Manny, why not build Pacquiao Boxing Gym now?

by Al S. Mendoza

FREDDIE Roach has his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California.

The late, lamented Gabriel “Flash” Elorde has his Elorde Boxing Gym through his wife, Laura. It has branches all over Metro Manila.

And what about Manny Pacquiao?

None. Nada.

No Pacquiao Boxing Gym in Manila, in Cebu, in Davao, in Baguio, in Bacolod, in Cagayan de Oro, in Sarangani, or even in his hometown GenSan.

Pacquiao usually trains at the Wild Card Gym when in LA.

He now trains at the Elorde Boxing Gym for the Antonio Margarito fight in November at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

He has picked the Elorde Boxing Gym branch in Quezon City, not far from Congress, because he says he doesn’t want to absent himself from his brand-new job as congressman from Sarangani Province.

He plans, though, to motor up shortly to Baguio for the majority of his training for the Margarito bout set Nov. 14 (Manila Time).

Although the clash is at a catch weight 151 lb, Pacquiao and Margarito will slug it out for the World Boxing Council super welterweight crown (154 lb).

Nowadays, catch weight fights have become a dozen a dime, a worldwide fad after Pacquiao crashed into the scene ballooning from one weight to another a la Incredible Hulk.

No fighter since beak-busting was invented has come closer to what Pacquiao has achieved: From a skinny 106-pounder in 1996, he has expanded to 147 to become the only boxer ever to capture seven world titles in seven different divisions.

A win over Margarito—which isn’t far-fetched as, this early, Pacquiao has been installed the 5-1 favorite—would make Manny an eight-time world champion.

I don’t know of anyone today who could even come close to surpassing that, or equaling the feat. Not in this millennium, I guess.

Anyway, about that gym Pacquiao needs to train on each time he has a fight coming.

Why doesn’t he build his own and name it The Pacquiao Boxing Gym?

To one as wealthy as Pacquiao, he might even build not just one but two, three or even four gyms in Metro Manila. Better yet, he should put up one each in the major cities in the country.

He’d surely help reduce the nation’s unemployment problem. Retired boxers could work as his gym trainers.

This brilliant idea isn’t mine but Ricky Sadiwa’s.

Ricky is an ardent Pacman fan, who does gym boxing regularly for exercise. Ricky, an IT expert, has considerably trimmed down his frame since he picked up the sport some weeks back.

For Reli de Leon, though, the expert marketing man, a Freddie Roach Boxing Gym in the country might be a better idea.

“It sure would even appeal to the AB crowd, Al,” he said.

I believe him. That would be grist for another future column.

Meanwhile, for his idea, Ricky, if ever Pacquiao finally decides to put up a Pacquiao Boxing Gym, has one request: “If I put up my own Pacquiao Boxing Gym, I pray that Mr. Pacquiao waives the franchise fee?”

If only for your idea, that’s not too much to ask of Pacman, I guess.

And I’ll even lawyer for you, Ricky.

To begin with, to a billionaire like Manny, the franchise fee will just be a drop in the bucket.

He’ll even be present to cut the ribbon during the inaugural opening of your brainchild.

Wanna bet?

* * *

GUESS WHAT. When in Bacolod, it’s a crime not to eat at the famous Bacolod Chicken House owned by Beatlemaniac Joe & Pat Cajili. Thus, balikbayans Ric and Tessie Almiranez of New York City were there last week and enjoyed their grilled chicken “up to the last bone,” in the company of Ramon and May Uy, Marvin and Pia Velayo, Ramon’s balikbayan sis Fely (also from NY), Baby Velayo and writer Sol F. Juvida. Incidentally, Ric and Tessie will fly back to NY tomorrow and I wish the lovely couple a safe trip back home. Bon voyage and till we meet again.

credits: manilastandardtoday.com

Pacquiao-Margarito Analysis

By Robert Elmore: On November 13th, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will duke it out for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight title. Many in the boxing public think this is a cake walk for Pacquiao while others say Margarito’s height, reach and size will be the difference. I have carefully watched fights to help me draw my analysis.

Pacquiao can win this fight if:

He gets inside land quickly and gets back out with taking severe punishment. Once inside, he Must land body shots. This will weaken Margarito and eventually bring his hands down enabling Pac to land punches upstairs. He also must be selective with his punches. He can not afford to just wing punches everywhere. He must make them count. Against Oscar De la Hoya, Pacquiao was very smart in picking his shots. He threw only 333 punches and landed 159; landing 59% overall.

