If Mayweather isn't afraid then what is it?

I keep reading about people like Richard Schaefer telling the world that Floyd Mayweather Jr isn't scared to fight Manny Pacquiao. I hear it from Schaefer, I hear it from Big Floyd, I hear it from Roger Mayweather, and I hear it from Mayweather fans. OK, so if Floyd Mayweather Jr isn't scared to fight Pacquiao, then what's the problem?

People can talk about Floyd this, and Floyd that, but at the end of the day he still has not stepped up. Floyd proclaims greatness, and he says that he is the top pound for pound fighter in the world. He says all of this but there is no escaping the fact that he still has not stepped up and fought Manny Pacquiao, the guy that the rest of the world sees as the pound for pound king.

The people want this fight. The boxing fans around the world want to see Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao step into the ring and fight. It would be the biggest buildup, and the biggest fight in decades.

There has to be a reason that explains why Floyd is ducking Manny Pacquiao. Oh did I say, "ducking?" Yes, I said it. If he wasn't ducking Manny, then the fight would have happened by now.

Floyd's legal issues are mounting, and it appears as if this fight keeps getting further and further away from realization. Opponents for Manny's next fight are already being talked about. Guys like Andre Berto, Juan Manuel Marquez, and even Shane Mosley's name are being tossed around. Floyd Mayweather would trump all of those names if he ever were to sign on the dotted line.

My fellow Mississippians make no bones about who they want Manny to fight next. The Mississippi boxing fans overwhelmingly want Floyd Mayweather Jr to sign and fight. Floyd has a lot of fans down here, and even his fans are growing frustrated. All of Floyd's fans know that their guy would do better than Antonio Margarito, or Joshua Clottey did. They know this, and that is what makes them so frustrated. They know that their favorite fighter (Floyd) has the skills to pose the most danger to Manny Pacquiao, yet their guy won't sign the contract. This leaves them with little to debate about.

When I was in Jackson, MS a few weeks ago covering the StrikeForce Challengers MMA card I heard several MMA fighters talking about Floyd Mayweather, and why he won't fight Manny Pacquiao. Even at an MMA event, the talk was of Manny Vs. Floyd.

So, why won't Floyd Mayweather Jr sign the contract and fight? Is his ego so big that he would rather squander 40 million because he's afraid of losing his undefeated record? If so, would someone please clue in Floyd that ducking Manny to preserve an undefeated record hurts his legacy more than a loss against Manny would.

If Floyd steps up and comes up short, history will say that Floyd fought the best, beat most of his opponents, and lost to an 8 division world title winner. This does not hurt his legacy at all. If Floyd continues to duck Manny, and Pacman retires, then Floyd's legacy will be forever damaged and the history books will read how Floyd ducked the best fighter in the world. If Floyd steps up and fights Manny and wins, then of course history reads even better for him.

Pacquiao keeps rolling along. He fights who his promoter puts in front of him, and he beats who his promoter puts in front of him. No legacy problem for Manny, that's a guarantee.

Brad Cooney
Mississippi Fight Sports Examiner

Underneath Pacman's crown lies a halo

The congressman delivered a beating so severe, it landed his opponent in the hospital. But in dominating Antonio Margarito last week at Cowboys Stadium, Manny Pacquiao also showed he has a compassionate side.

This is a well-known fact in the Philippines, where the beloved boxer and politician makes a habit of giving away much of his wealth in an effort to help the poor.

But until his taming of the Tijuana Tornado, many in America had not seen the kinder, gentler Pacquiao.

For most of their WBC super welterweight title fight, Pacquiao pounded the bigger but slower Margarito with astounding ease.

Then in the late rounds, the lion became a lamb.

After Margarito's eyes were nearly swollen shut and his face became a bloody mask, the champ began to fear for his opponent's safety.

“I try to get the referee to talk to the doctor,” Pacquiao said. “I didn't want to damage him permanently. That is not what boxing is about.”

That's not the end of it. Failing to get the fight stopped, Pacquiao took pity on the Mexican slugger, letting up in the final round so as to not inflict any more punishment.

“Manny's a very compassionate person,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer.

Filipinos worldwide have known this for years. Now the rest of the world knows, too. His treatment of Margarito at the end of their fight was a fascinating subplot in what otherwise was a lopsided — and vastly overhyped — bout. - John Whisler

Pacquiao returns to countrymen's warm embrace

Another hero’s welcome awaits Manny Pacquiao on Saturday when he returns to the warm embrace of his countrymen almost a week after a dominating win against Mexican Antonio Margarito.

Pacquiao defeated his Mexican foe in their 12-round slugfest at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas last week to claim the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title, the Filipino ring icon’s eighth in as many weight divisions.

The reigning pound-for-pound king and wife Jinkee arrive early Saturday morning aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 103 at the Centennial Airport 2.

Pacquiao’s mother Dionisia, brothers Bobby and Rogelio, and chief of staff Jayke Joson arrived early Friday morning. Joson will be making arrangements for the victory parade and party that are expected to celebrate Pacquiao's homecoming.

A brief press conference will be held at the Centennial Airport lounge shortly upon Pacquiao’s arrival. Then his entourage proceeds to the New World Hotel to take a brief rest and have breakfast.

Pacquiao will then attend mass at the Quiapo church, a tradition he's followed every time he comes home from a boxing match. He will also pay a courtesy call to President Noynoy at 10:30 a.m.

Team Pacquiao will then return to New World to prepare for a 5 p.m. show at the SM Mall of Asia.

Margarito joins the growing list of Mexican fighters beaten by Pacquiao, including such greats as Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao’s victory over the Tijuana native Margarito was the Sarangani Congressman’s 13th straight to hike his ring record to 52 wins (38 knockouts), three losses and two draws.

A bruised Pacquiao held two successful concerts in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Vallejo City in California — despite an aching rib cage inflicted upon him by the hard punching but slow-footed Margarito.

The Vallejo concert was held at the Hidden Brook Golf Club and attended by no less than Mayor Osby Davis, who presented Pacquiao a proclamation making him an honorary person in the city.

Davis also declared November 17 as Manny Pacquiao Day in Vallejo.

Proceeds of both concerts went to the Manny Pacquiao Foundation.

Pacquiao’s colleagues at the House of Representatives will also hold a welcome party at the Batasan Complex where he will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Distinction.

“Everyone is participating and everybody is contributing in their own little way to pay tribute to the greatness of Pacquiao," said An Waray Party-list Rep. Florencio Noel

Last Monday, Congress adopted Resolution 625 granting the boxing champion the medal of distinction for his exemplary achievement in the sport. At least 20 resolutions commending the heroism of Pacquiao have also been adopted by the House of Representatives. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV

Pages: Is Pacquiao the greatest? Depends who you ask

IF IT’S Bob Arum, the answer is yes. The 78-year-old promoter who’s collaborated with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and “The Greatest” himself, Muhammad Ali, said: “I look at Manny as being the best that I’ve ever seen, including Ali. Ali was a great fighter and had great, great attributes and it’s really unfair to compare a big guy like Ali with a little guy like Pacquiao. But when you look at the skill sets, Pacquiao is faster. Now you could say he is a little guy so he should be faster but Ali essentially had just the right hand. His left hand could jab and everything but it wasn’t power punching.”

What differentiates Pacman from the rest? “His left and right hand hit with equal power and that is what destroys his opponents,” said Arum. “They train to fight a left-handed guy and they watch out for his left hand but before they know it, they are getting pummeled by the right hand.”

Arum is correct. But he’s also biased. As MP’s publicist-negotiator-marketer rolled into one, he will trumpet his client’s achievements.

Michael Rosenthal of the “The Ring Blog” (www.ringtv.com) has a more objective analysis. Two days after MP’s victory, Rosenthal penned the article, “Let’s hold off on declaring Pacquiao the best ever.”

Don’t get carried away, Rosenthal explains. Sure, Pacquiao is a first-ballot Hall of Famer but to name him the best-ever? Not so fast…

“Let’s say we anoint Pacquiao the No. 1 fighter ever or place him in the Top 10,” said Rosenthal. “And then he loses a one-sided decision to Mayweather, which is a possibility if they ever meet. What do we say then? Oops?”

