What are Margarito's chances against Pacquiao?
Once again, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao will face a fighter significantly larger than him. But if you have been following boxing this past couple of years, you will know that size does not matter for Pacquiao. The number one pound-for-pound fighter's next match against the controversial Mexican, Antonio Margarito, will put that conjecture to the test one more time.
The pride of the Philippines had surpassed overwhelming size disadvantages ever since his climb to higher weights. With Pacquiao, it was always about the smaller guy taking on larger opponents—something that always made his fights thrilling and suspenseful.
After Pacman's long stint in the super featherweight division, Manny Pacquiao climbed up to lightweight to take a crack at David Diaz's WBC title. Many believed that Pacquiao's power would not go up with him in higher weights and Diaz, being a natural lightweight and an incredibly durable fighter, might just walk through the Filipino's punches.
But Pacquiao's blinding speed battered David Diaz into a bloody pulp, and Diaz was knocked out in the ninth round. In the post-fight interview, David Diaz simply attributed the beating he received to the Filipino's fast combinations and swift movement. "He was so fast that I thought that Freddie was punching me too." Diaz said.
After Diaz's destruction, the mega-fight, De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao, was next. Up to this point, Oscar "The Golden Boy" De La Hoya was still the largest opponent—in terms of height and reach— that Pacman had ever fought against. Experts had said that if Diaz was not large enough to give Pacquiao a fight, then they were certain that De La Hoya, a highly-skilled boxer-puncher, would make up the difference in height and hold a definite advantage.
Again, Pacquiao proved everyone wrong when he made De La Hoya retire on his stool in the eighth round. Of course, the argument can be made that De La Hoya was simply a shell of his old self when he fought Pacquiao, but that fight still proved that superior speed can overcome size, strength, and reach disadvantages. That fight also led to Oscar’s permanent retirement.
But those two fights did not necessarily display Pacquiao's power punching capabilities. Early into Pacquiao's career, he was feared for his one-punch knockout, particularly, his left punch, called "Manila Ice". Ledwaba, Velasquez, Solis, and Morales had all tasted the power of his fists.
The Diaz and the De La Hoya fights were not really about Pacman's power, but more about his speed. Perhaps the critics were partly right about his power not going up with him in higher weights. Then came Ricky Hatton, and the Briton was knocked out cold with Pacquiao's trademark "Manila Ice".
So it has not only been Pacman’s speed, conditioning, and cunning that have him seemingly invincible, but also his power. This was further proved with Pacquiao's winning performance against powerful welterweights, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey.
Now, if all of the fighters mentioned have been dominated by Manny Pacquiao, how can someone make a case for Margarito?
Well, for one thing, Margarito will be the tallest and lengthiest boxer to ever fight Pacquiao. Margarito is 5’ 11’’ while Pacquiao is barely 5’ 7’’. The Mexican will also have a six-inch reach advantage over the Filipino.
Unlike the overly defensive Clottey, Margarito will come to fight and will dish out a volume of punches. This match promises to be action-packed because Margarito is a relentless attacker that heavily relies on his chin and durability. Based on Margarito's past performance and ignoring the "plaster" incident, Tijuana's Tornado is capable of hurting Pacquiao. His light-middleweight fists can deal considerable damage to the smaller fighter. If Clottey's infrequent punches made Pacquiao bleed and swell, then Margarito's activity will surely be a problem for the small Filipino fighter.
Against Margarito, Manny Pacquiao needs to be sharp with his in-and-out technique. Speed and skill will be his main weapons. Margarito's style may play well with Pacquiao's skill set, but the Mexican might very well reach Pacquiao's limit. After all, Pacman's run of challenging bigger fighters has to end at some point.
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