In his fight against Miguel Cotto in 2009, Manny threw and landed a little bit more. He threw 560 and landed 276. In Pacquiao’s fight with Joshua Clottey in March, there was really no comparison. Pacquiao threw 1231 punches, but only landed 232. This was because Clottey didn’t fight back. The down size about these two fights is that Cotto had very little foot work and his defense was suspect (i.e. the Margarito fight suffering cuts and bleeding; It was the same result for the Pacquiao fight) De la Hoya fought a weight class he hadn’t fought in 9 years. Be that as it may, De La Hoya took the fight, knowing what it could cost him. Pacquiao also must develop some kind of jab to get him inside to do his thing. It doesn’t have to an a great jab either; just one to get him inside of Margarito’s reach.

The good news for Pacquiao is that Margarito’s defense is super suspect, as he often plows ahead, takes 3 to 4 punches to land one big one. So Pac will land punches. According to compu-box stats, Cotto was able to land 45 % of his power punches (179) against the taller Margarito. That’s very high.

Margarito can win if: He develops a jab to keep Pacquiao at bay and set up his other punches. Like I stated above, it doesn’t have to be a Larry Holmes type jab because of Margarito brawling style, but just one good enough to make Pacquiao think whenever he tries to bum rush him. He must also make Pacquiao pay for the punches he misses by counter punching him and going to the body. Erik Morales was able to control the fight with Pacquiao using his jab (couldn’t find punch stats for that fight) and counter punching and body shots. If Margarito chooses to go this route, He Must Stay Discipline! He can not go off track and returned to his old ways. He can’t stand in front of Pacquiao either and he must develop better defense. Yes, Margarito has the size, the reach, and the strength, but these meaning NOTHING, if he doesn’t know how to use them.

Intangibles: Pacquiao will establish a quick tempo and try to jump on his man early, hopefully to build up points, frustrate Margarito, and get him out his game plan in rounds 1-3. I’ve seen Pacquiao get a little winded in fights when he’s just winging punches. But I believe he will select his punches very well. The first round is crucial for Antonio. He must be head strong!!! Don’t fall into the Pacquiao trap; Use the jab and have some type of foot work rather than just plowing straight in. Had the fight between he Cotto gone the distance, Cotto would have won on points.

Prediction:Margarito eats too many punches. Unless we see something very unusual from him, he will be over whelmed by Pacquiao. Manny wins by TKO.

credits: boxingnews24.com

Has Pacquiao's historic run been aided by weak opposition?

There are some who argue that boxing’s pound for pound best Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter, but has also benefited from very strategic matchmaking during his historic rise from featherweight to junior middleweight.

The main point to those which believe the previous statement is that Pacquiao has faced big names on the decline.

As with any debate, it is important to attempt and tackle the question with the aid of quantitative data. Below are the win and loss records for Manny Pacquiao’s last six opponents, including Antonio Margarito, in their previous six fights:

• Antonio Margarito - four wins (2 KO) and two losses (1 KO)
• Joshua Clottey - five wins (1 KO) and one loss
• Miguel Cotto - five wins (2 KO) and one loss (1 KO)
• Ricky Hatton - five wins (2 KO) and one loss (1 KO)
• Oscar De La Hoya - three wins (1 KO) and three losses (1 KO)
• David Diaz - five wins (1 KO), no losses, and one draw

Cumulative Record of Pacquiao’s last six opponents in their last six fights: 27 wins (9 KO) and 9 losses (5 KO).

Cumulative Knock-Out Win Percentage of Pacquiao’s last six opponents in their last six fights: 33%

Cumlative Knock-Out Loss Percentage of Pacquiao’s last six opponents in their last six fights: 55%

So what does this all mean?

Manny Pacquiao has faced some of the best boxers in his last six fights while moving up in weight, but none of them were on hot streak of undefeated fights and except Clottey and Diaz - his weakest foes - all had suffered a knock-out loss in their previous six fights.

One cannot deny the historical importance of Pacquiao’s rise from featherweight since 2008 and the devastating manner in which he has knocked-out or stopped four out of the five foes he has already faced, but the data indicates that these fighters were in a less than prime state of their careers.

Many will rebuttal that the key pieces of data surrounding Pacquiao’s run from lightweight to junior middleweight are the fact that he faced these difficult fighters and has a perfect record against them.

