CELEBRATED boxing trainer Freddie Roach said Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao will use his quickness and fast hands to knock out Mexican Antonio Margarito when they face on Nov. 13.
Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), according to Roach, is not going to lose against Margarito (38-6 with 27 KOs) in their 12-round fight for the vacant World Boxing Council junior middleweight belt.
“Manny will start fast with this guy, and we will finish with him fast,” said the four-time Coach of the Year, noting that Margarito does not offer anything different from previous Pacquiao opponents such as Oscar Dela Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.
“I am confident in my fighter [Pacquiao] and I predict a knockout along the way,” Roach added.
Although Roach acknowledged Margarito’s edge in size, he sees little problem for the Filipino champion.
“He (Margarito) is a big, strong guy,” Roach told the sports site www.telegraph.co.uk. “I’m not overly worried about him. I’m not a big Margarito fan. Manny will have too much for him.”
Margarito stands at 5’11” to Pacquiao’s 5’6” frame, but Roach said the Filipino’s quick hands will neutralize the Tijuana Mexican native’s size.
Margarito, though, has yet to secure a license from the state of Texas after the California State Athletic Commission denied to give him one.
Roach, though, said the California State Athletic Commission has been lenient when it suspended Margarito for only a year after the Mexican was discovered to have used illegal handwraps when he fought Shane Mosley in January 2009.
Mosley, in an interview by the www.boxingscene.com, said he has already forgiven Margarito about the incident.
“I think time has been served, he should get his license back. The trainer is the one that wraps his hands,” he said.
Source: manilastandardtoday.com
