Antonio Margarito says Manny Pacquiao should stick to boxing
Antonio Margarito has some advice for upcoming opponent Manny Pacquiao.
After seeing Pacquiao sing John Lennon’s "Imagine" with Will Ferrell on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Margarito said in a conference call, "All I can say is that, he is a better boxer than he is a singer. I think maybe he should dedicate himself more to boxing."
Margarito is busy preparing for his title bout with Pacquiao in Oxnard, California. By all accounts, the "Tijuana Tornado" is in the best shape of his life, and is mentally prepared to morph from boxing lawbreaker to hall-of-famer, following a win.
In January 2009, Margarito was found to have loaded hand wraps prior to a fight with "Sugar" Shane Mosley. As punishment, Margarito’s boxing licenses were revoked, and he was forced to sit out for the better part of year.
Despite the controversy, Margarito has maintained his innocence (he placed the blame on his former trainer, Javier Capetillo). He believes that a win over Pacquiao will symbolically show that he is not a cheater, but rather someone who has been misrepresented
in the boxing world.
"I thank God for this opportunity. I know it is a great opportunity and I’m going to take advantage of it. I want to show everyone that I belong at this level against the best fighter in the world, and that’s one of the things I want to do in this fight."
Going into the bout Margarito will be a 6-1 underdog, but Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters, says those odds aren’t in tune with reality.
"The odds are totally crazy," Arum said recently. "This fight should be only 2 1/2 to 1 and not five or six to one. It’s crazy. That’s just Filipinos betting on Manny."
Pacquiao and Margarito will be fighting for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title.
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