What can we expect from Antonio Margarito in November?

When it was first announced that Manny Pacquiao's next opponent will be Antonio Margarito, the reaction from most fans was less than enthusiastic. Most importantly it wasn't the fight everyone was initially hoping for, but also Margarito hadn't looked good in his past two appearances. But were those fights really representative of the how Margarito will look in November, and if not, what can we expect to see from him against Pacquiao?

In taking on Roberto Garcia, most thought Margarito looked over the hill at worst and out of sorts at best. He took a comfortable ten round decision against the solid but unspectacular challenger, winning the vacant and also largely arbitrary WBC International light middleweight title in the process, but looked tentative at times despite an early knockdown. On face value it looked as if Margarito turned in a rather pedestrian night's work, but there was perhaps more to it than simply a bad performance.



Part of why he failed to impress can probably be put down to ring rust after taking a year and four months off, the year having been imposed by the California State Athletic Commission. Add this to the fact that he had climbed up to a light middleweight he hadn't fought in for several years and his performance against Garcia begins to look a little better. Prior to the Garcia fight Margarito had fought twice every year since 2000, never taking off more than 10 months in between fights, and last fought at 154lbs in a losing effort to Daniel Santos in 2004, so as battle tested as he is, both circumstances probably effected him to some degree on the night.

Also as his new trainer Robert Garcia attested to after the fight, they were trying out a new strategy in his return bout which saw Margarito using his jab more, being more conservative and accurate with his punches and a little more conscious of his defense. Which as it turns out now was probably a shrewd move, and certainly Garcia was the right opponent to try the new approach out on rather than Pacquiao.

So what can we expect from Margarito this time around?

Will he be the aggressive and often reckless brawler who tries his level best to throw a hundred punches in every round and uses his chin to absorb every bit of return fire, or the slightly more measured boxer we saw against Garcia?

Most likely he will try to box from the offset, and might even win a round or two as Pacquiao works on getting past his jab. With the speed and movement differences being what they are though this probably won't hold up for very long, and Pacquiao will render his reach useless if he can get close enough. The only question then becomes whether or not he can put a dent in the usually iron chin of Margarito.

At a lighter weight Shane Mosley made fairly easy work of Margarito despite his penchant for absorbing punishment, and through his greater speed was quickly able to turn the fight one sided. The big question surrounding that fight though is how focused Margarito could have been given what transpired backstage only moments before the fight started.

Having been found with loaded hand wraps by Mosley's trainer Nazim Richardson, regardless of whether he knew they were there or not, almost certainly affected the way Margarito fought. In the back of his mind he must have known he was going to be suspended or possibly banned for life, which obviously isn't what you should be thinking about during a fight.

Further, the lack of the loaded pads almost certainly affected his confidence as well. If he didn't know they were there, then he must have wondered if his trainer had used them before and if so, how hard he could really hit without them. If he knew they were being used, then he went in knowing his big advantage was missing.

So given that Margarito could be considered something of an unknown quantity, and that this goes for Pacquiao as a light middleweight as well, the fight should be entertaining at the very least.

Tim Stokes, Philly: "After seeing the pictures from the press tour I'm not sure Manny is big enough to hurt Margarito, I think he's going to have serious trouble finishing him"

Peter Bradley, Pittsburgh: "I'd rather have seen Pac vs. JMM III, but Margarito is a much tougher fight for sure. Everyone was ripping into Khan for wanting to fight Marquez, but they accepted it with Pac weirdly"

Source: Examiner.com

PACQUIAO-MARGARITO BEVERLY HILLS PRESSCON PHOTOS

Pacquiao expects action fight against Margarito

BEVERLY HILLS – It may not be the fight most boxing fans want to see but when asked about his thoughts on facing the Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito, Philippine congressman and the world’s best pound-4-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao simpered, admitting he can’t wait to step in the ring against the former welterweight champion.

"I know it’s going to be a great fight with a lot of action," said Pacquiao during a press conference announcing the fight at the Beverly Hills Hotel on August 31. "Margarito’s fight style is aggressive. He’s stronger and bigger than me and I know we’ll train hard and give a good show to the fans."

If styles make fights, the bout between Pacquiao and Margarito should live up to expectations. Both guys are forward and aggressive fighters and should give boxing fans their moneys worth, according to many of the boxing pundits in attendance.