That is a difficult argument to counter.

credits: examiner.com

Antonio Margarito’s Trainer Says He’ll Wrap Fighter’s Hands in Front of Pacquiao

In an effort to dispel rumors that Antonio Margarito might try to load his hand wraps with illegal substance or objects when he squares off with Manny Pacquiao, trainer Robert Garcia said he will invite the Filipino boxer to watch him wrap Margarito’s hands.

Pacquiao said he will designate someone on fight night to closely watch Margarito’s hand wrapping before the bout for the vacant World Boxing Council super-welterweight title.

Robert Garcia, Margarito’s new trainer, said, “I’ll wrap those hands right in front of Manny Pacquiao himself if he wants to come watch.”

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum picked Margarito as Pacquiao’s opponent after the astute promoter failed to to make a deal with Floyd Mayweather, Jr for Pacquiao’s scheduled November fight.

During the press conference held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Pacquiao was asked about the hand wraps controversy and he said he believes Margarito knew of the loaded hand wraps.

“Of course, I believe Margarito knew, he is the one who wraps his hands” Pacquiao said.

Margarito’s choice as Pacquiao’s opponent drew firestorm from boxing fans around the world as they recall how Margarito figured in the illegal hand wraps controversy during his fight with Shane Mosley in January last year.

The controversy started when Shane Mosley fought Margarito almost two years ago at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Shane Mosley could have been badly injured or killed if his trainer and an Inspector of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) failed to discover a substance that was inserted inside Margarito’s gloves minutes before he climbed in the ring to face Mosley in January 2009.

The substance, it turned out, was Plaster of Paris inserted inside Margarito’s right hand glove.

The substance turns into a hard cast once it gets exposed. It becomes harder than rock and could definitely kill, especially when used with the boxer’s awesome power.

Margarito maintains he has no prior knowledge of the illegal hand wraps but boxing regulators and fans say otherwise.

In the meantime, his trainer Jose Capetillo, who admitted having placed the illegal substance inside Margarito’s hand wraps has been banned from boxing in the US for life.

Credits: Bleacher Report

LIVE STREAM OF “PACQUIAO VS. MARGARITO” DALLAS COWBOYS STADIUM PRESSER

The final stop of the 3-city press tour for the upcoming November 13, Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito boxing event at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, will be Friday at the Cowboys venue.

Jerry Jones the owner of the NFL Cowboys will host the September 3, 2010 Pacquiao vs. Margarito press event. Bob Arum and Top Rank Promotions in association with HBO Sports are promoting and broadcasting this Pay-per-view event. HBO will also have an HBO 24/7 series for Pacquiao-Margarito debuting on Oct. 23.

Manny Pacquiao will be going for his 8th weight division world title (WBC 154-pound Jr. Middleweight Title) against the controversial boxer from Tijuana, Antonio Margarito, who will be fighting for the first time in the United States since his 2009 suspension for having illegal inserts in his handwraps prior to his fight with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles.

The Live Stream begins at 12:25 PM ET and you can view it on http://www.toprank.com/

credits: nowboxing.com

Additional Ticket Info for Pacquiao vs. Margarito

Top Rank has revealed full ticket information for the Nov. 13 clash between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito.

Tickets, which go on sale on Saturday, Sep. 18 will be priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50. They'll be available via Ticketmaster or at the ticket office at Cowboys Stadium.

The fight will be televised via HBO PPV and marks Pacquiao's second fight at the luxury stadium, following his lopsided decision win over Joshua Clottey in March.

"It was an honor to fight in the first world championship held at Cowboys Stadium. Jerry Jones was a wonderful host," said Pacquiao. "I look forward to returning to Cowboys Stadium and fighting before the wonderful fans in North Texas. I know Antonio Margarito poses great challenges for me but Freddie Roach and I will train our hardest to win. I am fighting for more than pride or history. I am fighting for the glory of the Philippines."

"Manny Pacquiao is a boxing superstar and a world figure," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "Cowboy Stadium is a world-class venue. We look forward to bringing sports fans another big night with the Pacquiao-Margarito telecast on November 13."

credits: 411mania.com

MARGARITO’S TIME HAS COME, HE WILL KO PACQUIAO!

By Chuy Marco

Manny Pacquiao, the man they call the “Mexecutioner” will no longer be proud to carry that nickname because he will be wiped out by the “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito on November 13 in Texas.

I boldly say this as a fan of boxing that the Mexican to defeat Pacquiao is Antonio Margarito.