Valid point. Though we know Manny will beat Money, it is a worthy argument. “That’s why it might be best to call Pacquiao one of the better of all time and wait until his career is over before assessing him further,” added Rosenthal.

Here’s another opinion-maker: Bill Gallo. This guy’s a legend. At 87 years old, he’s seen more gloves than Mr. Arum. He’s also a legendary writer, having been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

“Just who is this guy, Manny Pacquiao?” asked Gallo in his piece, “In a thorough beating of Antonio Margarito, Manny Pacquiao cements himself as one of best boxers ever.”

Gallo continues: “He’s every little guy’s hero in this world of bullies, because he has this habit of beating the hell out of bigger guys. That’s who he is…

“This is one hell of a fighter, the likes of which I haven’t seen since Willie Pep and Sugar Ray Robinson. Yes, those two whom I’ve always regarded as the best ever.”

Finally, Gallo concludes by saying, “I’m going to wind this up by asking myself this question: Okay, Mr. Boxing Man, are you telling me this Philippine Dynamo is the best you have ever seen?

“Yes, in a very long time. And he might just be the man who will eventually put boxing back in the upper deck of sports. Believe me, this kid who aspires to be big in Philippine politics, with his perpetual smile and special brand of punching ability, is indeed the goods.”

Next is the excellent critique by Kenneth Ragpala of Filipino Boxing Journal. In “Pacquiao’s spot in boxing’s history: A contemplation,” Ragpala writes, “How history will place Pacquiao in the annals of the sport remains totally subjective. He may be greater than the legendary names who have proven their worth. Or not. Maybe he is the best ever, who knows? The truth, however, remains untainted. Pacquiao is definitely the best in his era.

“In the words of the highly respected boxing correspondent Scoop Malinowski, ‘it’s impossible to rank the great fighters. Impossible. You just have to pick a whole group and put them all in that utmost echelon.’

The conclusion? No doubt Manny belongs in the “Best Ever” debate. As to his ranking—No. 7? 3? or 1?—only the evaluator can assess. Because as Freddie Roach himself said, “It’s so hard to compare eras. We could argue all night long. Why not leave it at this: Manny Pacquiao is the best of his era.”

And the greatest when he KOs Floyd?

Notebook: Pacquiao by early knockout?

ARLINGTON, Texas – Freddie Roach has said he expects Manny Pacquiao to knock out Antonio Margarito around the eighth round, give or take, on Saturday at Cowboys stadium. That’s about as specific as he gets.

Speaking more generally, the trainer also has said he expects the knockout to come anywhere between Rounds 1 and 8.

Round 1? Observers generally agree that Margarito will survive until the later rounds even if Pacquiao dominates him because of his famously solid chin. Shane Mosley became the first to stop the sturdy Mexican, in the ninth round, by gradually breaking him down.

Roach believes the fight could resemble Pacquiao’s victory over Ricky Hatton – KO 2 – more than the Mosley-Margarito fight.

“I think we can hurt him right away,” he said at Wednesday’s final news conference, held at Cowboys Stadium. “Manny is punching really, really hard. He’s really grown into the weight. He knows how to use his body weight now. He punches the s--t out of me [on the mitts and body pads].

“He hit me in the chest the other day and I thought he stopped my heart, for Christ’s sake.”

Pacquiao had stopped four consecutive opponents – David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Hatton and Miguel Cotto – before he went the distance with Joshua Clottey, who was more interested in surviving than fighting when they met in March at Cowboys Stadium.

Roach is convinced this will be knockout – whatever the round.

“We’ll knock this guy out somewhere between [Rounds] 1 and 8,” he said. “I’m confident he won’t last. The punishment he’ll take will be enormous. Manny’s volume punches … he’s not going to be able to handle it. He will quit.”

Margarito struggling?: Roach and others in the Pacquiao camp believe that Margarito has not handled his weight well leading up to the fight, which could work in Pacquiao’s favor.

Fighters normally train at a weight heavier than the official limit and then taper down as the fight approaches. They dry out the day of the weigh-in, one day before the fight, and then replenish in the final 24 hours.

De La Hoya also was on weight well before the fight and had limited energy once he was face to face with Pacquiao.

“They said he’s been on weight [150 pounds] for a week,” Roach said. “If that’s true, it’s foolish. Oscar tried that too. … Now he’ll suffer the whole week. He’ll deplete his body. He’s not losing fat now, he’s losing muscle. ….

“I know he took a couple of days off last week and isn’t training this week. They might be worried he overdid it. Now he’s just running on a treadmill with plastics on to make weight.”

How does he know that?

“I know where he’s running,” he said. “He’s not hard to find. We’re in the same hotel.”

Margarito said at the news conference that he had a terrific training camp -- "one of the best of my career" -- and feels great. And his trainer, Robert Garcia, has said more than once that his fighter will have no problems making weight.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao tried packing on some weight early in training but decided against it because of how he felt. He said he got up to 150 pounds before heading back in the other direction.

“I looked terrible, and I couldn’t move. My speed was gone,” he said.

Pacquiao weighs around 148 pounds, about what he expects to weigh at the official weigh-in Friday.

Pacquiao ready?: Roach has said repeatedly that he had concerns about Pacquiao’s training in the Philippines, where he must deal with many distractions. That includes his work as a new congressman.

So where does Pacquiao stand now, a few days before the fight?

“It was just a mental issue,” Roach said of Pacquiao’s problems in his native country. “They were never physical. He always works hard. Mentally, it just took a while to get him there. While he was in the Philippines, congress was on his mind. We had a talk on the plane [the U.S.]. He promised me he’d get back to what he does best. Congress hasn’t come up since we hit America.

“His mind is completely on the fight. He’s 100 percent ready. We have no excuses.”

Wrap watch: Roach has said all along that he will be the one to watch Margarito get his hands wrapped to be certain no one slips anything illegal into the fighter’s gloves, which happened before he fought Mosley and he lost his license as a result.

Roach also went a step further.

“I asked the [Texas] commission if I can have a person from my camp in their training room from start to finish,” he said. “And they can do the same to me. I don’t trust those guys. Afterwards, after I leave, they might try to wet them or do anything they can. They’ve done it before.

“He’s a cheater. And once a cheater … a leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

Javier Capeillo, Margarito's former trainer, said he inadvertently placed illegal pads in his hand wraps. Robert Garcia, his current trainer, wasn't working with at the time.

Not going anywhere: Roach suggested that this might be Pacquiao’s last fight for lack of a challenge beyond Margarito.

The only fight that makes sense for Pacquiao, he said, is Floyd Mayweather Jr. If that doesn’t happen, then what’s the point?

“This could be it,” he said. “Where else does he have to go? Paul Williams? At 160 pounds? I’d be satisfied if this was his last fight. Look impressive, go out and look the way you’re supposed to. I’d be happy with titles in eight weight classes.”

One person doesn’t think this is his last fight, though: Pacquiao himself.

“No, this is not my last fight,” he said.

Even if Mayweather doesn’t fight you? “Yes,” he said.

How many more fights? Two, three? “Maybe three fights.”

Pacquiao different from Mosley: Some believe this fight will go a lot like the Mosley-Margarito fight, in which Margarito took a beating before he was stopped in the ninth round.

The result probably will be similar, Roach said, but the action itself will be different.

“Mosley went in close, inside the pocket,” Roach said. “He knows Margarito can’t fight in short range. He needs room to punch. We’ll be on the other end, distance. I have worked some with Manny on going into the pocket and backing him up. So Mosley gave us food for thought.

"Shane and Manny aren’t similar fighters, though. Manny will go outside. We like to throw combinations and use lateral movement.”

Power puncher? Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) has stopped a lot of opponents, including several elite fighters.

No one believes he has tremendous one-punch knockout power but he can cause serious damage. Just ask Miguel Cotto, who took a terrible beating against Margarito.

