“Manny can’t be allowed in the middle of the ring. If Margarito wants this, he’s gonna have to work him on the ropes and get him there with lots of jabs and pushing and shoving him,” stated world-class trainer Roger Mayweather as he shared his thoughts on the November 13 showdown between Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao. According to Mayweather, the game plan for Margarito is simple: use his natural height, reach and size advantages to back Pacquiao up, wear him down and punish him.

“If Margarito can keep the fight chest to chest and Manny on his heels, then Margarito should be able to lean on him and use his weight and strength to wear Pacquiao’s legs down,” Mayweather explained as he spoke to John Martinez of Fightchronicles.com. “If Margarito keeps Pacquiao cornered and throws uppercuts, along with roughing him up on the inside, Margarito should knock his ass out.”

Sounds simple enough. Of course, that’s what they all say, and as many before have found out, it’s a lot easier said than done.

Roger, however, strongly believes that Margarito just might be the one to finally pull it off, provided he’s given a fair opportunity to do so. “Oh yeah, it also helps if Manny aint got that shit in his system,” he added, clearly making another not-so-subtle accusation that Pacquiao has used performance enhancing drugs.

Naturally, given Roger Mayweather’s personal disdain for the Filipino superstar, it should probably come as no surprise that he’ll be rooting for the man standing across the ring from Pacquiao. That being said, in my opinion, it’s also a sign that Team Mayweather would prefer for Pacquiao to lose as opposed to facing him in the ring. It’s the only explanation I could come up with as to why Roger Mayweather would want Margarito to derail a fight that would generate a career high payday for his nephew, Floyd Mayweather Jr.