Juan Manuel Marquez is too small for Pacquiao, but Margarito’s size and power will be his key to victory over the Filipino fighter who made a name for himself by beating up aging Mexican legends.

I saw the stream of the Los Angeles “Pacquiao vs Margarito” press con and Manny Pacquiao looks like a Kindergartner compared to Margarito. The size alone was enough to make my prediction on the outcome even more solid.

Also the strategy that Team Pacquiao, specifically Freddie Roach is trying to use of dehydrating the fighters or draining them will not work on this fight because Margarito can easily make 151-pounds catchweight.

The smile and confidence on Pacquiao during the press conference was almost disrespectful to his opponent. Margarito will wipe the smile off of his face for sure when they step in the boxing ring at Cowboys stadium.

Remember, the Pacman has never had someone who will move forward to him, everyone he fought was scared to push him back, Margarito fears no man in that ring and he runs from nobody.

This fight will be a replay of the Antonio Margarito vs Miguel Cotto fight and after the fight it will clear Margarito’s name and bring honor back to Mexican boxing when they see Margarito slay the Mexecutioner Pacquiao, and that Antonio didn’t have any plaster in his gloves on November 13 and he beat the best pound-4-pound fighter in the world without cheating.

Next, bring on Floyd Mayweather Jr.! Stop running from the Tijuana Tornado!

credits: nowboxing.com

Texas Demonstrates Independence, Makes way for Mega-Fight

IB - There are leaders then there are followers, the Texas Combative Sports department has taken a major step in showing the world of Boxing they are leaders an independent agency that will make decisions based on the laws, rules and regulation of the state of Texas.

Short of a Federal Boxing Commission being formulated, Texas will not allow outside organizations or media to influence nor dictate how they should follow their own laws, rules and regulations. Making a strong and independent statement, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has issued professional boxer Antonio Margarito a license to participate and compete in the sport of professional boxing.

Granting a license to Margarito has paved the way for the mega fight between the Mexican great and pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Now boxing fans around the world will be able to see this highly anticipated contest between two of the best fighters in the world. The contest scheduled for November 13th of this year and to be held at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Pacquiao continues to make concessions to his opponents that make him an underdog. Pacquiao took on boxing great Oscar DeLaHoya and gave up weight to the bigger fighter, coming up to a contracted weight of 147 lbs. After a long and lengthy ordeal with Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao agreed to the demands of Mayweather, mainly the drug testing but still the fight did not happen. Now, Pacquiao will climb up another weight class and fight Margarito at a catch weight of 150lbs.

You just have to give Pacquiao all the credit in the world for doing what he has to do in order to make the big fights. With all the notables in boxing that say they will do whatever it takes to revive the sport of boxing, Pacquiao walks the walk and leaves the talk to others.

Margarito throughout his boxing career has been known as the most feared boxer, evident as he had been ducked by boxing greats such as Oscar DeLaHoya and Floyd Mayweather. It was not until Shane Mosley stepped up to the plate and exposed imperfections in Margarito’s style of fighting. Mosley defeated Margarito in convincing fashion on January 4, 2009 by stopping the feared fighter in round number nine.

Since the defeat, Margarito has only fought once, on May 8, 2010 in Mexico, defeating Roberto Garcia by way of unanimous decision in ten rounds of boxing. The inactivity was due to Margarito being suspended from boxing for one year by the California Boxing Commission due to an illegal hand wrapping.

The suspension was enforced upon Margarito even though he never fought nor entered the ring with the illegal wrap. The representative from the opposing team (Shane Mosley) brought to the attention of the California Commissioner overseeing the hand wrapping, there was liquid on the wrap of Margarito. The commissioner then had the wraps removed and the hands of Margarito re-wrapped. The fight went on as scheduled with both corners satisfied and in compliance.

The wraps in question were confiscated by the California commission and it was determined the wet substance was some type of hardening liquid that would harden when dry, somewhat like that of plaster of Paris.

Margarito said he knew nothing of the substance and continues to claim innocence. Margarito accepted the suspension and did not engage in any boxing contests throughout the one year period. The California Boxing Commission continues to renege on the sentence served by Margarito as they continue to deny Margarito a license to box in the state of California.

An abnormal amount of pressure has been put on boxing commissions throughout the United States to not license Margarito by the Association of Boxing Commissions, Oscar DeLaHoya and unproven web journalist. The crusade by these people and organization continues for a lifetime ban of Margarito, even though it has never been proven Margarito ever entered the ring in any of his contests with illegal wraps. You simply cannot take away a person’s livelihood and career based on a “maybe” or “What if”.

