By Oliver Suarez Margarito's application for a license to fight in the state of Texas has been approved. No doubt, the wrong decision that could have been made, when you take into account the severity of his wrongdoing.
But it was to be expected since the fight is sure to bring millions in revenues to the state. A factor that is tough to ignore during an unstable economy.
Now the fight is set to happen at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas, thus eliciting more reactions. But, I won't elaborate on that anymore since I already expressed my opinion on my last article, 'Selection of Margarito: Wrong Choice And Bad For Boxing' and I'm pretty much in agreement with Dennis Guillermo on his article,' Should Pacquiao be chastised for taking on Margarito?'.
Besides the continuous complaining about the fight won't do much as the fight is set to happen already and the people behind it don't care too much about the opinions of others. As Dennis Guillermo alluded to, it's all about the 'Benjamins.'
So let's just breakdown the fighters and the fight.
Antonio Margarito
Record: 38 Wins (27 KO) Lost 3
Strengths: Size, Reach, Great Chin, Stamina, Volume Puncher
Notable Wins: Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintro
Notable Losses: Daniel Santos, Paul Williams, Shane Mosley
Keys To Victory:
· Throw stiff jabs to keep Pacquiao at bay
· Consistent body work to slow down Pacquiao
· Must shorten punches since Pacquiao is now a solid counter puncher
· Find a way to defend himself from punches coming over the top
· Tire out Pacquiao by using his natural advantage in size and strength by being physical.
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 51 Wins (38 KO) Lost 3 Drawn 2
Strengths: Solid chin, Athleticism, Outstanding stamina, Volume Puncher, Ability to throw a punch from all angles, Ring IQ
Notable Wins: Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto
Notable Losses: Rustico Torrecampo, Erick Morales, Medgoen Singsurat, Erik Morales
Keys to Victory:
· Use head and body movement to get close to Margarito.
· Keep the fight at the center of the ring.
· Don't get overconfident. Follow a game plan similar to the one used against Oscar, which involved Pacquiao picking his spots and using movement to confuse the former
· Punish Margarito to the body to open him up.
Prediction: Whatever is your opinion about whether Margarito deserved the shot to face Pacquiao, what cannot be denied is that it is going to be an action packed fight that has 'Fight of The Year' written all over it.
This fight will be more competitive than most people think. Margarito is motivated to put his career back on track. A victory against Pacquiao will do that and minimize some of the doubts that he could beat an elite fighter without the use of infamous 'plasters.'
Also, he is a very active fighter who throws a large volume of punches and what makes it more effective is his ability to take a great punch. So, while Pacquiao might be able to counter him, it might not necessarily stop Margarito from dishing his own version of punishment.
However, I still see a dominant performance from Pacquiao because of his speed, stamina and movement. There's just too many ways that Pacquiao can beat Margarito. His outstanding stamina can allow him to stay on his toes and outbox Margarito the whole twelve rounds. He also has the power and chin to slug it out with Margarito.
But I see Pacquiao using a similar strategy as the one he used against Oscar. He will pick his spots and use footwork along with body movement to confuse Margarito. Margarito will probably be frustrated and start throwing wide punches in desperation, which will open him up for Pacquiao's combination and counter punches. Pacquiao will probably come out victorious with a late round stoppage. Margarito might have a rock as a chin, but as we've seen numerous times in the past, it can break like a glass when hit by an unseen punch. I inquired the opinions of other boxing writers and below is what they had to say
Jason Aniel, Philboxing.com
"I think Manny Pacquiao will face a lot of questions about why he is taking on Margarito. There's pros and cons about fighting Margarito which everyone knows already. But I think in the end it's just a great match-up in the ring and can potentially be the fight of year. I think boxing in 2010 needs a thrilling action packed fight.
Margarito is pretty easy to hit and will look much slower than Manny. I think the match-up favors Manny. Margarito's advantages are his height and his ability to pressure for 3 minutes of every round. But Margarito typically doesn't fight tall, which will play to Manny's advantage. It'll be a brutal fight for as long as it last."
Kenneth Ragpala, Filipinoboxingjournal.com
"Manny Pacquiao, if he won't lose his speed, agility, and punching power while gaining weight, will make it an interesting fight. That said, Pacquiao is untested at junior middleweught. I still don't know if he can hurt Margarito, who would probably come as a full middleweight / super middleweight on fight night. Pacquiao, who usually comes in at 148-150, will probably enter the ring at 151-152. Margarito can easily blow up to 160+.
Margarito is slow. But he has power in those hands. He is tried and tested as a junior middleweight and even had a title bout in 2004 against Daniel Santos. If he can take Pacquiao's punches, it's going to be a long night. I have no doubts if he can hurt Pacquiao. The question is whether the Tijuana Tornado will be able to catch Pacman or Pacquiao's speed and high volume-punching from weird angles will overwhelm Margarito."
Lorne Scoggins, Examiner.com
"I've been thinking about this fight. I really believe Pacquiao will stop him, but I believe it'll take a while. It's not going to be an early, flash KO. Margarito comes in open and gets hit a lot. This is going to allow Pacquiao to break him down. Margarito will simply get hit with such a volume of punches that he'll eventually fold. I say 11th round. TKO."
Ja Dawson, Bleacher Report
"A Pacquiao late stoppage...he beats him into submission, and will stop margarito on his feet or forces him to stay on the stool...it'll be similar to his destruction of de la hoya.
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