Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito: A Preview and How Each Man Can Win

Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao

Birthplace: Kibawe, Philippines
Resides: General Santos City, Philippines
Age: 31
Height: 5' 6 1/2"
Reach: 66 1/2"
Current World Titles Held: WBO Welterweight (147 lbs.)
Former World Titles Held: Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight (140 lbs.), WBC Lightweight (135 lbs.), Ring Magazine, WBC Super Featherweight (130 lbs.), Ring Magazine Featherweight (126 lbs.), IBF Super Bantamweight (122 lbs.), WBC Flyweight (112 lbs.)
Professional Record: 51-3-2, 38 KOs
Record in World Title Fights: 11-1-2, 9 KOs
Record in Fights Going 12 Rounds: 4-1-1
Record at Super Welterweight: First fight at this weight

Notable Wins: TKO12 Miguel Cotto, TKO2 Ricky Hatton, TKO8 Oscar De La Hoya
Notable Losses: UD12 Erik Morales I, KO3 Medgoen Singsurat

"The Tijuana Tornado" Antonio Margarito

Birthplace: Torrance, California
Resides: Tijuana, Mexico
Age: 32
Height: 5' 11"
Reach: 73"
Current World Titles Held: None
Former World Titles Held: WBA, WBO, IBF Welterweight
Professional Record: 38-6, 27 KOs
Record in World Title Fights: 10-3, 1 NC
Record in Fights Going 12 Rounds: 2-1
Record at Super Welterweight: 6-1

Notable Wins: TKO11 Miguel Cotto, KO6 Kermit Cintron II, UD12 Joshua Clottey
Notable Losses: TKO9 Shane Mosley, UD12 Paul Williams, TD10 Daniel Santos

Analysis:

If boxing was lacking a truly big fight for 2010, it's going to get one this Saturday as Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito collide at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. History is likely to be made one way or another, with Pacquiao going for a world title in his eighth different weight class and the buzz suggesting that as many as 70,000 fans may be on hand.

Many boxing fans hoped that Pacquiao would be battling for pound-for-pound supremacy with Floyd Mayweather by now. But when that fight couldn't be made, Manny turned his attention to his new day job—as a congressman in his native Philippines—while waiting for another opponent to emerge.

That turned out to be Margarito, who finds himself recast as a villain after the hand wrap scandal that emerged in the wake of his fight with Shane Mosley cost him both his reputation as a hard-working, blue collar champion and 16 months out of action in the prime of his career. The hard-hitting Mexican maintains his innocence, but he knows the one true way to obtain some measure of redemption would be to come up with a huge victory over Pacquiao.

That's easier said than done, as all of Pac-Man's opponents since Erik Morales in 2005 can attest.·Pacquiao has blazed past his recent opponents thanks to his lethal combination of speed and increasing ring awareness, allowing him to fire off punches from all angles while taking fewer flush shots in return compared to earlier in his career.

Margarito supporters will have to hope that their man is simply too big for Pacquiao: At 5-foot-11, he's the tallest foe Manny has ever faced, and he'll enjoy a significant reach advantage as well. There have also been numerous reports that the Fillipino's camp did not go well. A Pac-Man that enters the ring at anything less than 100 percent certainly increases Margarito's chances at pulling off the upset.

The fight has been promoted heavily in the Dallas area in the hopes of setting a U.S. attendance record, and with Pacquiao drawing over 50,000 spectators for his March bout against largely unknown Joshua Clottey, it's a real possibility. Whatever the final gate, it promises to be an electric atmosphere set in a spectacular venue, and one that will make all of the outside subplots melt away once the fists start flying.

Pacquiao's Winning Strategy: Stay Hungry and Focused

It would be foolish to suggest that Pacquiao is ripe for a fall just because of his outside distractions. He's routinely at the center of a whirlwind of activity thanks to his large entourage and the weight he carries as the embodiment of the hopes of his homeland, and he's been able to get through it for the last five years just fine.

Still, there is reason to suggest the distractions are greater and more detrimental this time, as Pac-Man is being pulled in more directions than ever before and Margarito is much more dangerous than Clottey. Any inability to focus on the task at hand could end up with the shocking (to his fans, anyway) sight of Manny staring up at the lights.

Pacquiao says he isn't fueled by the thought of winning another world title, and at this stage of his career, there's probably some truth to that. But however he finds it, he needs to find the motivation to approach the fight with the right level of mental aggression plus the clarity to follow the game plan laid out by his outstanding trainer, Freddie Roach.

There's little doubt that Pacquiao has the physical tools to chop down Margarito. It remains to be seen if he ends up being his own worst enemy once the bell rings.

Margarito's Winning Strategy: Jab, Press and Corner

Despite having the physical advantages of height and reach that usually lend themselves to winning a more strategic contest, that style isn't Tony's cup of tea. Asking him to try to stay on the outside and win the fight on points simply isn't realistic.

Yet Margarito also can't simply bully his way inside because Pacquiao will pummel him by punching inside his own wide shots and then getting out of the way. That's a recipe for disaster against a quicker guy who also hits hard, which Margarito should have learned against Mosley.

Instead, the Tijuana Tornado needs to make an early commitment to his jab, utilizing his reach to make Pacquiao uncomfortable. If he can get Manny to start retreating, he can then use his excellent ability to cut off the ring to push Pac-Man back into the corner where he can unleash his power shots with the greatest chance of finding some success.

Margarito has always been a "take one to give one" sort. That remains his best chance of pulling off a huge win. But since Pacquiao isn't likely to oblige him with wild exchanges in the center of the ring, he needs to get the fight somewhere Manny has relatively little choice but to trade.

Nick Tylwalk is the editor and co-founder of BoxingWatchers.com and is on site in Dallas for Pacquiao-Margarito. Look for live updates from the weigh-in and the fight and follow his Twitter feed @Nick_Tylwalk.