Margarito’s trainer Robert Garcia also expects a great fight, with his man coming up on top.

"Margarito’s going to come in and surprise the world," said Garcia, who also trains Pinoy boxers Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire. "Pacquiao is the legend but we’re going to make history."

Margarito added that he’s never been more motivated for a fight. After serving a one-year suspension and having his boxing licensed revoked and denied in California recently, Margarito is just glad the Texas State Athletic Commission granted him a license and Top Rank for giving him the opportunity to face the world’s best pound-4-pound boxer.

"I’ve been asking for this fight for a long time," said Margarito, who has not fought in the US since January 2009, when a plaster-like substance was found in his hand wraps before a fight against Shane Mosley in Los Angeles. "Everything that has happened is in the past. We’re now in the present. It’s time to show everyone that I’m still good."

Pacquiao arrived to the US on Monday to embark on a media tour in the US to promote his upcoming fight against Margarito at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on November 13. The two of them will head to New York on Wednesday; attend the Dallas Cowboys exhibition game on Thursday, before concluding the three-city tour at Cowboys Stadium on Friday.

The fight will be at a catch weight of 151-pounds and for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Middleweight title, which became vacant when Sergio Martinez decided to move up in weight rather than defend the title.

With the move up to middleweight, Pacquiao will be going for an unprecedented eighth world title in as many divisions.

Source: asianjournal.com

Manny Pacquiao & Antonio Margarito In L.A

By David A. Avila

LOS ANGELES-Packed inside the historic Beverly Hills Hotel where icons past and present wine, dine and circulate, a media horde showed up to the Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito press conference on Tuesday.



The Filipino press out-numbered the Latino press.



I wonder if that’s a sign of what to expect.



Boxing fans will find out on Saturday Nov. 13 when Pacman meets Margarito at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas for the vacant WBC junior middleweight world title. Top Rank is promoting the clash.



Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, blasted the press for printing accusations and painting the upcoming bout as ridiculous because of Margarito’s suspension by California.



“There wasn’t a shred of evidence,” said Arum, a former federal attorney during the John F. Kennedy Administration.



Despite Arum’s claims that Margarito was blameless, tell that to Pacquiao, who stated that Margarito knew that there was something in his gloves.



No matter, the fight is on.



“I’m here again,” said Pacquiao who’s become accustomed to the media blitzkrieg that takes place for all of his bouts. “I believe Margarito has the ability to give a good show.”



Just don’t ask him if Margarito knew that former trainer Javier Capetillo was loading his gloves with an illegal insert.



Margarito, who coils at the mention of whether or not he knew about the insert, must be tiring profusely upon listening to the same questions over and over again. I know I’m tired of it.



“I’ve been waiting for this fight a long time,” Margarito said. “Everything that has happened is in the past. It’s time to show everyone that I’m still good.”



Also present at the swanky hotel was new Mexican hero Giovanni Segura fresh off his knockout win over Puerto Rico’s Ivan Calderon last weekend.



Segura still had slight swelling from his eight rounds with the former Pound for Pound fighter called “Iron Boy.”



“I’m an Aztec warrior like Margarito. We don’t surrender,” said Segura who now has both the WBA and WBO junior flyweight world titles. “We just fight until the end.”



Hopefully those words prove prophetic and Margarito and Pacman’s fight turns out to be one of the best fights of 2010.



After the conference ended people continued to mill around the hotel that once housed many of the late Howard Hughes’s girlfriends.



Today the hotel housed a boxing media blitz.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Margarito deserves to fight Pacquiao'

MANILA, Philippines – Members from the camps of Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito pleaded to the media and public to give the Mexican a chance to prove himself in the ring after serving out a one-year suspension.

Top Rank, Inc. CEO Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, cited the Texas Athletic Commission for granting Margarito a license to fight again in the United States after the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspended him last year.

“Evidence determines guilt or innocence and there was not one shred of evidence that Antonio Margarito knew anything about the hand wrap,” Arum said during a press conference at the Rodeo Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

The CSAC suspended Margarito after a plaster-like substance was found in his hand wraps ahead of his January 2009 bout against Shane Mosley.

The Margarito vs Pacquiao fight, which still lacks a marketing title, will be held on November 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Texas.