One thing for sure, from here on out Margarito will be watched very closely by the governing bodies in each and every state that issues him a license to box, especially when it comes time to wrap the weapons.

Next week Top Rank and Bob Arum will launch the promotion of Pacquiao Vs Margarito with a coast-to-coast tour beginning with a Los Angeles Media Only event followed with public events on Wednesday, September 1st in New York and Friday, September 3rd in Dallas. The New York event will begin at 11:30AM at Chelsea Piers – Pier 60, 23rd St. & The Hudson River while the Texas event will begin at 11:30AM at Cowboys Stadium in the East End Zone Platform, 900 East Randol Mill Rd.

Ticket prices will range from $50 to $700.

credits: philboxing.com

Pacquiao-Margarito: Manny goes after another paper title

Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO’s) has become the quite the collector of paper titles in recent years. For some reason, he seems intent on collecting as many as he can before he retires from boxing. On November 13th, Pacquiao will be fighting Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title. This will be Pacquiao’s 8th world title if he’s successful in beating the disgraced Margarito. But what’s the point in Pacquiao collecting all these titles if he’s not fighting the best champion of each division? Back in November, Pacquiao fought then WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto at a catch weight. Instead of fighting WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley – the fighter considered to be the best of the welterweight champions last year – we got to see Pacquiao go after Cotto. Of course, Pacquiao beat him. There was no question he was going to beat Cotto, because Cotto hasn’t looked the same since being taken apart by Margarito in 2008.

When Pacquiao fought for the lightweight title in 2008, he fought WBC lightweight champion David Diaz instead of IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Nate Campbell. I don’t know of too many people who thought that Diaz was better than Campbell. But why is Pacquiao fighting the weaker champions instead of the very best fighters at each weight? It seems to me that if Pacquiao is going to be collecting trinkets, he should at least fight the best fighters. What point is there to be collecting titles if the knowledgeable boxing fans seem them without much value?

Sure, the ignorant boxing fans will admire Pacquiao for having won eight world titles, but what value is there from someone who doesn’t have much of a clue about the sport? If Pacquiao wants the respect of boxing fans, he should go after the best fighters in each weight class when he’s looking to add another title to his collection. I don’t count Pacquiao’s title wins in the flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions.

I think Pacquiao lost his fight to Juan Manuel Marquez when he defeated him by a controversial 12 round decision in 2008 for the WBC super featherweight title. And I wasn’t impressed with Pacquiao’s wins at flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight, lightweight and welterweight because I feel that those wins didn’t come against the best of the champions at the time.

Basically, I see Pacquiao as never having won a legitimate title where he beat the best in the division, and I won’t count his win over Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title on November 13th. I don’t see Margarito as a fighter that deserves to fight for the title because he’s only fought at junior middleweight once in the past six years. And I don’t see Pacquiao as a worthy challenger for the title because he’s never fought at junior middleweight before.

If Pacquiao wanted to fight for a title at junior middleweight, then he should have done it while Sergio Martinez was still the champion instead of waiting until he had vacated the title to go after it. That’s weak. But if Pacquiao is going to go after one of the junior middleweight titles, he should fight Sergeii Dzinziruk, the WBO champion, because he’s probably the best fighter in the division right now. I don’t consider Cotto being better than him. Cotto is another paper champion in my view.

credits: pacquiaovsmargarito.net

Pacquiao vs. Margarito: A cheater with a license, another catchweight and another title

The Texas State Athletic commission has granted a license to former world champion Antonio Margarito, or "Margacheato" as he is so affectionately referred to by some. This is despite the fact that California denied him the right to fight in their state. Now a fight between Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao and Margarito is a certainty.

The matchup is being heavily criticized. Many feel that it's wrong on several different levels.

1. Margarito is an (attempted) cheater and doesn't deserve the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

Jose Silva of Lowell, Arkansas said, "They should really make an example of Margarito. He shouldn't be allowed to fight anymore. That would show boxers who are tempted to cheat what happens when you get caught."

Many boxing fans that I've spoken to agree with Silva on this point.

