Pacquiao Margarito Weigh-In: 10 Things We Learned
The Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito weigh-in results are in, and it's time to set our minds to what we learned.
Both fighters weighed in at what amount to very strong weights, and Margarito hit the fight's 150-pound catch weight on the nose. Pacquiao checked in a little lighter at 144.6 pounds.
But naturally, the weigh-in also provided us with the knowledge that goes beyond simple numbers.
Here are the Top 10 things we learned.
10. Weigh-Ins Are Still Lame
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I'm sorry, but I have to say this right off the bat before we get serious.
Unless a fight or a shouting match breaks out, weigh-ins simply aren't worth watching. If there isn't a fracas, the only thing they really add to the pre-fight hype is the numbers—nothing else.
Such was the case with this one. We could have learned everything we needed to know from a live blog or something of the sort, and we wouldn't have missed anything.
Boring. Multiplied by 10.
9. Nobody Likes Jerry Jones
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Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was on hand during the weigh-in, which makes sense given that the fight is going to take place in his gigantic stadium.
He was also there to receive the WBC Man of the Year trophy, which he accepted from WBC president Jose Sulaiman.
Boos could be heard while he accepted it. That's what you get when your team is 1-7 and totally hopeless for this and several seasons to come.
8. The Crowd Is in Pacman's Favor
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With Antonio Margarito's controversial video, in which he and his camp mocked Freddie Roach's Parkinson's disease, it's not very surprising that he and stablemate Brandon Rios were met with a round of boos when he was introduced.
On the other hand, while there were some boos directed Pacquiao's way from the Margarito supporters in the crowd, they were quickly drowned out by the cheers of all his supporters.
And it didn't take long for the "Manny! Manny! Manny!" chants to start, and they were loudest when the two fighters were posing for pictures after the weigh-in.
Yup, he's popular alright.
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7. No Bad Blood?
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This was the strangest part of the weigh-in. Hands down.
After all the jawing that has gone back and forth between the camps of both fighters, which includes the drama surrounding Margarito's mocking of Freddie Roach, there was an awful lot of smiling going on at the weigh-in.
If you remember back to the weigh-in for Pacquiao-Cotto, in which Freddie Roach and Joe Santiago started jawing back and forth, this is a little surprising. There's been far more drama between Pacquiao and Margarito than there was between him and Cotto.
Weird. These guys are going to beat each other to a pulp tomorrow night, and they looked like they'd just as soon go have a beer.
6. Margarito Was Clearly Drained
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The word out of Pacquiao's camp is they think Margarito looked "drained" and "shot."
And they're right. Margarito did look dangerously thin. But while that may be the truth, they have to know as well as anyone they can't take that to mean an advantage with more than 24 hours still to go before the fight.
Having made the catch weight, Margarito can now add some water weight. He'll be fine by the time he bumps gloves with Pacman.
5. Roach Seriously Misfired in His Weight Prediction
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There was a lot of talk about whether or not Pacman would try and hit the 150-pound catch weight right ont he nose, as Margarito ended up doing.
But not too long ago, Pacman's trainer Freddie Roach said he thought his fighter would weigh in at 147 or 148.
He was off by a couple pounds.
Should this be considered a big deal one way or another? Considering that Margarito has almost six pounds on Pacquiao's 144.6, I'm going to say maybe. It's one thing to prefer speed when you're talking about a three-pound difference.
Six pounds is something else.
4. Manny Is Much Lighter Than Expected
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Roach may have been off by a couple pounds, but people are surprised by Pacquiao's 144.6 anyway. That is very light, and the gap between his weight and Margarito's is only going to get even bigger if Pacman only adds another pound or two before the fight.
Then again, being lighter is nothing new for Manny. This is just the latest in a trend that's worked out pretty well for the fighter of the decade.
He came in at 142 against Oscar de la Hoya and 144 against Miguel Cotto, and those fights ended in his favor.
3. Pacman Is Clearly Going for Speed
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Because Pacquiao did indeed buck our expectations and come in at 144.6, it's apparent that he knows better than to listen to us.
Let's face it, he's going to do this thing his way, which does not involve trying to match Margarito's size with girth.
He's going for speed once again, and he's probably going to be much better off because of that.
2. Margaritos Weight Advantage Is Significant Now
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Margarito's 150 pounds give him more than five pounds on Pacquiao, giving him a weight advantage that Pacman hasn't experienced in his other big fights.
Oscar de la Hoya had three pounds on Manny, and Miguel Cotto had just one.
Of course, we knew that this was going to be the case with Manny moving up in class to chase the Super Welterweight belt.
1. Margaritos Weight Advantage Will Be Even More Significant
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Despite the fact that Margarito looked severely dehydrated—even like he was starving in my opinion, the fact that he still checked in at 150 tells us a lot about how much more weight he's going to have on Pacquiao when tomorrow night rolls around.
Once Margarito rehydrates, he could very well be up over 160, which means he could have up to 10 or 15 pounds on Pacquiao.
If six pounds is significant, then 10 or 15 is exponentially significant.
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