Joshua Clottey: Antonio Margarito Does Not Have the Skill To Beat Manny Pacquiao

Former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey of Ghana said Antonio Margarito does not possess the skill to beat Manny Pacquiao when they tangle on Saturday night at Cowboys' Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Clottey, who fought Antonio Margarito in 2006, said Margarito may go for a "do-or-die" fight with Manny Pacquiao, and if he does, he will lose to the Filipino boxer.

The boxer from Ghana thinks his only credible loss in his professional career was against Manny Pacquiao, who is currently Ring's number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Clottey has never been knocked out in his professional career, though on record he suffered four losses: a disqualification loss to Carlos Baldomir, a unanimous decision against Margarito in which he broke his arm in the fourth round of their fight, a split decision against Miguel Cotto, which many boxing fans said Clottey won and a unanimous decision against Manny Pacquiao, which Clottey acknowledges as his only legitimate loss.

“Margarito doesn’t have a good defense, either,” Clottey said. “He’s going to fight like ‘do-or-die,’ and as a result, he’ll get hit a lot.

“You have to understand how good Pacquiao is, and he has the power because he’s fought and beaten bigger guys. If Margarito can understand that, it will be a good fight, but if he goes in there thinking it’s do-or-die, I think he’ll lose and Pacquiao might stop him."

Meanwhile, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said he is not impressed with Margarito's fighting skills.

“Fundamentally, I don’t rate him as a good fighter. Skills-wise, he’s a very good kid, a strong guy. But fundamentally, he crosses his feet.”

“Just going through the motions. He wants to work out a little bit, go four rounds in the mitts, finalize the game plan,” said Roach, who predicted that Margarito would be “an easy fight."

Pacquiao, who is aiming for his eighth win in as many weight divisions, says there is nothing more to prove in his career as a boxer.

“I don’t need to prove anything more in boxing,” Pacquiao told Reuters during the buildup to a bout scheduled for 12 rounds. “I have already achieved what I wanted in boxing.

“What I want right now is to maintain my greatness in boxing and to entertain people who can be satisfied by my performance.”

“This is the fight I have been waiting for,” the 31-year-old said. “I believe we can give a good fight on Saturday. Margarito is a very aggressive fighter and throws a lot of punches.

In today's weigh-in Pacquiao came in at 144.6 lbs. while Margarito stepped in at 150 lbs.

Pacquiao and Margarito collide Saturday night at the huge Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.