Dale Pippin of Seligman compared Margarito's attempted crime to the incident that occurred during the 1983 Louis Resto vs. Billy Collins Jr. fight. After Collins took a horrendous beating for 10 rounds, it was discovered that Resto's trainer Panama Lewis had removed some of the padding from his fighter's gloves. In 1986, Lewis and Resto were found guilty of assault, criminal possession of a weapon (Resto's hands) and conspiracy. Resto served 2 1/2 years in prison. He was never allowed to fight again.

Fast forward to January 24, 2009. Margarito was preparing to step into the ring with Shane Mosley. It was discovered that there was some hard, "Plaster of Paris" like strips in his handwraps. Hands were rewrapped, the fight went on, and Mosley preceded to beat Margarito half to death, stopping him in Rnd. 9. Margarito was suspended from boxing in the United States.

There is one clear difference in Resto and Margarito. Resto was caught after he cheated, while Margarito was caught before committing a crime. Margarito also maintains that he wasn't aware that anything was being placed in his handwraps by former trainer Javier Capetillo. Still, it is the opinion of many that Margarito should be banned from boxing for life. Instead, Margarito is being rewarded with a huge payday in a fight with the current king of boxing.

This is yet another black eye to the sport, and boxing afficianados ain't diggin' it. Yahoo boxing columnist, Kevin Iole recently penned "Margarito’s return should make fans nauseous". The respected scribe obviously isn't happy about the decision to give Margarito the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

2. Manny Pacquiao is the "Catchweight King" and this is how he manages to beat bigger, stronger fighters.

At this point, Manny Pacquiao has only fought one fight at a catchweight. Did you get that? That's his grand total of catchweight fights. One. Uno. (1) He certainly doesn't deserve to be referred to as the "Catweight King".

Catchweights actually do serve a purpose. They sometimes allow fights to be made that otherwise wouldn't. Catchweights make it possible for a smaller fighter and a bigger fighter to compromise, and it should be noted that some great fights have been made as a result of this type of compromise.

Catchweights weren't invented by Manny Pacquiao or Bob Arum. They are nothing new.

In 1940, Henry Armstrong fought Law Jenkins at a catchweight of 140 for a welterweight fight. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Donny Lalond, Roy Jones Jr. vs Felix Trinidad, Jose Luis Castillo vs Diego Corrales and Julio Cesar Chavez vs Pernell Whitaker were all fought at catchweights.

Does Pacquiao actually need a catchweight for the Margarito fight? No.

Allowing Margarito to weigh in at 154 instead of 150 wouldn't change the outcome of the fight.

Tomasz Adamek weighed in a full 44 lbs lighter that Michael Grant last Saturday night. If Adamek wasn't worried about 44 lbs, Team Pacquiao doesn't need to be worried about 4.

The fact of the matter is that Pacquiao has never fought at light middleweight and even has to drastically increase his caloric intake during training just to keep from losing weight.

Margarito has fought at welterweight for most of his career, so making 150 lbs obviously won't be a problem for him.

3. How can this be a title fight for the vacant WBA light middleweight division when neither fighter has established himself in the weight class?

W.M. is a Pacquiao fan who asked not to be identified. He said, "I don't like it at all. I know for sure this is just a way to give Manny another title. I am 100% sure of this."

It is up to the sanctioning body to choose who deserves the honor of fighting for a vacant title, and while Pacquiao's acheivments are momentous, and Margarito is a former world champ, neither of them are actually light middleweights. There are plenty of fighters who have toiled in the light middleweight division who would love a chance to fight for that title.

Boxing fan Raye Santiago said, "To be honest, I want them to fight in 147 so there's no catch weight. They are both welterweights. it's just unfair to the other light middleweight contenders, but Manny just wants to fight who's being lined in front of him. We want Floyd but he doesn't seem interested as of now."

4. It is what it is, and fans will make the best of it.

Whether you agree or disagree about Margarito being Pacquiao's next opponent, the inclusion of a catchweight or the fight being a WBA title fight, the matchup itself is actually a pretty good one.

It's not Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but it's Pacquiao vs. a strong, resiliant, hard-punching opponent. It's sure to be a tough night for both pugilists.

The fight will take place at Cowboy's Stadium in Dallas, where 50, 994 fans showed up last March 13 to witness the lackluster Joshua Clottey serve as Pacquiao's mobile punching bag for the full 12 rounds.

Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are confident that Pacquiao - Margarito will far exceed the numbers of the previous bout.

Right or wrong, the fight is going to happen, and it's going to give Pacquiao the opportunity to fight for an 8th world title.

Boxing fans might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

It should be a good one.

credits: examiner.com