Manny Pacquiao or Antonio Margarito: Which Is a Better Win for Boxing?

Most of you have made up your minds with your predictions for the fight or it may have already met its conclusion by the time you read this but which would actually be better for the sport of boxing? A win for Pacquiao or Margarito?

Before you guys fill my inbox with hate mail, let us consider what would happen if Pacquiao were to win. The best possible thing that could happen if Pacquiao won, would be a close victory in which Margarito fought valiantly but didn’t get knocked out. It would be best if Margarito gave Pacquiao as tough a fight as John “The Beast” Mugabi gave Marvelous Marvin Hagler back in 1986. Hagler was able to knock Mugabi out in the 11^th round but it was Hagler’s most difficult fight. He had to dig deep to pull out the late victory and everyone that saw the fight could see that it took a lot out of Hagler.

One person in particular that had seen the fought thought it took a lot out of Hagler: a retired Sugar Ray Leonard who was sitting ringside for the fight. Hagler had been looking to get Leonard in the ring for quite some time at that point but only then, when Leonard saw that Hagler was on the decline, especially after a tough fight did he agree to a fight with the “Marvelous One.”

In this scenario, Floyd Mayweather Jr.  is the onlooker that hopes to benefit from a grueling fight this weekend. It remains to be seen if Mayweather’s legal woes will prevent him from fighting any time soon, however if he’s ever going to fight Pacquiao, it likely will only happen after Pacquiao shows signs of being less than dominant. Anyone who has a remote interest in boxing would agree that a Pacquiao/Mayweather bout is the biggest fight that can be made, it may not necessarily be the best thing for hard core boxing fans.

Mega fights are often disappointing in terms of action and the undercard bouts have been miserable for as long as I can remember when there has been such a high profile main event. What’s the best thing that could happen if they fought? A win for either fighter might very well be the last fight for that fighter. Where do you go from there? Every fight is a step down from that point unless they agree to a rematch.

If Manny is dominant this weekend, that lessens the chance for a fight with Mayweather but what are his other options? The best available opponents to me would be:

-          Andre Berto @ 147lbs

-          Sergio Martinez @ 160lbs (if he beats Williams in their rematch)

-          Shane Mosley @ whichever weight he feels most comfortable

I think the Berto match would be the most intriguing. Berto can match Pacquiao’s speed and power but he also has a shaky chin. Even if Berto could work up a lead, you couldn’t count Pacquiao out because he’d always have a shot to kayo Berto out of nowhere. A fight with Martinez would be for the undisputed and lineal Middleweight Championship. One of the most storied divisions in boxing would see one of it’s biggest all time bouts. Pacquiao could achieve the impossible against a slick boxer with unheralded power in Martinez. I think there’s no chance that Pacquiao ever fights Williams. I might literally go into shock if that fight got signed. Nor should he have to fight him. Pacquiao could stand on Freddie Roach’s shoulders and still be at a disadvantage in height.

A fight with Shane Mosley would be a big promotion and Shane is definitely the biggest puncher he would’ve ever faced. Mosley is on the downside of his career and I think he would lose badly because he’s never done well against someone who can box but it would be a huge event either way.

If Margarito were to win, he doesn’t need to be in a Mega fight every time out and we may see him in some scintillating match ups. A list of my favorite matchups that could be available:

-          Pacquiao rematch (why not?)

-          Andre Berto @ 147lbs

-          Alfredo Angulo @ 154lbs

-          Cotto rematch @ 154lbs

-          Sergei Dzinziruk @ 154lbs

-          Saul Alvarez @ 154lbs

-          J.C. Chavez Jr. @ 154lbs

-          Martinez rematch @ 160lbs

-          Williams rematch @ 160lbs

-          Felix Sturm @ 160lbs

-          Dmitry Pirog @ 160lbs

You may be asking, "why are there so many more matchups available for Margarito?" Or "why is Floyd Mayweathers name not on this list?" If Pacquiao were to win, I doubt a rematch would happen with Margarito unless the cards are close but Pacquiao were to win comfortably. Margarito is a guy you don’t want to have a rematch with. He’s a guy you’d rather beat once and forget about. I also don't think Mayweather will fight Margarito because I don't think he's every wanted to fight him at any weight. He's always side stepped his name when asked about him.

I’d like to see Berto face Margarito because Berto fights well backing up but still doesn’t always do well against pressure. It looks like a great matchup to me on paper. A fight with Alfredo Angulo would be all action. You would think they were twin brothers by the way they fight. If you don’t want to see this fight, you don’t like boxing. A fight with Dzinziruk simply to beat the guy that could be the best in the division. A fight with Saul Alvarez would be huge for Mexican boxing fans. HUGE fight, especially if Margarito were to beat Pacquiao. They could probably sell 70,000 seats for this fight in Mexico if it were to happen, not to mention it would be a great action fight as well. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has a great Mexican following and this could also be a great action fight for as long as it lasts though I think Margarito would win pretty easily.

Martinez is much better now the he was when he faced Margarito back in 2000. Margarito is also one of only two men to beat Martinez. A win over Martinez would make him one of the elite Mexican champions to hold titles in 3 divisions as well. A fight with Paul Williams would redeem his loss against him from 2007 if he were to beat him and people also suspect that maybe Margarito had used plaster of Paris in his handwraps in their first fight. A win would also make him the Middleweight champ if Williams beats Martinez on November 20^th.

A fight with Pirog or Sturm would give Margarito a title at Middleweight against opponents that would be active against him. I think both of these fights could actually be good action fights as well. Sturm is plenty tough and Pirog showed up on everyone’s radar when he knocked out hot prospect Daniel Jacobs on the undercard of Marquez/Diaz II back in July.

When all is said and done, some of these fights may happen regardless of who wins but I feel like a win for Margarito would be best for boxing and boxing fans. A Pacquiao/Mayweather fight would be great but I think it would immediately deflate boxing once it was over. A win for Margarito would reinvigorate his career and we’d see some great matches and we may still see Pacquiao move back down to 147lbs and see him continue to have huge fights and maybe even lure Mayweather into a fight if he blames his distractions for this fight for his loss. He could sell the fight by showing how motivated he was by the loss to Margarito.

Either way, boxing will fight on as it has for hundreds of years regardless of the outcome this weekend but it can ill-afford for its best fighter to win and hang up his gloves if he can’t make the biggest bout in history.