By Mark Vester
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is ready for the charge of Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. He expects the tough Mexican boxer to do two things on Saturday night - apply a lot of pressure and target the body often. Pacquiao says he is ready for both. The fight could start at a very fast pace. Pacquiao's early strategy will depend on Margarito's early attack.
Pacquiao has been doing 2,160 sit-ups a day to harden his midsection. He wants his body to have the ability to absorb Margarito's hard punches.
"I need to be ready on whatever will happen on top of the ring. My style will depend on what he'll do early in the fight," Pacquiao told The Inquirer. "We all know that he's a body puncher so I need to harden up my mid-section," said Pacquiao.
When Margarito applies his well-known pressure, Pacquiao plans to battle him back with uppercuts from both hands.
"When he comes in, I'll meet him with uppercuts left and right," said Pacquiao.
Margarito is the much bigger fighter. Pacquiao's first thought was to put on weight, but it slowed his movements. To maintain speed, he plans to be around 147-148-pounds on the night of the fight. The catch-weight is 150-pounds, with the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at stake.
"I was trying to gain weight and become larger because Margarito is bigger and taller. But it didn't do any good because I couldn't move. As long as I'm fast, I'm okay," Pacquiao said.
