Help!!! I'm Starting To Think Margarito Has A Shot!

[Hallaqsillaq]

pac can't do what mosley did. pac isn't strong enough to hold and clinch and push margarito. it really depends if pac can keep up a furious pace for 12 rounds straight all the while taking mexican body shots. Pac has got to hurt margarito early in order to not get grinded like calderon got against segura.

If Pac pushes Margs around I'll seriously consider questioning his status as a "clean" fighter.

[S.G.]

If Margarito can eat up Pac's punches, then we could have a fun fight on our hands, but even then I expect Pacquiao to employ kind of a hybrid gameplan, a mixture of the De La Hoya approach and the Clottey approach; hard to catch but still committed to a grueling body assault.

Ultimately I think he'll either coast to a U.D. or, if it turns out Margarito can't take punches like he did pre-Mosley(/Cotto?), Pac'll stop him in the mid to late rounds.

[ronniejunior]

Are you sure Margarito isn't a 40+ year old mma artist making his first foray into boxing? I could've sworn that was why he mad that comparison, lulz.

Seriously though, he probably disregarded all the tactical and style clash information that was posted in the OP and just thought that I was giving Margarito a shot because the fight is getting closer and he's an underdog.

brilliant response...

[Twako]

If Pac pushes Margs around I'll seriously consider questioning his status as a "clean" fighter.

if armstrong was around today, im pretty sure you'd question his status too right?

[Doctor_Tenma]

Does Margarito still have the durability to take Pacquiao's punches? I can understand if this was at 154, that may have made some difference, but I doubt Margarito has any chance. I see Pacquiao using the same style he used against Oscar and constantly turning Margarito. I see Margarito taking a long long beating man.

[Hallaqsillaq]

if armstrong was around today, im pretty sure you'd question his status too right?

Nope. Different times man...

[Doctor_Tenma]

pac can't do what mosley did. pac isn't strong enough to hold and clinch and push margarito. it really depends if pac can keep up a furious pace for 12 rounds straight all the while taking mexican body shots. Pac has got to hurt margarito early in order to not get grinded like calderon got against segura.

This is true, Pacquiao doesn't have the physical strength of Mosley, but he compensates for that with greater hand speed/ athletic ability. For everytme Mosley clinched Margarito, Pacquiao will be out of range or Margarito is gonna have to punch out of an uncomfortable position.

Another thing, I haven't seen much of Margarito's straight right hand. I remember he used to throw it alot in his earlier days, but I haven't seen him use it as much, and he's gonna need it against Pacquiao.

[TintaBoricua]

I was of the belief that Pacquiao was too fast for Margarito and he would just move in and out while tagging him at will, but I can't keep acting as if Margarito will respect Pacquiao's power and Manny is some sort of defensive genius.

Margarito won't just stand in front of Pacquiao letting himself get picked apart and giving Manny a rest period. He's going to be walking Pac down nonstop and throwing 4,5,6+ punch combinations even when he's out of range.

Mosley was smart and strong enough to hold Margarito every time he was in range to land. And after he held, he'd walk Margarito backwards to tire him out.

Can Pacquiao do this constantly? If not, how is he going to keep Margarito at bay?

Pacquiao doesn't seem to have the lateral footwork that it takes to keep Margarito off balance and on the outside. Nor does he have an exceptional inside game where he can block punches if he does get inside.

He can throw tons of punches like Williams, but Margarito will only wait for so long before he says 'A la verga guey' and forces his way inside. Margarito is 5'11'' and his main punches are the straight right hand and left uppercut, they will work well against a shorter southpaw.

If Margarito can get to Pacquiao's body early, it'll get very interesting down the stretch.

I still think Pacquiao will win because Roach is a master at game planning and if he has Pacquiao going to the body early, all of the above will be annulled, but if not this will be Pacquiao's toughest fight since JMM II.

Margarito is a pressure fighter. Ricky was a pressure fighter...a much quicker, swinging for the fences, knock-you-out in one punch kinda' fighter. Pac countered beautifully throughout the whole fight, and he would hold, too. It's impressive how Pac was able to catch him constantly and work combinations from those counters and roll out of the way of Hatton's hooks all at the same time. Hatton throws punches and has much quicker footwork than Margarito and comes into you like there's no tomorrow.

Margarito does all this, but he's not as quick as Hatton. I'm not saying Hatton is better or anything, but I'm just trying to make the point that general consensus is right on this one. If Cotto and Mosley made Margarito look slow, Pacquiao is going to make Margarito look really slow. Pacquiao might get tagged here and there, but I think it's more than safe to say that Pacquiao will win that fight. Pacquiao had a field day with Hatton, and given Margarito's punch resistance (if it's anything like it was before) will make the fight drawn out like Clottey's...only more entertaining since Margarito will actually throw back. He's going to get hit a lot, you better believe it.

The only redeeming factor in the whole equation for Margarito is that no one's attacked Pac's body consistently. Cotto had some success in the fourth round, but Pac covered up, weathered the blows, and actually threw a beautiful counter right hook that propelled him off the ropes and put Cotto on there in place of Manny.

Pac's a phenomenal fighter, and Roach hasn't been wrong (or entirely off) on his predictions. I can imagine Margarito's tapes will be easy to analyze for someone like Roach. Roach will come in with a superb gameplan as always, and Margarito will lose, either the referee stops it with Margs out on his feet or Margs gets knocked down and is unable to get up. Either way, I doubt Margarito will submit, which will make it all the more interesting. I give him the benefit of the doubt, though. Cotto was able to survive (somehow) up to the 12th...Margarito should have a better chin (if it's not entirely ruined). He can't fight going backwards, though.

PREDICTION: Pacquiao beats Margarito on the scorecards (117-112, 117-112, 116-111) with a knockdown somewhere during the fight. Pacquiao's faced the better opposition and Margarito hasn't fought anyone of note in nearly two years by the time of the fight. Hasn't beaten anyone since Cotto in July 2008...

[Dick Buffman]

I'm not going to offer any serious predictions until I see the training footage in the 24/7.


The only thing I'll say is that Margarito is gonna go out guns blazing considering this may be his last big fight and with the giant chip on his shoulder he's bringing to the ring to silence the bitches.

[CarlosG815]

I feel bad for anybody who is actually buying into the hype for this fight - just like Arum hyped up Clottey - Pac. This fight will be no better.

Margarito has a very slim chance to pull out a victory and it's very probable that he will be stopped mid to late for the TKO.

Manny is too fast for him and his stamina is unmatched.

I will pay $5 to watch it at the bar, but I'm not expecting a good fight.