“Probably Pacquiao-Margarito is all the title that it needs,” Arum commented.

Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, Michael Koncz, slammed Margarito’s critics for being too hard on him.

“I wanna thank the media for coming out its always great to have your support. But on the other hand, I also wanna scold the media, the media that’s writing that we shouldn't be fighting Maragarito and so forth. I think it's absurd,” he stated.

Koncz reminded the media that the former welterweight champion has served his suspension.

“I just wish… if you're not gonna support the fight, maybe don’t write anything about it. It's gonna be a good fight. Styles makes fights,” he continued.

He also repeated what Pacquiao told him which is to move on, forget the past and concentrate on the fight.

Margarito out to surprise the world

The Mexican fighter personally appealed to the public to give him a chance.

“I’ve been asking for this fight. I’m very happy and motivated that I’m here,” he said. “Everything that happened is in the past. We’re in the present. It’s time to show everyone I’m still very good and nobody wants to miss the fight… Now is the present. Forget about the past.”

The Mexican, who goes by the nickname “Tijuana Tornado,” also thanked Pacquiao for taking the fight, and the Texas Athletic Commission for allowing him to fight again in the US.

His manager, Sergio Diaz, and trainer, Robert Garcia, also spoke about Margarito’s chances against Pacquiao.

“I can see the hunger in Antonio. He talks to me. He tells me how hungry he is,” said Diaz.

“We believe that Mexico will have a new champion and a 4-time world champion again,” he added.

Garcia stated that Margarito, whom he said was a great person and a very dedicated athlete, is out to surprise the boxing world on November 13.

“I know we’re going against Manny Pacquiao who is a great fighter, a great champion but we have a tremendous fighter in Antonio Margarito. He’s gonna come and surprise the world... Everybody is in for a surprise. Pacquiao is a legend but we’re gonna make history,” he said.

Fight of the year?
Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight king, promised that he and Margarito will have a good fight.

“I’m just a fighter doing my job and it’s gonna be a great, great fight. And this is what people want to see… a lot of action in the ring,” said the Sarangani province congressman.

“Margarito has the capability to give a good show. His fighting style is very impressive. His style is [of a] very aggressive fighter, strong and bigger than me, so we have to train hard, both of us, to give a good show.”

Pacquiao and Margarito will fight for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight belt.

Conditioning coach Alex Ariza, meantime, brushed off the predictions of Team Margarito.

“Everybody keeps saying we’re gonna have a tough fight in our hands. But we’ve always had a tough fight in our hands… Manny ultimately prevails and he’s gonna prevail in this fight as well,” he declared.

Ariza also commented how Margarito is taller and bigger than Pacquiao.

“He definitely seems to be getting bigger and bigger that’s for sure,” he said. “But that’s Manny. He always likes a challenge.”

“It's gonna be a war. Everybody knows Margarito comes to battle, Manny comes to battle. And probably, maybe the fight of the year,” Ariza stated.

Source: ABS-CBNNews.com

Antonio Margarito to Manny Pacquiao: “I Can’t Wait to Load My Gloves Again!”

By Geno McGahee

OK, the above quote is not an actual quote, but more of an implied one. If you believe that he knew nothing of the plaster in the hand wraps, then you will also buy that he would not cheat if there was an opportunity. As we get closer to this sham of a super fight, the question has to be asked: “Will Margarito be allowed to cheat again?” After all, he cannot beat Manny Pacquiao straight up. If he goes in there with his normal punches that had absolutely not effect on Shane Mosley, then they will not dent Pacquiao. I know this and Team Margarito knows this.

How crooked is this fight?

The commission in Texas approving Margarito for a boxing license says much. I would wager that each and every “yes” vote came with a new car. It’s common sense here people. If somebody puts a baseball bat in your hand and you go hit somebody over the head with it, can you say you were unaware of the bat? You are completely innocent of the charges? Margarito was given two baseball bats in the form of tampered hand wraps and who knows what else he and his trainer had done to secure victory after victory in the later stretch of his boxing career? What will they do to beat Manny Pacquiao?

Anything it takes. If there is an opportunity and if the commission can be bought, others can be paid to look away while the crime takes place. This time, it may not be plaster, because people will be looking for it, but it may be something else, but the big point is that Margarito is a proven cheater, a criminal, a detriment to the sport we all love, but he gets the shot to make a bundle of money. I think that a lot of people will have to take a shower after they pay for this fight.