Roach isn’t convinced the Mexican is a particularly hard puncher, though.

“I’ve had five sparring partners in camp who have sparred with [Margarito],” Roach said. “Two say he can punch hard. He broke one guy’s [Rashad Holloway] eye socket with one punch. I think he was loaded [in his gloves] in training. The other three guys, [including] Victor Ortiz and Rudy Zavala, say he punches like a girl. That’s a quote.”

Roach has said openly that he believes Margarito had something illegal in his gloves when fought Cotto and in his second fight with Kermit Cintron.

By Michael Rosentha

The Ring

The people's champ: Boxer Manny Pacquiao a winner in political ring, too

ARLINGTON – In boxing, distractions typically come from government's judicial branch, not its legislative.

The likes of assault, breach of contract, possession, DUI and bankruptcy litter the sentences spoken and written about the sport.

Now along comes Manny Pacquiao, whose training staff has bemoaned the time he's spent politicking along the post-election trail.

When Pacquiao last fought at Cowboys Stadium in March, he was merely a boxing phenom. When he enters the same ring Saturday night, announcer Michael Buffer is almost sure to introduce Pacquiao as a "seven-time world champion and congressman representing the Philippine province of Sarangani."

The "seven-time" is open for debate among boxing aficionados who question the validity of a couple of the titles, if not his skill in the ring. "Congressman" is not. In May, Pacquiao won election in a landslide, defeating a heavily favored candidate described by AOL as a member of "an entrenched billionaire clan."

Not that Pacquiao, 31, is a poor man. He could earn more than $15 million for Saturday's fight against Antonio Margarito. But big paydays are a relatively new phenomenon for him. And it's not Kennedy wealth or Bush family money or the dynastic dollars that were at the disposal of Roy Chiongbian.

According to The Philippine Star , the losing candidate is "gatekeeper of the vast Chiongbian business empire involved in shipping, real estate, agri-business and others." His mother is a former governor of the province. His father was a congressman. His brother was the congressman Pacquiao replaced.

By contrast, Pacquiao's is a rags-to-riches story. It's pure Hollywood, told lovingly by CBS' 60 Minutes five days ago without a hint of the show's signature ferocity and skepticism.

Boxing made Pacquiao an international star and a Philippine icon. Rich people's billions can be no match for a people's champion, provided he runs a serious, smart campaign that is well-funded and guided by political professionals.

National hero

When he enters the ring here Saturday night, it will be around noon Sunday in the Philippines. Churches will cancel afternoon mass. A nation will be glued to its television sets, which will offer the live broadcast for free. A diminutive 5-5 ½ and bulked up to all of 147 pounds, Pacquiao means as much to his country as the soccer team does to Brazilians, the hockey team does to Canadians and the Packers do to Green Bay.

To listen to Paccquiao speak about his legislative agenda for his impoverished constituency would make even the most cynical observer dig deep for a few dollars for the cause.

Seated on a ring apron minutes after his only public workout Tuesday, Congressman Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao of the People's Champ Movement party spoke of rampant unemployment, education inequity, lack of health care and sickening human trafficking in his district. His mission: to eradicate all.

"It is also God's mission for me," he said quietly, without the least hint of evangelistic fervor.

It is also a full-time job. As such, Pacquiao said he is in constant communication with staff members who accompanied him to the fight as well as those back home to keep him "updated."

But preparing for a championship fight against Margarito, a former world champion, Paquiao's boxing staff would argue, must be a full-time endeavor as well.

Full schedule

Trainer Freddie Roach complained when early preparation for Margarito was disrupted daily by politics for a few hours or for a full day to allow Pacquiao to travel from Sarangani to the nation's capital in Manila to meet with President Benigno Aquino III.

After training was moved to Los Angeles, there was further grumbling when promoter Bob Arum asked Pacquiao to spend a late October evening in Las Vegas campaigning among Filipino voters for his friend, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who was in a desperate fight for re-election.

"You know Filipinos are a huge voting block in Nevada," Arum said. "Manny did it as a personal favor for me and for Harry. The senator will never forget it."

Not to comprehend Roach's annoyance with such frivolity during fight preparation is not to understand the single-minded focus of a football coach before a Super Bowl or a gymnastics coach on the eve of an Olympics. Even one step from the routine is viewed as an unnecessary and unwelcome distraction.

Roach volunteered this week that during the eight weeks of training, Pacquiao has confessed to missing working in his congressional office. At the same time, Roach said his fighter is 100 percent ready to step into the ring against an opponent who is listed as 4 ½ inches taller and could outweigh him by as much as 15 pounds when they enter the ring about 28 hours after the weigh-in.

"Manny has spoiled us because he is usually ready after three weeks of training," said Roach, who grades this training camp experience as a B. "This time it has taken a little longer, but he is ready now."

Pacquiao, who has never weighed more than 147 pounds for a fight, said he planned to bulk up to today's 150-pound weigh-in limit, but could not. He found the extra weight made him feel heavy and sluggish and, most importantly, it affected his speed.

He is counting on that speed to offset the relatively hulking Margarito, who plans to weigh more than 160 on fight night.

"We have some strategy to counter his size," Pacquiao said.

As often happens in a Pacquiao media session that includes a throng of reporters from the Philippines, the subject swung back and forth between boxing and politics.

"What draws people to you?" an inquiring mind wanted to know.

Pacquiao, as he often does, took a moment to think before answering.

"I come from nothing," he said. "I can box. I care. I'm still humble and I'm nice to people."

Fight at a glance

Who: Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) vs. Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs)

What: Bout for the vacant World Boxing Council 154-pound championship

Where: Cowboys Stadium

When: Saturday around 10 p.m.

Tickets: Available

TV: HBO pay-per-view with suggested retail price of $54.95Around 10 p.m. Saturday, Cowboys Stadium (HBO pay-per-view)

By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News
bhorn@dallasnews.com

Tornado warning: I'll knock Manny out

DALLAS – Antonio Margarito’s message to the Filipino people is short, simple and scary.

“I’m knocking him out,” said the Tijuana Tornado during Wednesday’s final press conference at the end zone platform of the Cowboys Stadium.

Margarito vowed to bring out the best in him, and said in doing so he will deliver bad news for the 90 million Filipinos.

“I’m gonna bring them the best fight and unfortunately he’s gonna lose it,” said Margarito.

But it will be so much easier said than done because the man on the other side of the ring is Manny Pacquiao.

For one, the 31-year-old Filipino is not only considered the best fighter in the planet today, but the fastest and probably the strongest as well.

Pacquiao is the heavy favorite in Saturday’s fight, going as high as -650 (meaning you need $650 to win a hundred bucks) a couple of weeks ago. The odds, no matter what other people say, don’t lie.

And Pacquiao is going to prove that on Saturday.

“I believe we can give a good fight,” said Pacquiao, who sat just a few feet away from Margarito during the presscon.

“He’s doing his best in training and I’m doing my best. Margarito is a very aggressive fighter and that’s what I want.”

Still, Margarito is hoping for the victory that should clear his name. He was suspended for a year because of illegal plasters found in his hand wraps for the Shane Mosley fight in January of 2009.

Margarito stands close to six feet and is easily five inches taller than Pacquiao. He is also bigger, with a wingspan of 73 inches against the latter’s 67.

He said Pacquiao and his team members are slowly realizing the type of fight standing in front of them.

“I think they are getting very nervous about the whole fight. As it gets closer they see my size and they see me, and think ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’” said Margarito.

Margarito’s trainer, Robert Garcia, said nine weeks of training will certainly bring out the best out of the 32-year-old Mexican on fight night.

“Tony trained for nine weeks, like never before. He’s in the best shape of his life. Everything is possible when you have a fighter with the will and heart to do it,” added one of the great, young trainers out there.

“He will do it,” said Garcia.

And that means breaking the hearts of 90 million Filipinos.

By Abac Cordero (The Philippine Star)

Pacquiao too much for Margarito — experts

MANILA, Philippines — Going into Sunday’s WBC junior middleweight showdown at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, boxing experts are setting their bets on Filipino welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao to put on a display of superior ring skills against Antonio Margarito en route to a record eighth division crown.

