Pacquiao wins eighth different belt after Margarito destruction -- CNN

CNN

Manny Pacquiao staked his claim to be the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet after his brutal demolition of Antonio Margarito in their WBC light-middleweight title bout in Dallas, Texas late Saturday.

Nicknamed Pacman, Pacquiao -- the only boxer in history to have won a world title at seven different weight divisions -- claimed his eighth belt in a new class after a unanimous decision over Margarito.

Pacquiao dominated from the outset, with his superior hand speed and power constantly troubling the Mexican fighter who had boasted a significant height and reach advantage.

But the champion's ruthless barrage of punches inevitably began to take their toll on Margarito's face as a nasty cut opened up below his right eye.

At one point in the 11th round Pacquiao appeared to look towards referee Laurence Cole as if he was trying to get him to call a halt to the fight.

Despite his domination Pacquiao could not land the knock-out blow against what was thought to be his biggest opponent yet, even taking a few powerful blows himself in the middle rounds.

"He is really strong," Pacquiao commented after the fight, in quotes carried by Agence France-Press. "I never expected him to be as strong as he was."

But he admitted that the injuries sustained by Margarito, who had completed a suspension after being caught with plaster-filled hand wraps in his gloves prior to a fight against Shane Mosley, caused him some concern.

"I feel for my opponent," Pacquiao said, in quotes carried by AFP. "His eyes (were swollen and cut) and bloody face. I wanted the ref to look at that."

The build up to the fight had been overshadowed by rumors that the Filipino could soon retire. Last month Pacquiao's long-time coach Freddie Roach said the Filipino was more preoccupied with his new role as a lawmaker and could not concentrate on his preparations for the November 13 bout.

The pair eventually agreed to move their training camp to the U.S. to focus on the fight.

Pacquiao had been lined up for an eagerly-awaited clash with American Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier this year, but negotiations broke down amid a welter of recriminations and legal threats.

A clash with Mayweather would likely be the richest in boxing history, but appears no closer to fruition.

Source: edition.cnn.com

Pacquiao Defeats Margarito, Boosts Claim at No. 1 -- Wall Street Journal

By GORDON MARINO, The Wall Street Journal

Manny Pacquiao won by unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito Saturday night in Arlington, Texas, adding to his list of titles and further cementing his claim as the world's top boxer.

In a match that took place before a crowd of 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium, Mr. Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) gave up 17 pounds and almost five inches to Mr. Margarito. But he was not only the faster fighter, he was also the more powerful. Moving side to side and in and out, Mr. Pacquiao landed blistering shots from every angle. Over the course of 12 rounds, he launched 1069 blows and landed over 400 power punches.

The southpaw's trademark straight left and right hook did the most damage. Mr. Margarito--who crouched over as the fight went on, removing some of his height advantage--was a mask of blood and bruises by the midway point. In the ninth round, Mr. Pacquiao started asking the referee to halt the bout for fear that he might do permanent injury to his foe.

Mr. Pacquiao's victory gave him the WBC super-welterweight championship. An icon and a congressman in the Philippines, He already has world championships in a record seven weight divisions.

Mr. Pacquiao made the fight look easy. One judge had him winning every round. But he insisted afterwards that, "Margarito was my toughest fight. He hurt me badly to the body and head in the sixth round. He is very strong and has a great heart."

Mr. Pacquiao's hands took a beating from the drubbing he gave his opponent. In the post-fight press conference, he apologized that his fingers and knuckles were hurting too much to be able to sign autographs or shake hands.

His victory is sure to increase public demand for a showdown with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mr. Pacquiao said he would love to see this fight take place but also added, "If it does not happen, I am still happy with where I am in my career."

Source: online.wsj.com

Postfight Press Conference Report: Pacman Calls This His "Hardest" Fight -- The Sweet Science

By Michael Woods, The Sweet Science

No, the fights with Juan Manuel Marquez didn't make the cut, Manny Pacquiao said at the post-fight press conference after his latest stellar performance, a UD12 win over Antonio Margarito.

"This is the hardest fight in my boxing career," he said. "Margarito is really tough and strong. He's really strong, really big, bigger than me."

