Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito Preview & Picks

Previews

Manny Pacquiao takes on Antonio Margarito this Saturday in a light middleweight bout at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight can be seen on HBO PPV with a three-fight undercard. The undercard will feature Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Ricardo Cordoba, Mike Jones vs. Jesus Soto Karass, and Brandon Rios vs. Omri Lowther. The pay-per-view fights will start at 9pm ET.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito
Pacquiao – 500; Margarito +350
WBC Light Middleweight Title

History is once again going through a rewrite as Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) attempts to add an eighth world title in as many weight classes to his already unmatched legacy. Fighting yet another Plan B in the wake of posturing and plea bargaining with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny comes into this weekend’s a fight a winner of 12 straight. Manny has defied logic by using an offensive accuracy combined with unrelenting speed to take out a myriad of bigger opponents. He’s a hero in the Philippines and one of boxing’s top two draws. Now a Congressman with little left to prove in the boxing ring, Pacquiao takes on his heaviest opponent yet. But as we’ve seen with Pacquiao before, size truly doesn’t matter.

Standing in Manny’s way will be Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs), a former two-time welterweight champion and at one time boxing’s most avoided fighter. The luster was officially taken away from Margarito in January of 2009 when he was caught with illegal hand wraps containing a plaster-like substance in a fight with Shane Mosley; a fight Margarito would get destroyed in. After serving a one-year suspension, Margarito is back and in the biggest, most lucrative fight of his career. In his prime, Margarito was tough as nails with a non-stop motor. Now 32, it remains to be seen just how much Margarito has left in the tank.

Staff Predictions

Corey Willinger: No surprises here as Pacquiao scores the biggest knockout of his career – literally. Margarito will come to fight and keep his hands moving, but without plaster in them, he’s not going to be able to do enough damage to keep Manny honest. The Mexican will land his share of blows, but they will come after long periods of frustration against a fighter worlds faster than him. Pacquiao eventually pours it on in round 11, and if Margarito’s corner has their man’s best interests in mind, they’ll toss in the towel to save him.

Trent Pusey: Manny has made me, as well as others in the boxing world, wrong time and time again. Despite moving up in weight yet again to face a bigger opponent, Manny Pacquiao is now the clear favorite. Margarito may have lost his pop, but he still can throw a seemingly endless barrage of punches. Manny Pacquiao, however, need not go any further than the fight video of Shane Mosley’s win over Margarito in 2009. It won’t be a question of “if” with Manny but “when.” The when will be in the 8th round.

Will Cooling:Manny Pacquiao wins after destroying Antonio Margarito! What you want a longer, more indepth prediction? Why? The hype machine is in full force and has started to make you doubt your first instinct that this was a pathetic mismatch that only boxing feels able to get away with. You’ve heard the stories about Pacquiao’s disrupted training camp, his increasing focus on politics and his contemplation of retirement. It’s all nonsense. Margarito is not a true light middleweight nor a world class fighter. Even if you believe Pacquiao won’t be at his awesome best he’ll still have too much for his opponent. The only question on Saturday is which is the more disgraceful world title match – this or David Haye vs. Audley Harrison? It says everything about the smell coming from Texas that Haye/Harrison doesn’t even compare.