BY Tim Smith , New York Daily News
ARLINGTON, Tex. - In an overhyped match that turned out to be nothing but a glorified exhibition, Manny Pacquiao displayed his brilliance against an overmatched Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao scored a lopsided 12-round decision Saturday night to take the WBC super welterweight title before a crowd of 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium.
This was a case of a great little man beating the stuffing out of a decent bigger man. All three judges gave Pacquiao, who earned a guaranteed $15 million, the victory by a huge margin. Judge Jurgen Langos scored it 120-108, judge Glen Crocker 118-110 and judge Oren Schellenburger 119-109. The Daily News scored it 119-109 for Pacquiao.
"It was hard," said Pacquiao, who gave Margarito credit for hurting him with a shot to the body late in the fight. "I really do my best to win the fight. He's strong. He's a very tough fighter. I can't believe it."
He said he eased up on Margarito, who was bleeding from a badly cut and swollen wound under his right eye, in the late rounds.
"I feel pity for my opponent. Look at his eyes and his bloody face," Pacquiao said. "In the 12th round I wasn't looking to get through the fight. My trainer said just be careful."
Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) said the speed factor and the cuts were the difference in the fight.
"I knew Manny was very fast. We were going good until I got cut and that's when the problems started," Margarito said.
Margarito, who earned every penny of the $6 million he was guaranteed, said he never thought about stopping the fight, even though he was absorbing a tremendous amount of punishment through the final five rounds.
"I'm a Mexican. We fight till the end," Margarito said.
Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), who weighed in officially on Friday at 144.6, stepped into the ring weighing 148 pounds and Margarito, who was 150 at the weighin, was 165.
In the end it hardly seemed to matter. And before the fight started it became background noise to some other issues that arose in the dressing rooms of both fighters.
Since Margarito had his license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission for attempting to enter the ring against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in 2009, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer was present in his locker room at Cowboys Stadium during the entire time that his hands were being wrapped for Saturday night's fight.
Robert Garcia, Margarito's trainer, challenged Pacquiao's hand wraps and the Texas commission ordered his hands re-wrapped, which upset Roach and cut into Pacquiao's warm up time.Roach saw a bottle of Hydroxycut in Margarito's dressing room and ask the commission doctors to test him before the fight. The supplement used to contain ephedra, a substance that is used as an appetite suppressant, and stimulant. Roach also saw Margarito drinking several cups of coffee to get revved up before the fight. The commission doctor said that ephedra is illegal, but it's a risk that Margarito takes on himself. They refuse to order him to take a pre-fight urine test and said they would have him do the normal drug screening after the fight.
Both sides decided to suspend the locker room games and get on with the fight and settle things afterwards.
Once they got to the ring Pacquiao and Margarito quickly got down to business. There was no feeling out process. Pacquiao's speed advantage was immediately obvious as he split Margarito's defense and landed jabs straight on, which were quickly followed by two and three punch combinations. But Margarito didn't seem to be affected by the punches. During one exchange he smiled at Pacquaio as if to say, "Is that the best you got?"
But the accumulation of punches that Margarito was absorbing began to show on his face in the fourth round as a gigantic swollen bruise began forming under his right eye. The more Pacquiao pounded him, the larger the swelling became. Pacquiao had settled into a comfortable rhythm tapped out in time on Margarito's face. And Margarito helped Pacquiao out greatly by coming straight forward and providing an easy target.
By the sixth round it ceased to be sport - there was nothing competitive about it - and was more of an exercise in how much punishment Margarito was able to absorb. Margarito landed his best shot in the seventh round when he unloaded with a left hook to Pacquiao's side that nearly sent him to the canvas. The ropes held him up and Pacquiao came out firing to ward off Margarito's attack.
At the start of the 10th round Margarito's eye was so badly swollen and closed that referee Laurence Cole held up his hand over the eye and asked Margarito how many fingers he was holding up. When Margarito correctly answered "two" Cole let the fight continue.
Pacquiao kept up his assault in the 11th round, but he kept flashing looks at Cole, wanting the ref to step in and stop the beating. But Cole wouldn't end it.
It seems the only true match for Pacquiao is Floyd Mayweather, Jr. But that fight seems as remote as Margarito's chances in the match on Saturday night.
Source: nydailynews.com
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