He was asked about Juan Manuel Marquez, and he said it is his promoters' job to find an opponent.

He fielded a question about the sixth round, when he took a body shot. "He got me a good shot a body shot...I'm lucky to survive the round," he said.

After the second, then the third round, he said, he pretty much knew he had the fight in the bag. "He's a really tough fighter and he has a brave heart," Pacquiao said.

In the ninth and tenth round, Manny said, he felt pity for Margarito, because his eyes were almost closed. He said he tried to kayo him late, but he "has a brave heart..amazing."

Manny said he didn't want to talk about Floyd Mayweather, leaving that to Bob Arum, when asked if he had any words for Mayweather, if he was watching.

He apologized that he wouldn't be able to sign autographs, because his hands were so swollen.

Freddie Roach spoke before Manny. He said he was "really happy," and that "Margarito showed a lot of heart." He thought Manny won every round but one. He was asked about Manny vs Sugar Ray Leonard. Freddie said he thought Manny would have the power edge.

Manny's mother had an anxiety attack Saturday night, but is "perfectly fine," according to Arum.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Golf-Pacquiao fight a big draw at stormy Singapore Open -- Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

Golfers at the Singapore Open took full advantage of another long weather delay by tuning into the Manny Pacquiao v Antonio Margarito WBC super welteweight title fight on television on Sunday.

The final round of the $6 million co-sanctioned tournament was halted shortly before noon local time as a tropical downpour lashed the Serapong course and the threat of lightning forced players into the clubhouse.

Defending champion Ian Poulter and U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell were two of those who watched the Filipino, known as Pac Man, dominate Margarito for 12 rounds at Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

"Not the worst storm delay of all time as we all got to watch the Pacquiao fight, but it means we are struggling to get finished today," McDowell said on his Twitter feed.

McDowell could leaprfrog German Martin Kaymer at the top of the Race to Dubai standings if he wins in Singapore, though the tournament now looks likely to finish on Monday due to the delay.

"70 players watching the Pac Man fight," Poulter tweeted on his page. "Wow it's a belter."

Poulter, Adam Scott and Kang Kyung-nam are leading the tournament on 14-under-par after three holes of the final round with McDowell two strokes back.

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Manny Pacquiao Beats Taller, Heavier Margarito for Eighth World Title -- Bloomberg

By Nancy Kercheval, Bloomberg

Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision over a taller and heavier Antonio Margarito to become the World Boxing Council’s Super Welterweight champion.

Pacquiao, 17 pounds lighter than his opponent, earned a guaranteed $15 million plus as much as $10 million more from pay-per-view proceeds as he captured his eighth world title.

Pacquiao pummeled Margarito, closing his right eye. He connected on 411 of 713 punches, most of them to Margarito’s head and face, according to an official count shown on the HBO network, which broadcast the fight.

“It’s hard,” the Filipino boxer said in a televised interview. “I really did my best to win the fight. He’s strong and a very good fighter. I got hurt in my body and face against the ropes. I was very lucky.”

Referee Laurence Cole interrupted the later rounds several times to check Magarito’s face and make sure the fighter could see and could defend himself.

“Manny was very fast,” Margarito, who landed 135 of 312 power punches, said through an interpreter. “We were doing good until I got cut. No way I was going to quit. I am Mexican and we fight to the end.”

Margarito, 32, at 5-feet, 11-inches weighed in at the 150- pound limit the day before last night’s fight, while the 5-foot- 6 1/2-inch Pacquiao, 31, was 144.6 pounds. At fight time at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Margarito weighed 165 pounds; Pacquiao 148.

Margarito (38-7-1, 27 knockouts) was assured $3 million with the possibility of doubling his payday to $6 million with cable television sales. He is banned from fighting in California and Nevada following an incident in which illegal hand wraps were discovered under his gloves before his loss to Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) said he would return to the Philippines where he was elected this year to congress. He did not discount, however, returning to the ring.

“I am still strong,” he said. “I’m going to continue to fight.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net


To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net

Source: bloomberg.com

Manny Pacquiao doesn't scale it back -- Los Angeles Times

By Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times

From Arlington, Texas

The marvelous Manny Pacquiao did it again. The 98-pound weakling kicked sand in the big guy's face. Yet another Paul Bunyan was chopped down, although this one, a tough and game Antonio Margarito, never allowed anyone to yell "Timber."