I have never been a big fan of Muhammad Ali. I certainly don’t consider him the best of all time, but he was one hell of a marketing genius. Floyd Mayweather, JR., has learned a great deal from the displays of the former Heavyweight Champion. Now Ali was offered many deals to promote different products and declined, when he was broke because it was the right thing to do. Now, Manny Pacquiao is fighting a person that hurts the sport for nothing more than the green, and he is not broke.

We are in a world where the rich want to get richer, but when you are in a position of celebrity status and you market yourself as a positive influence to the young and society as a whole, watching take money out of filth is discouraging. In a world of so very few heroes, many looked up to Pacquiao for his determination and common man vibe, but now we sit back and ask why he would agree to this fight.

In the end, the fault is not with Manny Pacquiao, or Antonio Margarito, or even Bob Arum, but the disorganization and filth factor of the sport itself. We have several opportunists that are looking to turn a buck. If you have a drug dealer on the corner of your street and you call the cops to take him out of there and they walk over to him and hug him and tell him to proceed, then it is the fault of the police for allowing it. They are there to protect and serve, but what do we have to protect and serve boxing?

So what is the core of this fight? What are we being sold? Does anyone reading this believe this to be a competitive fight? I see no hands raised and I am with the mob. This is not a competitive fight. This is a man running at a tank with a flyswatter.

If it’s not a competitive fight, then why is it on PPV? Two angles that we are going to see: One, Margarito is a cheater, a man that should be banned from the sport, but because he’s not and because the idiots in Texas think that it’s OK to put a guy like him into the ring as long as it lines their pockets, he’s getting paid. Margarito is associated with loaded gloves and the “anything to win” attitude. He is the new bad boy of boxing and that is the sell here. What will he do to win this fight and he’s gotten away with cheating before…no lesson learned there people. Why not do it again? Why not load the gloves? If he beats Pacquiao, he’s going to fight Floyd and there is another 10 million or so in his bank account.

The other angle is that this is a good fight because a bad guy is going to be punished. Many people subscribe to this theory and many idiots are pushing this on message boards and in some cases, boxing articles. Is there anyone that wouldn’t get beaten down for millions of dollars? How is that punishment? Who hasn’t gotten into a fight? Picture this, you watch the biggest piece of garbage take a beating. Charles Manson … a young Manson, because now he’d probably die during the beating being so old. Well, Manson gets pounded and knocked out, and then he gets up and they hand him a check for 10 million. Are you satisfied with that punishment? Margarito is a serious criminal. He wasn’t caught for stealing cupcakes from Walmart. He was caught with deadly weapons and the intent to use them.

So, protest a fight where a criminal gets rich or rejoice that he is getting “punished” with millions of dollars. It’s up to you. We have this great opportunity to tell Bob Arum and the other snakes involved that we are not going to support something that hurts the sport.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito: a mismatch between one of the best in boxing and a known cheater, endorsed by Bob Arum and the crooked Texas Commission, and hopefully rejected by the boxing fans. Even when you throw out the plaster, you still have the mismatch and if you want to know the end result, tune into RSR now: Pacquiao by mid round stoppage. There, I saved you 60 bucks and I hope some of you that were going to rent it, will think about it after you’ve read this.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Pacquiao: Margarito had to know about pads

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Bob Arum had just finished making a passionate speech about the injustice inflicted upon Antonio Margarito, saying no one could prove he knew beforehand about the illegal knuckle pads that led to his temporary banishment from boxing.

The promoter of Manny Pacquiao cited an internet story that quoted five trainers as saying they could easily slip such a pad into a fighter’s hand wraps without him knowing about it.

Then, after the formal portion of the news conference at the posh Beverly Hills Hotel to promote the Pacquiao-Margarito fight on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquaio, surrounded by reporters, was asked whether he believed Margarito knew.

“Of course,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t believe him. It’s on his hands, he’s the one having his hands wrapped. He doesn’t know what things they put inside? Of course he knows that. He’s just making some alibis for some reason.”

There’s no way a fighter can’t know? he was asked.

“Exactly.”

So why are you fighting him? he was then asked in so many words.

