Antonio Margarito: 'Gave It All I Had' Against Manny Pacquiao -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Mexican-born former world champion Antonio Margarito suffered a fractured right orbital bone resulting from damage suffered in Saturday night's unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in their clash for the WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown. He did not attend the post-fight press conference because he was rushed to Dallas Methodist Hospital by ambulance.

But Margarito (38-7, 27 knockouts), who will require surgery Tuesday and is not likely to be released until Wednesday, issued a statement Monday regarding his loss to Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) that was televised on HBO pay-per-view.

"I gave it all I had, but unfortunately I was not able to get the victory over the best fighter in the world today. As I said before the fight, I was never going to quit, and I tried to win this fight to the very last minute," said Margarito, who is trained by Robert Garcia.

"We had a great training camp, and I want to thank Robert Garcia for a great job and everyone in Oxnard (Calif.) for their great hospitality. I am also very grateful with my wife Michelle, (manager) Sergio Diaz, and (manager) Francisco Espinoza for all their support."

Despite having a 17-pound weight advantage (165 pounds to 148 pounds) over Pacquiao, Margarito won a total of just three of the 36 total rounds over the three judges' cards, losing by the lopsided scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110.

"I would like to congratulate Manny Pacquiao for his win on Saturday Night. It was a tough and difficult fight for me and I hope the fans enjoy our battle at Cowboys Stadium," said Margarito.

"I also want to thank (Top Rank Promotions CEO) Bob Arum for always believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to fight Manny Pacquiao," said Margarito. "I also want to thank all the fans who came to see me and who watched the fight on TV and continue to support me."

Margarito was hammered by a total of 474 punches, with 411 of them being power punches from Pacquiao. Margarito's eyes were nearly closed shut by the ninth round.

Referee Laurence Cole twice stopped the action in the 10th and 11th rounds to examine Margarito's face, holding up fingers and presumably asking him if he could still see.

"Margarito leaned into an uppercut, and I think that the first cut surfaced under his eye in the fourth round," said Cole. "I want to say that it was the fourth round that he got that original cut on his cheek bone right below his right eye."

Arum told FanHouse that he expected Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to pay a visit to Margarito in the hospital.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com