Pacquiao did what his camp, and especially his trainer, Freddie Roach, said he would. He methodically sliced apart a man who had five inches on him in height, six inches of reach and 16 pounds by fight time.

The Congressman from the Sarangani district of the Philippines, a boxing wonder, countered off most of Margarito's plodding charges with flurries of combinations. By the fourth round, Margarito's face was a mess and Pacquiao was in control.

By the 11th round, the cut under Margarito's right eye, inspected in his corner after each round, was so bad and Pacquiao was doing such damage that Pacquiao kept glancing at the referee, expecting him to step in and stop it. He even admitted after the fight that he had backed off a bit in the last two rounds because he didn't want to damage the eye any more. The result was a unanimous decision and the WBC junior-middleweight title.

Margarito kept coming forward, plodding, lunging, lurching and occasionally landing.

Little did we think that there was another body part in Pacquiao's arsenal that we hadn't identified. Now we have: his chin. Margarito connected several times. Pacquiao took the hits, danced away and peppered Margarito with four or five quick shots in return.

"I never expected him to be as strong as he was," Pacquiao said.

Margarito said, "I am a Mexican. I would never quit."

Roach was less diplomatic. He said the Margarito corner "probably ruined Margarito's career by not stopping it earlier."

Weighty issues

The issue before the start of the match was one of size. Did it matter?

Clearly, it did not.

The image of the 144.6-pound Pacquiao, standing side by side on the weigh-in platform Friday with the 150-pound Margarito, had a lot of boxing experts who had envisioned a fairly easy victory wondering if they might be wrong.

Had the handlers of the world-famous Pacquiao, Philippine Congressman and pound-for-pound best in the world, pushed him a notch too far, a division too high? Had victories over bigger fighters such as David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey skewed everybody's perspective?

And then, when word drifted ringside that Margarito had gained 15 pounds and would come into the ring at 165, and Pacquiao had gained just over three pounds to 148, the buzz turned to memories of Arturo Gatti versus Joey Gamache in Madison Square Garden in 2000.

Gatti had weighed in at 141 and entered the ring at 160. Gamache had gone from 141 to 144. That 19-pound weight gain and 16-pound difference, which became somewhat legendary in later lawsuits, represents one less than the reported difference between Pacquiao and Margarito.

In that Gatti-Gamache fight, Gatti destroyed Gamache with a series of brutal punches and when Gamache finally went down in the second round, he stayed out for several minutes before awakening and demanding to walk out. He later sued and said that he had suffered brain damage in that match.

But Pacquiao is an altogether different athlete.

His victory meant that Pacquiao has now won eight titles in eight weight divisions. That has never been done before and probably won't ever be done again.

As Roach said earlier, "With those eight titles, I will be in the record books with him forever."

What a show

The prefight extravaganza included music by artist Nelly, who, for the uninformed and unhip, is a boy.

He sang nicely and the woofers and tweeters were turned up so loud that the entire arena vibrated. Anybody who was hard of hearing before Nelly's show, and a film clip that followed of past great fights, did not have that problem afterward. Afterward, they had no hearing.

After a while, with the music going on and on and the clock ticking, it was hard to tell whether this was to be a boxing match or a rock concert.

Jerry Jones' $1.2-billion arena is supposed to rock like this only when the Cowboys score. On further thought, with their season this year, Nelly's five minutes may be the loudest it gets in Cowboys Stadium this year.

Big house

Cowboys Stadium is still new enough to be a tourist attraction, one of those things that prompt a side trip to just to gawk. It is so big that, if Staples Center were next door, they'd use it for the press room.

The upper deck was curtained off because the 100,000 capacity for football was unreachable. But even those in the sections just below that, as well as the next section closer to the boxing ring, had no chance of actually seeing anything other than foggy little blurs in the distance.

