An Intelligent Defense of Pac vs Margo

[prometheuslord]

Good historical perspective from Carlos Acevedo on thecruelestsport.com.

Here's the link.

An excerpt:

"Fitzsimmons also pointed out—with a crooked finger, no doubt–that Henry Armstrong never asked anyone to concede on weight when he terrorized several divisions simultaneously. No, but Jimmy McLarnin did. Battling Nelson once forced Joe Gans to weigh-in just before the opening bell of their fight (he also forced Gans to weigh-in three times on fight day, forcing Gans to forego food and water). Tony Janiro would only fight Jake LaMotta if LaMotta agreed to weigh 155 pounds. Juan Manuel Marquez agreed to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a catchweight that Mayweather refused to honor. Barney Ross once won both the world lightweight title and the world junior welterweight title in the same match against Tony Canzoneri. Most recently, and perhaps most infamously, Sugar Ray Leonard won two titles in two different weight classes simultaneously by knocking out Don Lalonde in 1988. Lalonde came in 8 pounds beneath his usual light heavyweight mark, and Leonard was a full 10 pounds lighter than the 175-pound weight limit. Shallow historical comparisons are the norm for most boxing writers, but it would be nice if a broader scope was used once in a while."

By the way, I'm against the fight myself, in principle. cheater like margo should not get a seven figure payday. but i'm interested in intelligent discussion of this, not just random shouting, and this writer knows a couple things i didn't.

[Khalid X]

Honestly this is a very good topic and I would like to add some more nuggets to this as well. Unfortunately I'm tired as hell and I'm about to crash. I'll either look for this tomorrow, or hit you up via visitor message.


FWIW I just wish Pacquiao would just drop the catchweight or not accept this as a title fight.

I personally feel it's one or the other and he can't have both without facing a ton of hate.

I can see Fighting Tony at 154 for a title, since there are no real champs there (unless you want to see Cotto vs. Pac 2), but to top it off with a catch weight is a bit much.

[The Evil 1-2]

Look, I understand that some greats have forced their opponents to weigh a specific amount before a fight. However, it still doesn't make it right. Using the "well, he did it; so I can do it argument" is so juvenile and idiotic.

[elgranluchadore]

mate if the whole mexi-killer thing was still going on this would be a dream match
but as we all know pac accomplishments got too big and now he is known not only as the guy that beats mexicans but the guy that beats everybody

[Hitman932]

Well I think it's being a little shortsighted to assume people's problem with this fight is the catchweight.

It's a combination of several things.

1) Margarito is a cheater who should be banned for life
2) The title is vacant which is bull**** cause Pac would have never stepped to Martinez
3) It's clear that Bob Arum tells Pac who to fight and Pac just bends over and takes it
4) The catchweight simply just adds another reason not to like it

There is nothing about this fight that deserves anything but derision from true fans of the sport.

[Doctor_Tenma]

Look, I understand that some greats have forced their opponents to weigh a specific amount before a fight. However, it still doesn't make it right. Using the "well, he did it; so I can do it argument" is so juvenile and idiotic.

[Strike Back]

Very good article. Makes some very valid points in regards to writers/promoters/bull**** titles/catchweights. Also makes some good points about 'would be' opponents and the reasoning for Margarito - In the end, it all boils down to cashola.

Also, is it me or did he defend Marg's in the third to last paragraph and basically say to move on and don't write him off since he lost to a legit (then and now) P4P fighter?

[bojangles1987]

I'm not agreeing with the fight, but it is messed up when people act like Pac is the first fighter to fight at catchweights. There's a big list of title fights at catchweights, including a 154 pound belt being on the line at a catchweight of 150 when Terry Norris defended against Meldrick Taylor.

[Steven Adams]

end of the day.. you cant defend that its for a vacant title at a catch weight in a weight class thats new to them.

[prometheuslord]

i think everyone can agree that the fight isn't what the public or the fans were looking for. people wanted mayweather vs pacquiao. instead we get pacquiao vs convicted cheater at 150 for a useless belt.

but the question is, is that as bad as everyone says? because the demand for pac vs margarito is still pretty big, probably worth a full dallas cowboys stadium and a couple hundred thousand PPV buys.

and the bigger question is, is this fight bad for boxing? the evidence the writer showed suggests that boxing's had worse, and still came out strong. think about all the sold fights. think about the mafia. think about the racism, the drugs, the deaths, mike tyson biting off holyfield's ear. but boxing's still alive and strong, because boxing's still boxing.

and maybe all this complaining's just feeding the hype.