Antonio Margarito doesn’t want there to be a shred of doubt in anyone’s mind: He is not afraid of Manny Pacquiao.
Talking with the Los Angeles Times, the Tijuana-born fighter said he believes Pacquiao and the Top Rank camp made a huge mistake by selecting him as the supposed “Floyd Mayweather placeholder” for his Filipino opponent.
"I guess they were thinking it's an easy fight against a guy with a lot of issues and a lot of weight on his shoulders," Margarito said. "They chose the wrong time to pick me as an opponent."
While he couldn’t come out and directly say it, by “issues” Margarito was referring to the one-year suspension that is just ending.
Up until a few months ago, he had been under suspension for loading up his gloves with an illegal substance prior to his fight with Shane Mosley in 2009. (He's still barred from fighting in the state of California because of the incident.)
Margarito will square off against Pacquiao on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium for the world super-welterweight title.
Seeing as both boxers fight under the Top Rank umbrella, company head Bob Arum made it clear that an upset win by Margarito would immediately open the doors for a re-match even if there was no clause requesting one in the contracts signed by the two men.
According to Margarito, Pacquiao should plan for that rematch.
Source: opposingviews.com