“People are worried about me fighting this guy because he’s a dirty fighter because of the hand wrapping,” Pacquiao said. “I said, ‘Give him one more chance, one chance to be straight.’ … He’s just human and he made a mistake.”

No spin. No BS. Just sincerity, which is typical of Pacquiao.

And with that he made it more difficult to criticize him for fighting Margarito, who lost his license in California after he was caught with the illegal pads in his wraps before he fought Shane Mosley in January of last year.

Margarito applied for reinstatement in California two weeks ago but was denied, after which Texas approved his application.

That decision, the opportunity Margarito has to face the No. 1 fighter in the world for a lucrative payday and all those involved in the promotion have been criticized by many members of the media. Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports referred to Pacquiao as, “despicable.”

Does that bother his handlers?

“A little bit, yes,” said Alex Ariza, his longtime strength and fitness coach. “These guys are fighters. It’s a business. Manny has a promoter, the best promoter in boxing. If Bob thinks this is the best fight for him, then he’ll go with what Bob says. I thought Kevin Iole was way out of line calling Manny despicable.

“… Manny isn’t going to play judge and jury. That’s why they have commissions. If someone feels the penalty was too lenient, take it up with [the commissions]. What does Manny have to do with that?”

Margarito probably could’ve taken a lesson from Pacquiao. To this day, he hasn’t acknowledged that he at least should’ve known about the pads even if he didn’t, which he continues to maintain.

“Americans love to forgive,” Ariza said. “Look at the guys on steroids in baseball. The guys who said, ‘I’m sorry. I made a mistake,’ they were forgiven and were taken back. Margarito didn’t do that. It’s an insult to everybody’s intelligence to say he didn’t know.

“He would’ve been better off to say he was sorry, he knew (about the pads), and I think the boxing world would’ve forgiven him.”

Margarito clearly is frustrated that the hand-wrap issue continues to hound him 19 months after the Mosley fight.

He was told what Pacquiao had said moments earlier, that he had to know about the pads, and his face contorted as if he had bitten into a lemon.

“That’s in the past,” he said curtly through an interpreter. “I don’t care what anyone says. Now, I’m training to fight.”

The issue won’t go away, though. Even Margarito’s handlers acknowledge it.

“We’re relieved that Tony received a license,” said Sergio Diaz, Margarito’s co-manager. “I don’t think this [hand-wraps issue] is over, though. I think it will continue to follow us for a long, long time.”

Weighty issue: Pacquiao probably could’ve demanded that his fight against Margarito take place at 147 pounds. However, he agreed to a catch weight of 151 pounds and will fight for a vacant 154-pound title, which would give Pacquiao a major belt in an eighth weight division.

Pacquiao and his handlers obviously aren’t concerned about giving the bigger man a few extra pounds.

“I think this fight will boil down to speed again,” Ariza said. “Manny won’t sit in front of him. Margarito doesn’t move well; everyone knows that. Manny said Margarito throws a punch on Tuesday and it gets there on Friday.

“If Manny sees it like that, he already knows what he’s going to do.”

Ariza said he expects Pacquiao to weigh in at 149 or 150 pounds for the fight. Pacquiao has never fought heavier than 145¾, his weight for the Joshua Clottey fight in March.

Ariza isn’t worried that Pacquiao will lose any speed.

“Earlier, when we first started this conditioning stuff, I would’ve been concerned,” he said. “Now that we’ve been through this in several fights together, though, I think his body knows how to handle the extra weight.”

No Mayweather: Pacquiao was asked several times about Floyd Mayweather Jr., the fighter many hoped he would face in his next fight.

He clearly didn’t want to go there. He served up an obligatory “I’ll fight anyone at a limit of 150 pounds” but nodded when someone asked whether he has more of less given up on fighting his rival for the top position in boxing.

Will he be OK if he never faces Mayweather? He was asked.

“More than OK,” he said.

70,000: Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, will be configured for 70,000 fans and could expanded depending on the demand for tickets, Arum said.

That would break the indoor record for a fight, which at the moment is the 63,350 who attended the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks rematch at the Louisiana Superdome in 1978.

Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey had an attendance of 50,994 at Cowboys Stadium. The building, which has a retractable roof, had been configured for 42,000 but standing-room-only tickets were also sold.

Source: ringtv.com