Manny Pacquiao: Why an Antonio Margarito Loss Is Best Thing for Boxing Star
Manny Pacquiao is heading into another big fight, as he's set to take on Antonio Margarito on November 13th.
Pacquiao has turned into a huge draw, winning fight after fight. All of the controversy around a possible fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. certainly hasn't harmed his star in the least. However, heading into this fight, there are plenty of distractions for the fighter and a lot of questions about his preparation.
Read on to learn the 10 reasons why a loss in this fight wouldn't be the end of the world for Pacquiao.
10. Focus on Himself
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The BBC had a story on Amir Kahn in which he said that Manny Pacquiao believes that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be a good opponent for him next year.
"Manny thinks it will be a good fight because he's trained with me, sparred with me, he really thinks I'm good enough to fight Mayweather now," Kahn said. "But I think in the next 12 months, when I get even better and with more experience, I think I'll be in better condition to fight him then.”
Manny should really keep his nose out of everyone's business. He knows that no one would care nearly as much about that fight as they would about a fight between him and Floyd. I don't mean to knock Kahn, but it's the truth, and Pacquiao should worry about himself, not what other fighters are doing.
9. Focus on Boxing
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Manny Pacquiao has a lot on his plate right now, and plenty of it has nothing to do with boxing.
Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the Philippines and has been all over Hollywood doing the appearances that have come along with his newfound fame. He's been making the most of it, but he's still a boxer first.
Losing could get him to forget about that stuff and focus fully on his craft.
8. Reduce Celebrity
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Right now, Manny Pacquiao is the most popular boxer in the entire sport. He's the face of boxing.
With each win, his popularity has grown. He's been talked about on ESPN, and he's been making appearances on Jimmy Kimmel's show. He's a celebrity fighter, and a loss would take away from the mystique.
If he's less of a celebrity, he'll be able to get back to spending more time in the gym.
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7. Humbled
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Manny Pacquiao is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing, and he has stretched the limits of his talents.
This fight is for Pacquiao's eighth title in his eighth different weight class. While fighters go up and down between weight classes all the time, the lack of focus and constantly trying to go up and down between classes may take a toll on Pacquiao's body.
If he loses, Manny may start to respect his limits and be a little more humble.
6. Media Criticism
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During the entire buildup to the non-Mayweather Jr. fight, there was a lot made over the drug testing that the Mayweather camp wanted.
Mayweather was made out to be a coward and looked to have been dodging the fight and was said to be scared to lose and finally have a blemish on his record. There's been a huge war of words between the two, and it seemed that people were mostly in Manny's corner.
If Pacquiao loses, there's going to be pressure on him from the media about finally fighting Mayweather and how he runs his camp. It could end a love affair that the media has with the fighter and help focus him.
5. Floyd Mayweather
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It's the fight everyone who everyone who enjoys boxing wants to see, the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the game against each other.
There's been nothing but talk between the two camps and arguing over proposed drug testing before the fight. A loss would paint Pacquiao into a corner where a fight against Mayweather might be the best fight for the fighter.
Not that it isn't at this point. anyway, but it's just more of an option with a loss.
4. Creates a Challenge
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Right now, Manny Pacquiao is looked at as the best fighter in boxing. A loss would give him a lot more to fight for.
He'd be fighting for his pride, which would take a hit after a loss, just like with any fighter. It would create a hunger that isn't there when you're the champion and everyone loves you. Regardless of what any champion says, it's much easier to be the challenger than the champion.
A loss would create a whole new set of goals for Manny.
3. Find Hunger
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Champions across multiple sports have learned it the hard way—it's way too easy to become complacent when you're on top.
It's happened to almost all of the great teams and fighters, with rare exception. Manny's showed some of the signs of being a little complacent with his position. A loss would shatter that atmosphere and help Pacquiao find the hunger that made him such a great fighter.
You're telling me a fighter like Mike Tyson wasn't hungrier before he was the champ?
2. Improve Conditioning
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Heading into this fight, Manny Pacquiao's conditioning, normally one of the fighter's top attributes, has come into question.
His conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Pacquiao is in condition, he's just not in "Manny condition." That's the symptom of a fighter who's not concentrating on the little things that create winning fighters.
A loss would create a back-to-basics approach that would get Pacquiao's conditioning back to where it's supposed to be.
1. Clean Up Training Camp
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Manny Pacquiao had his training camp for this fight in the Philippines, and things got out of hand quickly for the fighter.
Pacquiao was going on enviornmental fun runs and having pow wows with the president of the country while training for a big title fight. His trainer, Freddie Roach, told the media that the training camp was a mess.
That's the kind of stuff that you cannot have when training for a title fight. Losing would get all of those unnecessary distractions out of the camp.
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