Despite tons of distractions that hounded Pacquiao’s training camp both in the Philippines and in the United States, a number of renowned men within the boxing circle revealed to Fanhouse's Lem Satterfield their respective opinions on what the world can expect in Sunday's slugfest.

And they all remained firm that the ‘Pacman’ will simply prove to be too much for the comebacking Margarito.

“Manny Pacquiao has too much hand speed. He has superior hand speed and good foot movement,” said Kevin Cunningham, WBC junior welterweight king Devon Alexander’s chief trainer. “I think that he will outbox the bigger Antonio Margarito and that he will win a 12-round decision.”

“He's (Margarito) got to be at his best. He should be the stronger of the two. If he can somehow impose his will, apply enough pressure and cut the ring off, then he could give Pacquiao problems.”

Cunningham, however, noted that he worries Margarito might burn himself out during the long training he had with his trainer Robert Garcia in Oxnard, California — something which could largely affect his performance against the ever-so-ferocious ring persona that Pacquiao has been widely known for

“My concern, however, with Margarito is, just from looking at him and things, I'm hoping that he didn't over-train,” Cunningham said.

Another boxing expert, Steve Farhood, shares that he doesn’t see a knockout in Sunday’s bout. Though he expects Pacquiao to overwhelm Margarito en route to a victory via decision, he worries that the Filipino might get tired penetrating Margarito’s defense in the later rounds.

“He (Pacquiao) just might hit the bigger Margarito until he can't hit him anymore, and then fade in the late rounds,” said Farhood, a boxing analyst at Showtime. “Manny's a fighter with limitations, not a miracle-worker, so don't expect fireworks this time.”

Speed, has always been Pacquiao’s greatest asset — something that helped him triumph over the likes of bigger guys like Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, and Joshua Clottey. This, Kevin Iole said, will prove to be the key for a 13th straight Pacquiao victory and a seemingly unmatchable feat in the history of boxing.

“Margarito is tough, he hits hard and he's expert at putting on pressure. But he's slower than a tractor trailer climbing a steep grade,” said Iole, a sports analyst for Yahoo! Sports. “Pacquiao should be able to move in and belt him with fast, multi-punch combinations and then dance away from danger. He should cut him up and swell his eyes and it's not out of the realm of possibility that the fight could be stopped if Margarito is unable to see.”

Still, Iole doesn’t discount the possibility of Margarito turning the tables to his favor, what with his vaunted body punching skills and hard-hitting combinations.

“If Margarito is somehow able to corner Pacquiao or pin him on the ropes, it would be a very different fight,” Iole adds. “But trainer Freddie Roach will never allow that to happen.”

Pacquiao’s advantage in speed is also what Norm Frauenheim of 15rounds.com sees as the biggest factor that will eventually get him the win, even as he reveals that anything can happen inside the ring just like what Pacquiao went through during his first fight with Erik Morales in 2005.

“Blood is a notable exception. He lost a decision to Morales in their first fight in 2005 after he was badly cut in early round,” Frauenheim said. “Pacquiao's well-known speed is as critical in the beginning as it will be in the end. In the early rounds, his footwork should allow him to sidestep Margarito's initial attempt at overpowering him.”

He also expects Pacquiao to beat Margarito to the pulp with his trademark combinations and power punches from all angles.

“By the middle rounds, look for things to move in the opposite direction, with Pacquiao launching an attack aimed at Margarito's body. By the eighth, ninth and, then, the 10th, Pacquiao's target will move from body to head with punches thrown at angles and at a rate Margarito can't avoid.”

Pacquiao is coming into the fight aiming to be the first boxer ever to win eight world titles in as many weight divisions, before probably deciding to call it a day and retire from the sport which catapulted him to fame.

Margarito, on the other hand, wants to regain his lost pride and reputation — something that eluded him very badly while he was battling the illegal hand wraps controversy.

Whatever predictions have been made, everything will certainly go out of the window once the bell rings to signal the start of the fight. With pride, honor, and glory at stake come Sunday, the world will stop to a halt with Pacquiao and Margarito getting down to business.

Everybody is definitely feeling the heat.

By ERICKSON BECO

Manila Bulletin

Pacquiao primed for final shot at history

The run-up to the much-anticipated fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito on Saturday night in Texas for the vacant WBC light middleweight title has thrown up a subtext which any Hollywood screenwriter would be proud of.

Questions have emerged surrounding the preparations of Pacquiao, who along with Floyd Mayweather is the most recognised and exciting fighter of his era.

Having recently been elected to the Filipino congress, Pacquiao has been less than focused on his training camp, consisting of an initial five weeks in the Philippines followed by three weeks at Freddie Roach's famed Wildcard Gym in Hollywood - at least judging by what we've seen, as well as by comments made by Roach during the build up on HBO's superb 24/7 television series.

This series of documentaries, which take you into the preparations of each fighter as fight night approaches, depict a man in Pacquiao whose hunger for the sport appears to have diminished greatly.

In an interview during the documentary, Roach revealed that one day in the gym Manny told him that he missed his job. When Roach replied "this is your job," Pacquiao responded: "No, I miss congress."

Scenes from episode two of the series show Britain's Amir Khan sparring with Pacquiao and dominating him, again leaving Roach worried about his fighter's focus and desire.

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise if the greatest fighter ever produced by the Philippines - and one of the best ever seen in the sport of any nationality or era - has lost his desire, when we consider a career during which the man known to the world as Pacman has won an unparalleled nine world titles at seven different weights.

On Saturday he will be stepping into the ring to fight at his heaviest weight yet against the biggest opponent he's ever faced in Margarito, who will likely come into the ring at somewhere in the region of 165lbs.

Heightening the drama even more is that Margarito is a man hungry for redemption after last year's illegal hand wraps controversy, when it came to light prior to his fight against Shane Mosley that his trainer was wrapping his hands with a plaster of Paris type substance.

The offending wraps were replaced with the legal variety and Margarito subsequently suffered a brutal beating on the way to being defeated by TKO in the ninth round. Ever since, and throughout his one-year ban from the sport, Margarito has continued to plead ignorance, asserting that he was unaware that his trainer was wrapping his hands illegally.

In contrast to Pacquiao's less than stellar preparations, the 5'11" Mexican, who makes his home in Tijuana, looks in the shape of his life. Basing his training camp in Oxnard, California, Margarito has been working himself into the ground under the guidance of new trainer Robert Garcia.

Though Margarito may be one-dimensional in terms of his style, it is a style that could well cause Pacquiao problems.

Tall and rangy and possessing an incredible engine, Margarito comes forward throwing punches in bunches.

Unless Pacquiao is able to get inside and find the necessary angles to unleash his own artillery, he could be in for a long night, especially if he comes to the ring in anything less than top shape.

The extent of Pacquiao's fame in the Philippines is difficult to appreciate. But when you can turn up an hour late for an international commercial flight knowing that the aircraft won't leave without you, you begin to get the idea.

The fighter, who hails from General Santos City, enjoys the status of a national hero in a nation which has not had its problems to seek during its tortured history - first a colonial and now neocolonial dependency of the United States.

But Pacquiao's popularity is not merely due to his exploits in the ring. It is also a result of his devotion to the poor and dispossessed from whose ranks he emerged. It manifests in his habit for handing out a significant proportion of his money to those less fortunate.

He's declared more than once that his motivation for going into politics is to serve and help improve his country's fortunes. Not for him the life of a retired boxing icon, living in Beverly Hills or Las Vegas with nothing to do except spend his millions and wallow in luxury.

Instead he's chosen to replace one arena of combat with another - one that potentially brings with it more hazards than he's ever faced in the ring.

Naive and idealistic, maybe, but what isn't in doubt is the fact that Pacquiao has reached a crossroads in his career. It's for this reason that his upcoming fight against Margarito may well be his last.

If this is the case, let's hope that it's a scintillating fight to match the many others involving the Filipino legend.

