Mexico’s Antonio Margarito is priding himself as the bigger and stronger man when he fights the Philippine’s lone champion boxer-legislator in November.
He is right. By far the tallest opponent that Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight, Margarito could, by fight night, balloon into a full blown middleweight.
He will enjoy a reach advantage of at least seven inches because of his height and at least five pounds when he bulks up after the weigh in.
Pacquiao is no stranger to fighting men bigger than he is. In fact, he is making a living out of it.
The guys he beat - Marco Antonio Barrera, David Diaz, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Angel Cotto and Joshua Clottey – were at least one weight division bigger than Manny’s natural fighting weight when he took the challenge of fighting them. Except for Clottey and Barrera in a rematch, all of them did not last the distance against the Filipino southpaw.
From Barrera to Clottey, that is a five-division jump in weight for Pacquiao.
Against Margarito, Pacquiao is trying to break a record he himself established – winning his eighth world title in as many weight divisions - although this one against the Mexican is suspect with both fighters really untested in the super welterweight class. But that is beside the point.
Perhaps Margarito is conveniently forgetting the popular cliché in boxing – the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Against the fastest welterweight in boxing today, Margarito’s heft could also become his liability. Once broken down, bigger men collapse harder than anybody.
The only way for Margarito to survive Pacquiao’s onslaught is to prove that he can take the punches of the Filipino world champion. Very few were able to do so and the last man to avoid the swarming and blinding speed of Pacquiao was Erik Morales who inflicted the last defeat of Manny in 2005. That decision loss was avenged twice over via knockouts, however.
Margarito should look into the tape of the De la Hoya-Pacquiao fight as that could serve as a blueprint of what coach Freddie Roach intends to do in chopping down the Mexican before moving in for the kill.
Margarito should also prepare for some surprises as Roach seldom uses the same strategy for Manny against different opponents.
Anyway, in boxing, as they say, it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. Now which round will it be over for Margarito?
credits: asiancorrespondent.com
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