Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito: Breaking Down the Fight
All of the best boxing matches have storylines, but the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito bout has more than most.
Pacquiao took on a new job (Congressman) since the last time we saw him in action, meaning his training camp was even more chaotic than usual. He's also attempting to appease fans who are disappointed he was never able to come to terms for a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather, yet he still has a chance to win a world title in an eighth weight class.
Just getting the opportunity for a huge fight in Cowboys Stadium has to be viewed as something of an upset for Margarito. His reputation was tarnished in the hand wrap scandal that erupted in the wake of his January 2009 loss to Shane Mosley, and though Mexican fans have largely rallied behind him, others have questioned whether he even deserves to be in this position.
Come November 13, though, all of those subplots will be thrown out the window. Once the leather starts flying, it will come down to who's the better man on that particular night.
Who has the better chance of having his hand raised in victory?
\Here's a look at how they stack up in 10 categories crucial for success on fight night:
Hand Speed
1 of 10
Margarito is no slouch when he starts letting his hands go. He's capable of firing off combinations that can crumple cornered opponents.
But there's no way he can match Pacquiao in this category. Manny has some of the fastest hands in the sport, and he's become adept at ending flurries with either hand.
Both men will look to be aggressive, but Pac-Man will be quicker to the punch any time they decide to stand and trade.
Advantage: Pacquiao
Foot Speed / Lateral Movement
2 of 10
Though he's no plodder, Margarito isn't the quickest fighter around either. He's athletic enough to stay in range when guys are trying to stay away, as he proved against Miguel Cotto, but that's about as far as it goes.
The same can't be said about Pacquiao, who's shown a great deal of improvement in this area. He's probably always had fast feet, but he didn't always put them to good use early in his career, content to simply walk people down while he looked for opportunities to drop the hammer.
Now Manny uses his legs to dart in and out of range and to set up unusual angles to deliver shots at close range. He's got a clear edge here.
Advantage: Pacquiao
Defense
3 of 10
Neither Pacquiao nor Margarito will be mistaken for a defensive maestro a la Floyd Mayweather, but both can be effective at preventing flush shots when they put their minds to it.
Margarito generally prefers to block punches with his arms, employing a traditional guard. Pacquiao can do the same, but his best defensive skill is dodging shots by moving his feet or upper body.
Both men tend to think offense first, but Pacquiao's defensive awareness has come a long way over the years and has more facets to it, giving him the nod here.
Advantage: Pacquiao
.jpg?w=256 "Cowboys Pickens Football")
Ring Generalship
4 of 10
This is a tough call due to the vastly different way Pacquiao fights now compared to the way he did in the early stages of his career. Formerly a one-dimensional seek-and-destroy type, Manny has shown he can dictate range and spacing thanks to the tutelage of Freddie Roach.
But the fact is that Pacquiao rarely needs to use cutting off the ring or backing foes into the ropes as tactical weapons because he can win rounds in the middle of the ring with his physical gifts. Not so for Margarito, who uses relentless pressure to take the fight exactly where he wants it when he is on his game.
Pacquiao probably could be a fine ring general if he needed to be, but simply based on what we've seen in each man's body of work, Margarito has shown off this skill more often.
Advantage: Margarito
Chin
5 of 10
Margarito once had a reputation as a guy with a granite chin, and he's certainly proven to be difficult to knock out. Shane Mosley managed to stop him, but it took rounds of cumulative pounding to pull it off.
Pacquiao has been knocked out three times in his career, though none of those losses occurred in the last 10 years. His style does lend itself to taking the occasional flush counter, and he usually manages to absorb them pretty well.
None of Manny's recent opponents have truly tested his chin, making this a bit of a guess, but it's difficult to rule in favor of Margarito with the Mosley loss still fresh in most fans' minds.
Advantage: Pacquiao
Power
6 of 10
Though Pacquiao and Margarito have combined to rack up plenty of knockout victims, they haven't displayed an abundance of one-punch KO power, at least against top competition. The exception came in Manny's 2009 victory over Ricky Hatton, which came courtesy of one scintillating single shot.
That would seem to give Pac-Man an edge here, but there's always a question of how power translates to a heavier weight class. That hasn't been an issue for Pacquiao so far, but there's always a chance that moving beyond welterweight is a step too far.
Both fighters hit hard, it's just too hard to separate them in this category since we haven't seen enough of them above 147 pounds, which is what really matters come November 13.
Advantage: Push
Strength
7 of 10
Considering that Pacquiao won his first world title at flyweight, few things in recent boxing history were more surprising than seeing him show up for his bout with Oscar De La Hoya two years ago as the bigger, stronger man. That's led some critics (most notably Floyd Mayweather) to suggest that he hasn't been putting on muscle the natural way, but there's no debating the idea that Pac-Man is physically strong for his size.
Size does matter in boxing, though, and Margarito is the naturally bigger guy. He has a taller, wider frame and is more accustomed to carrying the kind of weight around that he'll have on Saturday.
Punching power could turn out to be a wash, but functional strength comes into play when pushing opponents back or imposing one's will on the inside. Margarito should have an edge in that regard.
Advantage: Margarito
Stamina
8 of 10
Pacquiao and Margarito are always in great shape when fight night rolls around, and it would be a shock to see anything else but more of the same from them at the weigh-in on Friday. In the rare cases where one of them has faded late in a fight, it's usually due to an opponent's fists and not because they ran out of gas.
To find the edge here, all we can do is examine who has been required to go the distance more often. In this case, that's Pacquiao, who has fought a full 12 rounds seven times since 2004 compared to just twice for Margarito.
Don't expect either man to falter if the championship rounds arrive, but look for Manny to be just a tad more prepared if they do.
Advantage: Pacquiao
Punch Output
9 of 10
Most boxers throw fewer punches as they go up in weight. Not Pacquiao, as CompuBox has revealed that he has actually increased his punch output as he's risen, always besting the division averages for punches per round.
Still, there's a reason Tony is known as the Tijuana Tornado. Against common opponent Joshua Clottey, Pacquiao threw 1231 shots over 12 rounds, but Margarito fired off an eye-popping 1615 punches.
Pacquiao is an anomaly, but Margarito is more akin to a force of nature.
Advantage: Margarito
Corner
10 of 10
It's tough to argue that Margarito is getting better training advice now, since former trainer Javier Capetillo is the one who got him suspended from boxing for attempting to send him out with loaded gloves. Robert Garcia is a step up for that reason alone.
Let's be honest though: No trainer in the game is as hot as Freddie Roach right now, and it's in large part for his work with Pacquiao. Manny has made obvious and in some cases dramatic improvements in many areas, and Roach is the man responsible.
Freddie also give his fighters excellent advice during the fights. Pacquiao couldn't be in better hands.
Advantage: Pacquiao
.jpg?w=480 "Cowboys Pickens Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Jags Tried Trading 2027 1st 😳")