Ref: Morningstar UK

Arum warns: Margarito has tools to pull an upset

GRAPEVINE, Texas—Venerable promoter Bob Arum has warned that Mexican Antonio Margarito can pull an upset against Manny Pacquiao.

“He (Margarito) certainly has the tools to pull off an upset,” Arum said during Tuesday’s open workout at the Gaylord Texan Hotel. “I mean he’s the bigger, stronger guy.”

Although the 78-year-old Arum, who promotes both fighters, believes that Pacquiao’s phenomenal speed is hard to overcome, he thinks Antonio’s chances increases if he can withstand Pacquiao’s initial salvo.

In the same vein, however, Arum believes that the fight’s outcome also hinges on Pacquiao to sustain a whirlwind attack throughout 12 rounds.

Arum also predicted a mammoth crowd at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington when Pacquiao and Margarito collide for the World Boxing Council super welterweight crown on November 13.

“Technically it won’t be a sellout,” Top Rank chief honcho and fight promoter Bob Arum told Manila-based sportswriters. “You can’t fill out this venue (capacity 108,000 when reconfigured).”

“We’re setting the target between 60,000 to 70,000," said Arum, who believed the Pacquiao-Margarito set-to could exceed the 50,994 crowd that the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey drew in March also at the $1.2 billion facility.

The crowd turnout for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight was the third largest in the United States’ indoor boxing history after the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks tussle that drew 63,350 in 1978 at the Lousiana Superdome and the 59,995 that watched the Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez showdown at the Alamodome.

By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Stakes Of Manny Pacquiao Vs. Antonio Margarito

Written by Tim Starks Tuesday, 09 November 2010 21:28

So continues our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13. Before: the debate over purchasing the pay-per-view. Next: the keys to the fight.

This fight Saturday is not the fight anyone asked for from the pound-for-pound best boxer alive. Manny Pacquiao tried, and his promoter Top Rank tried, and network titan HBO tried, to give us that fight Saturday night. Pacquiao compromised -- all but caved, really -- on the drug testing regime Floyd Mayweather sought but had no rational basis for demanding during the first round of negotiations in the winter. But Mayweather, the next-best fighter of his generation, still said "no." It's never been clear why the greedy Mayweather was so disinterested in what would assuredly be the richest boxing match of all time, but cowardice, legal troubles for his uncle-trainer and a rising apathy toward the sport that made him a star are theories, each unflattering in their own ways.

So instead, we get this fight: Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito. It is a poor substitute. Margarito is best known within boxing circles for his role in one of the more prominent scandals in recent years when, one night in 2008, he went from a fan-favorite top-5 pound-for-pound fighter to a man busted with plaster-loaded gloves and knocked out by Shane Mosley. He hasn't recovered since, as a competitive fighter or as a popular one, although he has his backers and remains popular in his homeland of Mexico.

That alone, though, does not tell the tale of Pacquiao-Margarito. There are other storylines that make this fight what it is.

Pacquiao's Stardom

Since the last time Pacquiao fought, his star has risen still. He has become one of the two boxers, along with Mayweather, to truly transcend the sport. In the past week, he has been featured on 60 Minutes (the only two segments for the program this Sunday were President Obama and Pacquiao), Jimmy Kimmel Live (where he sang a duet with movie star Will Ferrell) and HBO 24/7 (the popular, critically acclaimed documentary/marketing series). Since Pacquiao fought in the spring, he ran for an won election to Congress in the Philippines. A couple weeks ago, he campaigned for the Senate Majority Leader in the United States, Democrat Harry Reid, at Reid's request. Before the week is over, we will no doubt see features on Pacquiao in the New York Times and other publications.

Although Margarito's troubles have been featured prominently on HBO 24/7 -- to the program's credit -- Pacquiao's tale has outshone them in every way. Pacquiao is at a level right now where he could fight anyone and it wouldn't matter: So long as he keeps winning, so long as he's a boxer and a congressman, he will be the center of attention. In that sense, any Pacquiao fight is a story merely because Pacquiao's in it.

But if Pacquiao falls short, per friend-of-the-site severuck below, the stakes are also high. Trainer Freddie Roach has told Pacquiao that if he loses in the ring, he suffers politically back home.

Margarito's Redemption?

No matter what Margarito does the rest of his career, the night in 2008 where Margarito was busted with those bad hand wraps will follow him around. The only issue is how MUCH it will follow him around.

There are many who suspect that Margarito probably cheated in other fights, besides the attempt to cheat against Mosley. There is a volume of anecdotal evidence to that effect. But because he wasn't caught red-handed (OK, well, he sorta was), nobody really knows for sure.

Were Margarito to defeat the greatest fighter in the world -- even an allegedly poorly-prepared, too-small greatest fighter in the world -- it would increase the chances that almost his entire career wasn't fraudulent. After all, it's no easy feat to beat the best fighter in the world. It's not the kind of thing a fraud is likely to do.

Top Rank, HBO and Margarito have been pushing the redemption that awaits Margarito if he wins. The tar of scandal won't ever be scrubbed clean from Margarito, but beating Pacquiao would go some measure toward his redemption.

Eighth Weight Class

Pacquiao will be shooting for a title in his eighth weight class, junior middleweight, a marketing angle mentioned in the omnipresent commercials for Pacquiao-Margarito. Those commercials are trying to sell you on a historic achievement that would require several asterisks.

First, when it comes to historic accumulation of belts, Pacquiao already has topped everyone who has ever laced up gloves. The only championship belts that reflect anything like the era when there was but one champion per division is the lineal championship, aka the belt won from the man who beat the man who beat the man who first held it (with vacancies that can be filled only by the two best fighters in the division squaring off). Pacquiao has four of those belts in a career that began at junior flyweight. No one else has ever won four. This is a closed question. Pacquiao is the king here.

In order to arrive at eight belts, you have to include those belts and those proliferated by sanctioning organizations like the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF. That gave Pacquiao five chances per division to obtain a title, as opposed to just one. To his credit, he usually beat very good fighters to obtain the belts, but some of them were obtained against lesser men. For instance, the lightweight belt David Diaz ceded to Pacquiao was a belt he obtained because the sanctioning organization decided to strip the belt from one fighter and give it to Diaz instead. Diaz never won the title; he inherited it. Likewise, Miguel Cotto won his welterweight title by defeating Michael Jennings, as terrible a challenger for a vacant belt as any in years who might not have even been a top 50 welterweight.

The chicanery of the sanctioning organizations really knows no bounds. Such is the case with Pacquiao fighting for a junior middleweight belt. The WBC installed Margarito as its #1-ranked fighter despite the fact that he has a total of one win in the division, against Roberto Garcia, who might not have even been a top 50 junior middleweight, and before that bout Margarito hadn't fought as a junior middleweight since 2004, and he lost. No rational person would consider Margarito the #1 junior middleweight.

Furthermore, Pacquiao's achievement is watered down more by a catchweight of 150 (or 151, depending on what you read) lbs. This is a junior middleweight fight, technically, because it's over 147 lbs. and under 155 lbs. But fighting at a contracted weight below the maximum at least modestly diminished the achievement.

That Pacquiao is fighting at all in an eighth division is impressive (although it is not an unprecedented climb in weight). If anything, that's the achievement of this fight, not winning a belt that would have been given him by some sanctioning organization virtually no matter who he took on.

Good Fight, Maybe

Given that Pacquiao is one of the most exciting performers in boxing, if not THE most exciting, and given that Margarito was in any number of Fight of the Year contenders prior to his troubles, some expect this fight to be a tremendous brawl.

That perspective depends somewhat on assuming that Margarito's knockout loss to Mosley, and his subsequent boring performance against Garcia, were anomalies. For a fight to be truly excellent, it must be competitive. Currently, Margarito is somewhere between a 6-1 and 5-1 underdog. The numbers have been moving in Margarito's direction a bit more, no doubt in part because HBO 24/7 does a tremendous job of hyping fights as competitive whether they are or not.

