Is there any reason to be interested in Manny Pacquiao v Antonio Margarito?
When the super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr broke down earlier this year there was still a plethora of half-decent fighter out there for “Pacman” to face.
In and around the fast-fisted Filipinos weight and class right now are André Berto, Sergio Martinez, Paul Williams or even Miguel Cotto again. Instead the prize of a huge pay day went to disgraced hand-wrap saboteur Antonio Margarito, cheers boxing.
Whether Margarito cheated or not is by-the-by now, but the fact is he was banned for cheating so it does seem ridiculous that he should come back and almost immediately get a shot against the biggest name in boxing.
Oh well, never mind the murky underworld of professional fighting, the question is will this bout hold the audience’s interest? It is certainly not going to be up there in the worldwide viewing figures that fighting Mayweather would have attracted and will probably not be one of those fights that brings the non-boxing fans out from the woodwork. It also come off the back of Pacquiao’s uninspiring slug against Joshua Clottey in March so he is coming down slightly from the crest of his wave in terms of popularity now.
There’s no question that the Filipino is still the most exciting fighter out there, but he is getting older and perhaps looking towards his future. Fighting less-credible opponents, while also residing in office for the Philippines government suggests that he could be taking his eye of the ball in terms of fighting, and maybe looking to wind his career down with some easy big-pay days.
In Margarito, Pacquiao is fighting a man once rated quite highly but discredited after the hand-wrap scandal. The Mexican might be out there to prove himself and take a huge scalp but really even before the scandal he wasn’t in Pacman's league and it’s a shame to not see a better contender in there.
Arguably the main interest lies in the incredible record of Pacquiao fighting for his 11th title in his ninth weight class, now set at light-middleweight.
The little guy just keeps ballooning up, what odds would you get on him fighting as a heavyweight in two years time? Although there is no doubt his little frame would explode if he got up to that sort of weight, he does seem to be tearing up the divisions at a rate of knots.
This also brings up another point of interest and the key to the fight; can Pacquiao cope at this weight? He has packed on an extra half-stone and Margarito is a natural at that weight. Don’t forget that originally Pacquiao began as a light-flyweight that is a three stone 2lb difference which has to take its toll on his body. With added muscle he will be more cumbersome and perhaps lose some of his punching speed due to increased muscle size, giving Margarito a way in.
Ultimately this fight won’t be attracting anything more than standard fight fans who will be interested in how Pacquiao copes at 11 stone and if Margarito can spring a shock while trying to redeem himself.
Realistically though Pacquiao can and probably will win this fight without getting out of second gear, which will cue immediate Pacquiao v Mayweather hysteria for about six months before it falls apart and Pacman chases the winner of Martinez v Williams and his middleweight crown instead.
It’s all a big shame because boxing is crying out for a super-fight right now and it doesn’t look like Pacquiao will provide one soon. But don’t worry, at least on the same day David Haye is facing Audley Hari...oh.
Tags: