Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito: The Smoke and Mirrors of Pre-Fight Hype

Back when I was in high school, one of my many jobs was as a waiter. Truthfully, I wasn’t very good at my job, but I was good enough to make better money than the rest of my buddies at the time.

I worked at a busy all-you-can-eat buffet known for its crawfish and deep fried catfish. The worst things about that job were the customers and how busy we often were. I could actually make better money on a moderately busy night because I could concentrate on my customers and butter them up for a better tip.

When we were really busy, I would forget a lot of things that the customers were asking for. Let’s say someone asks for more soda—no problem. Then someone else stops me and asks for more napkins—you got it. Someone else stops me and asks for Louisiana Hot Sauce, a decaf coffee, more hushpuppies and an orange juice for their son—okay, I think I got all that.

Wait, what did the second guy ask for?
 
While forgetting to bring a customer more napkins isn't as trivial than having a taller and potentially stronger man attempting to punch you in the face, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that distractions make any occupation more difficult. As you’re well aware, Manny Pacquiao has been on a legendary run of facing hall-of-fame boxers and exceeding the expectations of even his most avid fans.

Since September 2005, Pacquiao hasn’t lost a fight even though he’s fought in four weight divisions and beaten five sure-fire hall of fame fighters and another group of champions and titlists that he wasn’t supposed to be able to beat. They were either too strong or too big for the Pacman, but since his loss to Erik Morales, Pacquiao has knocked out 75 percent of his opponents and thoroughly dominated all but one of those men.
 
The famously humble Pacquiao beat all these men while remaining a quiet and likeable guy. He never defamed any of his opponents before or after their fights, and some thought that was part of his strategy. Maybe guys didn’t want to hurt such a nice guy. For all of the nice-guy posturing outside the ring, Pacquiao has been a lethal combatant inside of it. A hard puncher with blinding speed that can also take a punch makes for a deadly combination, and we’ve seen stronger and larger men crumble in his wake because of it.
 
There has been a fair share of controversy surrounding Pacquiao in the last couple years, and why not? It wouldn’t be boxing if there weren’t any controversy associated with the world’s best pugilist. From rumors of Manny not taking other fighters seriously and not training as hard as he should be to the slanderous claim of the crew of Floyd Mayweather that Pacquiao has been taking steroids to give him an edge, people have doubted Pacquiao at every turn.

Pre-fight predictions doubted that he could win another title, in another division against a better fighter than maybe he’d ever faced. Maybe the rumors of his lack of training with the intensity he’d been known for throughout his career would catch up with him. We’d all seen the episodes of 24/7, and his opponent would sell us on why his hand would be raised as the victor on fight night. 

"Surely this guy would be the one to beat him," we'd say to ourselves. The fighter would go on and on about how he’s in the best shape of his life, and motivated like never before and ready to beat Pacquiao.
 
But then, we’d sit down and watch yet another fight with the same result. Why should this fight be any different? After all, Antonio Margarito looked less than stellar in his last two fights. I personally cannot get the image of him smiling as he had just been knocked out by Shane Mosley out of my head. Who smiles after having just been knocked out?

We can't forget to mention that his hands were illegally wrapped before the fight with Mosley, and a substance similar to plaster of Paris was found on his knuckle pad, calling into question every win he’s ever had. Margarito vehemently denied that he knew anything was in his hand wraps, yet also claims that he definitely never had anything illegal in his wraps for any of his other fights.

He tells a story of naivete that few believe. I thought he should be banned forever from boxing after I heard of the news and most people I know would agree.
 
The Texas State Athletic Commission didn’t agree however, and we have a fight this weekend in Dallas. The rumors swirling around Pacquiao are as large as the stadium in Arlington itself. Pacquiao, who is undoubtedly the most famous Asian fighter of all time, a Filipino god, a once-in-a-lifetime fighter that can seemingly overcome all odds like he overcame poverty as a child, is now a congressman in his native Philippines.

He’s legitimately distracted now with serving his people as a politician. A lot of politicians around the world have a tough enough time with being a full time politician, much less being a full time fighter as well. It’s been said that part time fighters end up being full time losers. Especially at the elite level of the sport, you simply cannot train halfheartedly. It demands all of your attention and efforts, and it’s also said that “the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.”
 
We’ve been led to believe that this fight will be a bloodletting for Pacquiao. He has had more distractions than normal with his congressional duties, a longer than normal stay in the Philippines only to have a typhoon interrupt their camp, an appearance with newly re-elected Nevada senator Harry Reid, and another appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel show singing with Will Ferrell.

Even his trainer Freddie Roach has said that it has been their worst training camp ever. His trademark speed isn’t there, his timing is off, he’s had an injury to his heel so he can’t do his road work, he’s had a tough time in sparring, etc…
 
On the flipside, you see a remarkably motivated Antonio Margarito. He looks faster than he has been in the last couple of years and maybe in the best shape I’ve ever seen him (no, really). He’s already close to the contracted weight and he’s a fighter already known for his incredible stamina.

Margarito at his best has been a buzz saw of a fighter with his relentless pressure. If Pacquiao is in fact having trouble with his conditioning, this is the one fighter he wouldn’t want to face. The video of Manny hitting the mitts with Freddie Roach is distorted on HBO’s 24/7. The camera shakes, so you hear more than you actually see, an effect not used anywhere nearly as much when Margarito hits the mitts. Are the producers hiding something? Is Pacquiao not as fast as he used to be or is this something else?
 
For all the rumors of poor conditioning and motivation, photos have been taken of Manny and show that he’s been in tremendous shape for the last few weeks. Now Roach has changed his tune and said that the camp wasn’t horrible, just not as good as they would’ve liked. With only one episode left of 24/7, it looks like an even fight.

Margarito still has poor footwork, and it’s no secret that Manny should outbox him with his superior skills and speed. But is it possible he could employ a rope-a-dope style and try and use Margarito’s pressure against him while using less stamina at the same time? Maybe he’ll try and counter and load up on every punch instead of throwing a high volume of punches like Mosley did when he knocked out Margarito. Coach Roach is also saying they will definitely knock Antonio out.
 
The pre-fight hype will end with the weigh-in and stare down, which will show a naturally larger and ripped Margarito stare down the smaller Pacquiao. It’ll also conclude with the once-disgraced boxer, who seemed like he may never have another fan again in his life, with a throng of Latino supporters cheering him on.

Maybe he’s the Mexican that will finally beat the Pacman, who has viciously beaten so many Mexican stars. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ve been fooled. Maybe Pacquiao will be the same explosive fighter he’s always been and Margarito will be the customer eating a buffet of punches. Maybe he's just another distraction for Pacquiao as he continues to write his page in boxing history.