But even if he's not competitive, should Margarito fights more like his old self (coming forward relentlessly, throwing a ridiculous volume of punches) and less like the Margarito who beat Garcia (jabbing from the outside, throwing only a moderate number of punches) then the fight will at least guarantee a sizzling offensive performance from Pacquiao. Pacquiao's last opponent, Joshua Clottey, largely refused to engage, apparently fearful of being knocked out. It was why Pacquiao was in a rare, somewhat boring bout.

Big Fight

Top Rank's Bob Arum predicts that more than 1.3 million people will buy the fight and 70,000 will attend in person at Cowboys Stadium. Arum has a knack for overly optimistic assessments. Pacquiao-Clottey did significantly worse than he predicted on pay-per-view, although it still did well, and while the announced attendance of that fight was 50,000, many of those were giveaways; the real number was closer to 35,000, still an impressive number.

Any fight that features Pacquiao is going to do big business. Margarito retains a sizable fan base among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. The fight should do pretty well. Its numbers will suffer at least somewhat from a sizable contingent of hardcore fans that have vowed not to purchase the bout because of their opposition to Margarito, and maybe from a hangover related to the failed attempts to make a bout with Mayweather. But Margarito is a bigger attraction than Clottey, Pacquiao is a bigger attraction now than he was earlier this year and I'd be surprised if the fight didn't do 1 million buys.

It is commonly argued that Margarito was the opponent who stood to make Pacquiao the most money, which is why he was chosen as a replacement for Pacquiao. That's not entirely clear, either. A third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez would, I expect, do better. The two men have produced two classic bouts in the past, so hardcore fans would be rabid in anticipation. Marquez carries none of the taint of scandal Margarito carries, so there wouldn't be any boycotts. Marquez is a bigger name because he fought Mayweather in a bout that tallied 1 million pay-per-view buys and was featured on HBO 24/7. And Marquez has also engendered the loyalty of Mexicans and Mexican-American fans.

This fight with Margarito makes TOP RANK more money. Marquez is promoted by rival Golden Boy. Top Rank hates Golden Boy, and would have to split money with them in a way that it doesn't when it puts two of its own fighters in against each other.

Long-Term Harm?

Even if the bout does well, it stands a chance of hurting the image of boxing. The image of boxing outside the sport is very important -- in order to expand its fan base or do truly big bouts, it needs to attract new viewers. When people think of boxing as "corrupt" or "shady" or what have you, they are less likely to support it. So far, Pacquiao-Margarito hasn't done the damage I anticipated in its contribution to the bad image of the sport, because of how Pacquiao's story has overshadowed the sordid Margarito tale.

We'll see how much the sordid Margarito story becomes a focus this week, since many of the big mainstream news organizations still haven't weighed in on the fight as they almost certainly will.

Then there's what comes afterward. Although contributor Corey Erdman has made the case that a Margarito win would be good for boxing, I'm only convinced that it wouldn't be as bad as it feared. It still would be potentially negative for Pacquiao, one of boxing's only two transcendent stars, to suffer a loss. And then Margarito would step into the spotlight more than he currently inhabits it, which could lead to a lot of people saying, "Wait, the guy who beat Pacquiao was a cheater?"

Boxing as a sport is not bad at cashing in, making decent money, in the short-term. It's the long-term planning, the long-term ramifications, that it sucks at. We'll see if this fight falls under a long-term knock on boxing.

What's Next

A high-profile win often leads to an even bigger fight. But there is no obvious bigger fight for whoever wins Pacquiao-Margarito.

Margarito would have options for fights that could sell among hardcore fans, but unless a vast swath of Pacquiao's stardom was conveyed upon Margarito with a win, no fight of his would be likely to do major, transcendent numbers -- except a rematch with Pacquiao. There is no rematch clause, but because Pacquiao would still figure as Margarito's biggest money-making opponent, it would have to be likely should Pacquiao continue his boxing career.

It is not a given that Pacquiao continues his boxing career, win or lose. His mother has insisted he retire, and in his culture, elders' demands are supposed to be respected. Pacquiao has openly talked about politics as his "job," and speaks of boxing in the past tense.

Arum has mentioned Marquez as a potential future Pacquiao opponent, but Top Rank and Golden Boy are still likely to hate one another. A Miguel Cotto rematch is another option, but that was a one-sided fight that few want to see again, so it wouldn't sell very well. Maybe by the middle of next year one of the good young junior welterweights will have materialized as an option, people like Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander, but it's unlikely to be a bigger fight than Pacquiao-Margarito.

The only fight Pacquiao would almost certainly stick around for is Mayweather. But Mayweather, besides all his other issues with avoiding Pacquiao, now faces a potential jail sentence on charges of domestic violence. The best chance of that fight happening -- if Mayweather even can overcome all his problems -- is Pacquiao looking lackluster against Margarito, since Mayweather has a tendency of going after opponents who aren't at their peak.

On the other side of Pacquiao-Margarito is an empty room. And to misappropriate a metaphor from HBO's Jim Lampley from last weekend, it might be a darkened one.

Pacquiao is all smiles as he lands in Dallas!

By Jason Aniel
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Nov 2010



Grapevine, TX—You couldn’t tell that the man walked up and down the aisle of a Boeing 757 charter airplane was getting ready to fight for a Super Welterweight Title. On Monday, Manny Pacquiao sparred several rounds at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood before driving to the Atlantic Aviation Terminal to board his charter flight he booked to fly to Dallas, Texas, the site of his championship bout against Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao was in great mood during the flight as he spent to time to greet every passenger on the flight, crack jokes with his friends, and get some well needed rest during the 3 hour flight.

Almost 200 people accompanied Pacquiao on the charter, which is likely the biggest single entourage arrival in the history of boxing. Included in the entourage were boxers Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Amir Kahn, and Gerry Penalosa. Also on the plane is a crew that is filming a documentary of the life of Manny Pacquiao. The film is directed by Leon Gast, the Oscar winning director of When We Were Kings—a documentary about Muhammad Ali’s 1947 fight against George Foreman in Zaire.

Top photo: Superstar Manny Pacquiao on board his specially chartered "Air Pacquiao" American Airlines 757 enroute to Dallas Monday night. Pacquiao takes on three-time world champion Antonio Margarito on November 13, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao vs Margarito is promoted by Top Rank in association with MP Promotions and Cowboys Stadium. The Pacquiao vs Margarito telecast will be available live on HBO Pay Per View.


Superstar Manny Pacquiao and wife Jinkee(R) get ready to board his chartered "Air Pacquiao" American Airlines 757 enroute to Dallas Monday night. Pacquiao takes on three-time world champion Antonio Margarito on November 13, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,Texas.


Family, friends,entourage and media board the specially chartered "Air Pacquiao" American Airlines 757 enroute to Dallas Monday night. Superstar Manny Pacquiao takes on three-time world champion Antonio Margarito on November 13, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Manny Pacquiao Vs. Antonio Margarito: To Boycott Or Not To Boycott

Among hardcore boxing fans, it seems there are two major camps as it pertains to the junior middleweight fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito: those who are offended by the fight because Margarito very recently was exiled for being caught with loaded gloves, and those who look down on those who are offended by the fight.

As someone offended by the fight, I am nearly as ticked off about those who question the sincerity and reasonable-ness of my kind as I am about the fight itself. As such, before this site considers the nitty-gritty of the match-up -- why it matters, how the two men stack up physically and strategically, et cetera -- I'd like to address the underlying question of whether one should pay for the bout at all.

It is no small question. We are talking about Pacquiao, the biggest attraction and best boxer in the sport, facing the most disgraced boxer in the sport. It's unlike any fight I can recall in that regard; there is no obvious historical parallel. It's one of the reasons there have been such extremes of opinion against the bout. But I fear that sometimes, neither side has fully understood the other. And at the end, I'll explain what I, myself, intend to do.

Boxing Is Immoral

You'll hear the view among those supporting this bout that boxing is the red-light district of sports, that anything goes and that's fine by them. Except no one REALLY believes that.

