A Decent Fight, If You Like Punching -- Wall Street Journal

By GORDON MARINO, Wall Street Journal

Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson were magnets for the crossover fan that's all-important for the financial fettle of boxing. Without such galvanizing figures, interest in the sport has shifted to the question: Who's the mythical pound-for-pound champion? The only two boxers identifiable to a wide swath of Americans are the claimants to that title, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

A former street kid from the Philippines, Mr. Pacquiao rocketed to superstardom when he crushed Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. Now, Mr. Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) holds title belts in a record seven weight divisions. Mr. Mayweather is undefeated in 41 bouts (25 knockouts) and has won world championships in five weight classes.

For what seemed like years, the Pacquiao and Mayweather brain trusts wrangled over a possible fight. But boxing can be downright punchy. Mr. Mayweather insisted on Olympic-style drug testing. Mr. Pacquiao fumed. With Mr. Mayweather facing charges over an alleged domestic-violence incident, it's not likely these gladiators will be stepping into the squared circle together anytime soon.

Instead, on Saturday night, those with an appetite for the bruising arts will be watching a fight between Mr. Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts), to be held in Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

While this bout is compelling enough from a fistic point of view, it begins with serious cuts and bruises. In January 2009, just before a loss to Shane Mosley, Mr. Margarito was caught with a hardening substance in the knuckle pad of his handwraps. In the hearings that followed, the lanky fighter insisted he was unaware that his trainer, Javier Capetillo, had tampered with his wraps. Mr. Margarito was suspended for a year.

Knowledgeable or not, Mr. Margarito has never seemed terribly remorseful. In an HBO program intended to promote the Pacquiao bout, Mr. Margarito and his new trainer joke about the cheating incident.

After his suspension, Mr. Margarito notched a lackluster victory against Roberto Garcia, then he was immediately rewarded with the bout of his dreams, against that symbol of fierceness and purity that is Mr. Pacquiao.

Last week, Mr. Pacquiao was asked about his philosophy of life. The vicious puncher, now also a congressman in the Philippines, didn't hesitate: "It is to love and serve people." When jabbed about giving this fight to someone accused of cheating, he responded: "I am sure Margarito knew. But he has paid his dues. He's a human being, and I believe in second chances."

From all reports, Mr. Margarito is in top form and has a fire in his belly. Hall of Fame boxing commentator Larry Merchant remarked: "Margarito has to believe that this is his chance to erase his disgrace."

Moral issues aside, this bout is a classic contest of speed versus power and size. At 5-feet-11, the big-boned Mr. Margarito towers over his 5-foot-6½-inch foe. Boasting a 60% knockout ratio, Mr. Margarito is a pressure fighter and virtuoso body puncher who specializes in relentlessly walking his opponents down and pummeling them on the ropes and in the corners. He has a durable chin and it's unlikely that Mr. Pacquiao will be able to send him to the canvas with one well-placed punch.

One of the most difficult blows in boxing to develop is a left uppercut, and Mr. Margarito has one of the best in the business. He also packs a formidable right uppercut and left hook.

In his latest outing with Joshua Clottey, Mr. Pacquiao dominated. He fired an amazing 1,231 punches whereas Mr. Clottey averaged a meager 33 punches per round. However, as trainer Teddy Atlas has observed, whenever Mr. Clottey let go an uppercut, it almost always found its mark. Mr. Pacquiao affirmed that the uppercut and body punching were Mr. Margarito's weapons of choice, but he assured: "We are working on countering those punches, keeping Margarito in the center of the ring, and on making his aggression work against him."

Mr. Pacquiao is himself extremely aggressive and moves in and out and side to side dizzyingly. A southpaw who has stopped almost 68% of his opponents, the Pacman packs a jarring right hook and an explosive straight left that's very difficult to see coming.

In 2009, just before Mr. Pacquiao's dramatic knockout win over Ricky Hatton, Mr. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, was asked to size up future rivals. When Mr. Margarito's name came up, Mr. Roach shook his head, "No. He is too big."

Mr. Roach now sees a walking bull's-eye in Mr. Margarito. "Margarito is tough," Mr. Roach said. "He won't be like Clottey. He will come to win, and it will be an action-packed fight. But I have watched tons of film of him. He's always the same, completely predictable. He winds up on all of his punches so you can see them coming a mile away." The catch weight for this bout is 150 pounds, but Mr. Roach predicts: "On fight night Margarito will probably come into the ring at about 165, and he'll be as slow as molasses." There was a pause and then a softly spoken, "No worries. We are going to knock him out."

Source: online.wsj.com