Thursday, November 4, 2010

Margarito v Pacquiao is a sad substitute for Mayweather v Pacquiao

It's obvious if you've been checking this blog, that I've had Dallas on the brain.  I was just there over the weekend and I couldn't help but notice the billboards that were up for the Antonio Margarito v Manny Pacquiao fight, which is slated to take place at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, November 13.  Is this fight appealing to me?  Eh.  The answer isn't simple.  I'm curious since I would like to see Pacquiao fight.  A month or so ago, I noticed he was working out in Baguio (i.e. in the Philippines, where I have family).  I practically begged my cousins to run out and send me some pictures, but they never came through for me.  I have another cousin in Dallas who went and saw Pacquiao fight Clottey the last time he was at Cowboys Stadium, and he relayed that the experience was awesome.

I've been to the new Cowboys Stadium.  I saw the Dallas Cowboys defeat the Philadelphia Eagles during last season's NFL playoffs.  This year, I also saw the NBA All-Star game at Cowboys Stadium.  Thank goodness I had a pass and a good seat to take in the game and the entire scene, otherwise I may not have enjoyed the experience as much since the building is HUGE.  I never realized the difference in size between a basketball court and a football field until I saw just how many people they could pack in for the basketball game.  There were chairs EVERYWHERE.  Since a boxing ring is even smaller I really can't imagine how that will look in such a large space.  If it weren't for that monstrous overhead screen, I can't fathom how anyone could enjoy watching a boxing match at the venue.

I remember where I was when Manny Paquiao fought Joshua (aka "Blood" <-- sorry, my joke) Clottey.  I was in Atlantic City with friends and the action on the casino floor basically came to a stop as the rounds ended one after the other.  Supervisors, pit bosses, waitresses, customers all stopped and watched the TVs.  I need to talk to my boxing friend, John, to see if that's the same reaction the Margarito v Pacquiao is anticipated to evoke.

Margarito v Pacquiao...  Is it just me, or is this a bit of a sad substitute for the marquee match-up that most boxing fans desire?!?!  It's no secret that people would prefer to watch Floyd "Money" Mayweather v Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.  I was playing online and found a poll.  The poll simply asked when people thought Mayweather and Pacquiao would fight.  With over 40% of the vote, the respondents answered "Never".  The other two choices were: 2011 and when they're both washed up.  Out of curiosity, I'm going to poll the readers of this blog and see what they think ~ so feel free to vote on the right-hand side of this post.

I'm not going to lie.  I was curious and looked at the tickets available for the Margarito v Pacquiao fight.  There are definitely some good ones available and I've been wanting to see Pacman fight live.  Margarito has been in trouble in the past for his hand wraps and accused of using a plaster like substance to gain an unfair advantage.  As a result, Margarito and his trainer had their license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission.  If you want more information, check out the following link:  Needless to say, Margarito acquired a license to compete in Texas.

I've never seen a live boxing match.  It might be time to think about returning to Texas, to see if Margarito can redeem himself and fight "fair" but in all seriousness, I think Pacquiao will dominate and win.  To be honest, I have to question why Pacquiao is even fighting Margarito (i.e. who I'll admit I had to research heavily as if I was doing a grade school book report to even write anything remotely knowledgeable on the man), when Mosley or Martinez would have more cache in the world of PPV.  I mean. let's face it, I'd imagine that my cousins would be among the faithful Filipinos and boxing fans who might invest in the fight (i.e. to share the nation's pride, when Pacquiao wins <--  yes, I wrote "when") and Margarito should receive support from his Mexican fan base, but I can't imagine that this fight would really be a good one.  Plus, even though I'm not the most patient person ~ I might be willing to pass/wait for the match-up that over 40% of the people polled believe will never happen (i.e. Mayweather v Pacquiao).  I guess time will tell...



  1. I am actually of the opinion that it will be an interesting fight for the first 3-4 rounds. Pac man has not been training at anywhere near his normal level, too many distractions from congress, fans, and other commitments in both the Philippines and the U.S.
    Margarito is also MUCH bigger than Pacquiao, he will likely walk into the ring around 161 lbs and Pac will likely be 148 or so. That is a huge difference. That said, Pac's speed and power should eventually be enough to slow down and stop Margarito. At the very least it will be much better then the Clottey fight, I know Margarito will at least be trying to win and not just survive.

  2. hmmm - i guess we'll have to wait and see. wow, that's almost a 15 pound difference! tell me that there's no chance (or at least a very, very, very, SMALL chance) that pacquiao loses... agreed - the clottey fight was boring!

  3. There is definitely a chance Pac loses. Margarito is a big guy and he is really hard to hurt. If he can slow Pac down and put him on the ropes a little bit, he could definitely pull the upset. I think the Vegas line has Manny as a 6-1 favorite, I think the line is a bit high. Margarito has been stopped one time, and it was from Sugar Shane pounding the crap out of him, landing flush shot after flush shot. That was also right after the commission took his wraps to investigate so he probably had a lot on his mind besides the fight.
    No question he had those wraps on when he pounded Cotto though, in retrospect that makes a lot of sense. A rematch of those two would be quite a fight, but I think Cotto has said there is no way he lets Margarito make another penny off of him.

  4. well, i'm not sold but now you def have me paying more attention to the fight. if i don't make the trip, may have to round up the usual suspects and watch...

    as for cotto, there's no way i'd let a cheater profit off of me either...

    i guess on the hbo show, margarito made light of the hand wrap scandal and the viewer/article comments about him and his statements weren't very favorable. remined me of basketball when arenas was stupid enough to act like he was shooting during the player introductions... idiots.