You can throw any number of scenarios at people that they would find hard to embrace, unless they were being disingenuous. Would they support fixed fights, where one fighter was paid to fake a defeat? Would they support someone punching an opponent on the back of the head deliberately until they got brain damage? Would they support a fight between a 105-pound man and a 250-pound man?

Every rule in boxing is about one of two things, or both: 1. enhancing competitiveness; 2. safety. Safety is, at its foundation, a moral question. Is there any other reason for safety than that? I can't imagine it, if there is.

If someone wants a sport where anything goes, they don't want a "sport," per se. They want uninhibited violence. If someone wants to watch combat where two people are allowed to hit each other with bricks, or punch each other on the back of the head until someone gets brain damage, they can find underground videos of this on the Internet. If they want to enjoy boxing, they have to accept that there are rules that are based on a moral foundation and that some are going to support those rules because of it.

Sincerity Of Opponents

I hear the term "selective morality" thrown around all the time in reference to those who take offense to Pacquiao-Margarito. It might be the most ridiculous claim of them all.

As someone who is offended by this bout, my view has nothing to do with anything I "selected," as though I sat around deciding what to get all snooty about for some reason related to... well, I don't know what. A decision to feel morally superior to someone else? I've heard that one, but I'm not sure where it comes from.

There are too many mind-readers among boxing fans. So many of them know claim to know who's faking an injury and who's really injured, whether any evidence exists or not. If you think I've decided to do something so diabolical as gin up my phony outrage so I can look down upon you, what's your evidence? And if you don't have any (you don't), aren't you on thin ice making such an evidence-free claim? Isn't that a good enough reason to back down?

The very act of looking down on people offended by this bout -- and make no mistake, accusing people of not truly being offended by this bout is looking down on them -- implies a deeply-held sense of superiority in and of itself.

I live in Washington, D.C. There are marches here all the time on political issues. Among the most passionate are debates about abortion. Yet I never hear anyone on the abortion rights side accusing those on the anti-abortion rights side the other of not meaning it, nor vice versa.

Only in boxing is such a preposterous projection of false motives so frequently thrown around as though it is a legitimate argument. I can assure you of this much: I have no evidence whether those who aren't offended by Pacquiao-Margarito are secretly offended and lying about it. So I won't pretend to doubt the sincerity of those who say they have no qualms about Pacquiao-Margarito.

Margarito's Offense Vs. Those Of Others

This is somewhat related to the first two points. The thinking of those who have no issue with Pacquiao-Margarito and take issue with those who do is that somehow, opponents of Pacquiao-Margarito are holding Pacquiao-Margarito to some standard they don't hold other offensive activities to.

There's some truth to that. But it's related to simple concepts that have parallels in our society's understanding of crime and punishment.

To those of us who find Margarito's actions particularly offensive, there is a systematic reasoning about it. I won't go into great detail here, but here's a simplified version: Margarito's illegal actions have as their closest historical equal the Resto-Collins scandal. You would be hard-pressed to find a more disgusting case in boxing history. A boxer's career was ended by someone cheating with loaded gloves. Margarito's actions had similar potential, had he not been caught prior to the Shane Mosley bout, and even Margarito's defenders allow for the possibility that he successfully cheated in previous fights. Intent, plus outcome or potential outcome, plus violation of standards meant to reduce unnecessary harm, hit squarely in the zone of any discussion of morality.

Those who criticize Pacquiao-Margarito opponents say, "Why aren't you complaining about other immoral or illegal things in boxing?" This is the straw man to end all straw men. There is no one I know who is offended by Pacquiao-Margarito who hasn't also criticized, say, the steroid use of Shane Mosley. The question is: What offends you most? And where do you devote most of your energy?

You don't have to believe that Margarito's form of cheating is worse than steroid use. I'd say it is; there is no demonstrated record of steroid use ending a boxer's career the way Resto-Collins ended a boxer's career. But to allege that there's not at least a reasonable argument that someone who's more offended by Margarito's actions than, say, low blows is in and of itself unreasonable.

And if you accept the possibility that someone can find something more offensive about Margarito's actions than other examples of cheating, you have to accept that there is no contradiction in believing that Margarito's actions deserve greater punishment. Greater offense. Greater punishment. Simple -- like different jail sentences for pot ownership compared to rape (not that what Margarito did was rape; it is merely an example of two different kinds of crimes). Some, such as myself, believe Margarito deserved a longer suspension than he received, rather than being rewarded with his biggest-ever purse. We support James Toney's steroid suspension, too, but think Margarito's offense was worse and therefore deserves a greater punishment. This is as simple a concept as exists in our system of law and regulation, and Margarito's actions fall under the regulations of authorities.

What Margarito Knew

Some argue that there's no proof that Margarito knew of his loaded gloves. From the standpoint of rules and the punishment for breaking them, this is completely irrelevant. Under those rules, a boxer is responsible for what goes into the ring with him. Margarito, whether he knew or not -- and some of us believe, because of any amount of evidence, that he did -- was responsible for his loaded gloves.

If that seems far afield of any question of morality or boycotting, keep in mind that rules prohibiting loaded gloves were implemented for the safety of fighters, and safety is a moral question. The rules furthermore are created to prevent themselves from being circumvented. You don't have to agree with the rule that a boxer is responsible for what goes into the ring with him if you don't want, but de facto, you have now opened the door to boxers using steroids in every fight without fear of reprisal. That's why Margarito is responsible for what goes into the ring with him -- because if he wasn't, he could go into the ring cheating every single time and enter the ring two weeks later cheating in the exact same way, so long as he could blame it on some outside party.

Why And When To Boycott

The concept of a boycott is for consumers to exert what pressure they can to enact change, or, failing that, to avoid culpability in something they disagree with.

Someone who boycotts Pacquiao-Margarito has those things in mind. If a consumer refuses to pay the $50 to $60 for Pacquiao-Margarito, and enough consumers join in this, perhaps those responsible for Pacquiao-Margarito will get the hint that Margarito won't make money and he'll be denied future big-money bouts. By doing this, the consumer is attempting to do what he or she thinks the Texas state commission should have done, which is to honor California's refusal to license Margarito.

On a lesser level, perhaps the consumer simply doesn't want to be directly responsible for enriching Margarito, a boxer they don't think should be rewarded for his actions.

Again, someone who doesn't share these objectives needn't boycott the bout. But I've known people who boycotted the most recent bouts of Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather after the two were unable to agree to fight one another, or who refuse to support pay-per-view cards that feature mismatches. These people are doing the same thing as those who are opposing Pacquiao-Margarito. There is nothing original about boycotting a match in boxing, as some claim -- it happens all the time.

How Much To Boycott

Some have suggested that if someone is boycotting Pacquiao-Margarito, one must also boycott all responsible parties or otherwise refuse to provide any attention to the bout. This isn't a very realistic view of the world.

If someone wants to boycott HBO or Top Rank -- which have lent its support to the bout -- that is their right. It's at the highest level of boycotting and has impact beyond boycotting Pacquiao-Margarito alone. But it is not a requirement. One can boycott Pacquiao-Margarito without boycotting HBO or Top Rank and send a similar, if not identical, message.

Boycotting Pacquiao-Margarito (or any bout involving Margarito) is the most direct way to protest bouts involving Margarito. He is the most responsible party, and the one whom opponents would most like to see deprived of reward.

Moral perfection is not a prerequisite of any action whatsoever taken in the name of morality. There is no one who is perfect morally. Even the most radical environmentalists are still consuming food or acquiring shelter from the land, which can damage the Earth in some way. Someone who buys a hybrid is doing less damage than someone who buys a Hummer. The question in morality is, figuratively: How much blood is on your hands? Less is always better. Absolute blood-free hands cannot be achieved. You do what you can.

If someone wants to boycott HBO over Pacquiao-Margarito, they will have effectively ended their opportunity to be a boxing fan. HBO airs the biggest bouts in the sport. It is possible to make a point about Pacquiao-Margarito without ending one's boxing fandom entirely.

Right To Boycott

Anyone who wants to enjoy Pacquiao-Margarito is well within their rights. Anyone who wants to boycott it -- or encourage others to boycott it -- is likewise within their rights. I've heard those who plan to enjoy Pacquiao-Margarito talking as though a boycott is beyond the pale of acceptability, somehow.

