you're a hypocrite or simply pretending to be a boxing fan, you will watch this fight one way or another. You might not want to travel all the way down to Arlington for it or shelf out Pay-Per-View money, but if you're a true fan of boxing, how can you pass up an explosive showdown between two of the most liberal punchers in the business?

Case in point: Antonio Margarito threw 1765 punches against Joshua Clottey, while Pacquiao threw 1231. Now for those who want to say Margarito has been using illegal hand wraps in his fists prior to fighting Mosley despite the lack of proof, then Clottey must be made of hardened spit-out bubble gum because none of those 1765 punches even appeared to stun the Überdefensive Ghanaian.

This will be a crowd-pleasing fight between two offensive minded sluggers. We have all seen how Pacquiao has performed against guys his size or smaller, but Margarito is huge. Back when Pacquiao was thrashing Oscar Dela Hoya in the ring, HBO commentator Jim Lampley made a comment that the possibility of Pacquiao fighting Margarito at 147 seemed improbable due to the Tijuana Tornado's imposing physical advantages. But Margarito's fight with Pacquiao isn't at 147, and Pacquiao will be definitely giving away some advantages to Margarito by allowing him to fight at 151 when Pacquiao himself had never weighed in more than 145 in any of his fight weigh-ins.

Margarito is one of the hardest working boxers in the game and he has all the motivation in the world to put forth the performance of a lifetime against Pacquiao; a person who has nothing to lose is perhaps the most dangerous of all. And judging by Margarito's trainer Robert Garcia's comments to me last weekend, they are definitely looking to try and break down Pacquiao by storming him with the most punches he's ever seen in his career. Am I saying it's a smart move? I don't know. But do I want to see them try? Hell yes. There will be no running, dancing or excessive trash talking that don't even translate into action in the ring in this one because you know Pacquiao will bring all of his loaded guns to try and thwart Margarito's stand.

So dry your eyes folks and quit crying or playing Judge Judy like you know what truly happened with Margarito's wraps, because this fight is happening and if you love boxing, how can you not want to see two of boxing's biggest names and heaviest hitters in the past half decade in an all out fistic throwdown?


Source: http://www.examiner.com