I'd refer again to my experience living in Washington and watching marches of every kind. In all those marches, no matter how passionate the crowd, I've never heard anyone suggest the other side doesn't have the right to express their opposition by boycotting any behavior they want to boycott. I've heard people mock or disagree with the reasons for the other side's protest. I've never hard anyone say the other side was ginning up false reasons to boycott something and that their very act of protest was wrong or worthy of contempt.

My Decision

Many writers I respect, and who share my disagreement with Pacquiao-Margarito happening, have decided to boycott the fight. They include The Boxing Tribune's Paul Magno, TQBR's Scott Krauss and 411 Mania's Joe Roche, and many more fans echo them. Their decisions -- Kraus has gone as far as to step away from boxing almost entirely, and Roche has gone as far as refusing to cover the bout -- are commendable expressions of protest that make powerful individual statements of belief. Perhaps, together, they will have some impact. Perhaps not. But it's a good thing that they want to influence things in what way they can. In the end, it's all we can do in this world, no matter how significant or insignificant we all are.

Already, I think the backlash against Pacquiao-Margarito has worried Top Rank. Some thought Top Rank would play up the controversy angle to generate sales. They've done quite the opposite. Top Rank sends out news constantly hailing Margarito as an innocent humanitarian, and forwards any article suggesting that Margarito might not have been responsible for his loaded gloves. They know, I suspect, that the fight's sales suffer from the controversy more than they benefit.

Upon months of contemplating whether to purchase Pacquiao-Margarito, I decided that, as powerful as the statements of those other writers were, that I would purchase and cover the fight. This site is not a news outlet, exactly, but some readers are interested in the fight and others are not. I weighed my personal beliefs and my obligation to readers of this site and decided to err on the side of my obligation to readers of this site. It is a noteworthy event when the biggest fighter in the world is in the ring. It is a big story when he fights the most disgraced fighter in the world. I'm not saying the other writers have no regard for their readers -- they do. But they won't be covering this fight live for them, and I've decided I should.

One option would be to steal it via illegal stream and still cover it without paying money to Margarito, but I have never supported illegal streams when paying for a fight is an option.

My position means I can only encourage those who oppose this fight to act on their impulses to boycott it. Were I not a boxing blogger with an audience of respectable size to whom I felt some obligation, I assuredly would not purchase the bout. It's not a match-up that thrills me for any variety of reasons, and the moral objections I hold would be foremost amongst them.

There is no contradiction there. If I were the chairman of my local city council, I would probably vote against smoking prohibitions in bars. But as a non-smoker who frequents bars, I can't say I am unhappy with a smoking prohibition. The action I take might be one thing, but it doesn't mean I can't support the outcome favored by those who would do another thing.

If any of this sounds self-important, I can't control that. I've argued before that there's nothing self-important about having moral views about a thing, and talking about them. I suppose that to some, having strong moral beliefs makes me, and those in my camp, uncool. But it's how my momma raised me, and once I grew up and began thinking about it and challenging it, I came to it honestly.

To those who find no moral objection to Pacquiao-Margarito, I don't agree with you or find your reasoning compelling. But I don't begrudge you your right to your beliefs, or think you some evil or phony person. You don't have to join the boycott or any such thing. But for another week, maybe you can recognize why someone might have a different view than you yet not be a hypocrite -- and stop casting aspersions on their motives, sincerity, supposedly contradictory beliefs and right to protest.

Manny Pacquiao's date with destiny in Dallas is the one the world will be watching on Saturday night

While Britain works itself into a frenzy about two Londoners fighting for a version of the world heavyweight championship in Manchester, the attention of the rest of the boxing universe is concentrated on a Filipino's determination to beat a Mexican in Dallas and thereby make boxing history for all time.

The domestic argument between David Haye and Audley Harrison has an intrigue all its own and the WBA title is a major prize for which it is worth spilling blood.

But as Manny Pacquiao starts work on Antonio Margarito a few hours later, this hard old game will be awaiting transportation to a hitherto uncharted dimension.

The PacMan is on the brink of becoming the first prize-fighter to win world titles in eight different weight classes.

Since he is already the only seven-division champion, that new record would be expected to stand unequalled for as long as brave men lace up the gloves and climb through the ropes.

Incredibly, had Pacquiao not by-passed light-bantam and bantamweight on his super-human ascent from flyweight to this challenge for the vacant WBC light-middleweight championship, he would now be fighting for a world title in his 10th division.

The full measure of this phenomenon is that the boy who began boxing at 16 and weighing just 7st 8lbs is now, at 30, coming after an 11-stone belt.

Along his unique journey Pacquiao has become the most irresistible Pied Piper in boxing since Muhammad Ali.

Like The Greatest, the PacMan draws worshipers from across the globe. Thousands of his countrymen follow him from his home in the Philippines when he moves training camp to Freddie Roach's Wild Card emporium of pain in Los Angeles.

Thousands more - including Americans of all origins - are joining them on this week's cross-country trip to Texas, there to be joined by fight fans from all corners of the planet.

Scores, if not hundreds, of British aficionados are choosing to fly to Dallas rather than drive to Manchester.

There - in the new Cowboys Stadium which makes Wembley look like Upton Park - they will form part of a crowd in excess of 50,000.

If Pacquiao were fighting Floyd Mayweather Jnr under that roof, they would smash the indoor attendance for a boxing match set in 1978 when 63,315 saw Ali fight Leon Spinks in the Louisiana Superdome.

Not that Margarito, naturally the heavier as well as taller man, is to be taken lightly.

The Mexican is returning from the shame of a solidifying substance being taped onto his fists before a fight against Sugar Shane Mosley.

But even without his hands carrying potentially lethal weapons, he is a formidable foe.

Bob Arum, the legendary promoter of both boxers, has tried to neutralise the disparity in size by contracting the fight at a catchweight 10st 10lbs.

That is three pounds above welterweight, at which Pacquiao is currently world champion, and four below the light-middleweight limit.

But while Margarito, the day after the weigh-in, expects to enter the ring at around 11 1/2st, it is unlikely that Pacquiao will reach the catchweight at which this match has been made.

In a book* about to be published and which offers a fascinating insight into the PacMan's crowded life, author Gary Poole details the huge amount of eating which the world's best pound-for-pound boxer undertakes when trying to gain weight to take on larger opponents.

That, along with the absence of abnormal muscle mass on his body, goes against the Mayweather insinuations that Pacquiao has used drugs to help him grow.

Rather, he reports himself exhausted by the effort of trying to eat himself heavier and finds it almost impossible to achieve a fighting poundage any higher than 10st 6lbs.

ven more remarkably, Pacquiao does all this while serving as a newly-elected Congressman in the Philippines, distributing many of his millions to the poor, acting in movies and singing in concerts with his band and on network television chat shows.

This is multi-tasking on a scale so extraordinary that Roach the master trainer sometimes worries that the pride of his stable of champions is not fully focussed on the violent business at hand.

Political engagements have obliged Pacquiao to miss a couple of days' training but he says he has made up for that by running the Hollywood hills before sparring up to 50 rounds in a day of morning and afternoon sessions.

Our own Amir Khan has been the opponent on several occasions and describes the sparring as 'so intense it is like a real fight.'

Roach is sufficiently reassured to predict that his man's speed and volume of punching will wear Margarito down to a stoppage by the eighth or ninth round.

Whether such a victory will bring the $200million mega-fight with Mayweather any closer is another matter.

Floyd Jnr - assuming he avoids a jail sentence at an imminent assault and larceny trial - is said to be considering a warm-up against Pauli Malignaggi, Khan's most recent victim.

But he has still not responded to Pacquiao offering to waive any and all limitations on blood testing.

Perhaps Mayweather is hoping that the arch-rival he resents being acknowledged as the pound-for-pound king is finally over-reaching himself by going up to light-middleweight and that Margarito will derail him.

If so, he is likely to be disappointed.