But there is, of course, the huge TV screen, at least 50 yards long and centered above the 50-yard line — on this night the tiny boxing ring — to satisfy the far-off reaches. It's not the eighth wonder of the world, but when they get to No. 9, it makes the list of nominees.

bill.dwyre@latimes.com

Source: latimes.com

Bruising Win by Pacquiao Pits Speed Over Size -- New York Times

By GREG BISHOP, The New York Times

ARLINGTON, Tex. — As Manny Pacquiao bruised, bloodied and disfigured the face of Antonio Margarito late Saturday inside a boxing ring at Cowboys Stadium, he turned a far larger man into another small obstacle on his march toward history.

Against his biggest opponent yet, in his eighth weight division, Pacquiao did what Pacquiao always does: he dipped and danced and fired southpaw, he ducked and spun and landed a tornado of combinations. When it ended, Pacquiao had earned his 13th straight victory and the World Boxing Council’s vacant 154-pound title, in a bloodbath, by unanimous decision.

“I can’t believe I beat somebody this big and this strong,” Pacquiao said.

With each round, Margarito’s face worsened, as if Pacquiao was painting a brutal boxing masterpiece. It went like this: seventh round, left eye closed; eighth round, bleeding from nose; ninth round, left cheek bruised; 10th round, fight nearly stopped.

In the 11th round, Pacquiao glanced at the referee, almost pleading for a stoppage. In the 12th, he took mercy, punching rarely, allowing Margarito to finish on his feet, after which he was taken to the hospital.

Immediately, talk turned toward the usual subject, toward Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a potential clash between boxing’s undisputed two best fighters. Pacquiao reiterated what he said throughout the past two months, that he does not need to battle Mayweather but wants to despite two failed rounds of negotiations.

“If the fight happens, it happens,” Pacquiao said. “If not, I’m satisfied with my career.”

Before the main event here, strategic shenanigans erupted in the locker rooms. Margarito’s trainer, Robert Garcia, successfully forced a second wrapping of Pacquiao’s hands. Meanwhile Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, accused Margarito of taking a banned substance — breathless debate labeled said substance Ephedra, ephedrine, Hydroxycut, or Splenda, but never produced a definitive answer — and Roach unsuccessfully lobbied for a prefight drug test.

The surreal atmosphere continued from there. The singer Nelly performed, as if plucked straight from a Super Bowl halftime show. Pacquiao bound into the ring with that grand grin spread wide, as “You’re the best,” blared from the stadium’s ample supply of speakers, before, as is his custom, he knelt and prayed. Only in Texas.

From the outset, Margarito towered over Pacquiao, but the smaller man attacked from all angles, delivering a typical array of stinging blows. Pacquiao kept charging, kept throwing, kept landing, including a left hand that staggered Margarito in the third.

In the fourth round, Pacquiao opened a welt underneath Margarito’s right eye, and the 41,734 assembled here rose to their collective feet, smelling knockout. Pacquiao darted around the slower Margarito, who often looked in slow motion.

Both Margarito and Garcia repeatedly insisted they never considered stopping the fight early, a strategy that Roach maintained would “ruin” Margarito’s career. Garcia called Margarito a warrior, but added, about Pacquiao: “He’s the best fighter in the world. He’s just too fast.”

In the weeks before the fight, it seemed Pacquiao appeared everywhere but inside a boxing ring. There was Pacquiao on “60 Minutes,” following President Barack Obama. There was Pacquiao on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” singing with Will Ferrell. There was Pacquiao in Las Vegas, stumping for Senator Harry Reid.

This worried Roach, but not to the extent to which those distractions were portrayed. Still, Roach made a point of sitting beside Pacquiao for 30 minutes during their flight from the Philippines to Los Angeles. There, Roach said he expressed his concerns to Pacquiao, who in turn told Roach he felt sluggish trying to maintain a weight of 150 pounds. Drop back down, Roach told him.

“We’re all spoiled,” Roach said over breakfast Thursday morning. “Usually, Manny Pacquiao gets ready for a fight in three weeks. This time, it took him eight. But he’s ready. He’ll knock him out.”

Against Margarito, Pacquiao eyed his somewhat disputed eighth championship in eight different weight divisions, regardless an unprecedented upward swing of nearly 50 pounds. In dispute were three of those fights, a linear championship in 2003 against Marco Antonio Barrera and two bouts — against Miguel Cotto and Margarito — that included catch weights below the maximum allowed in those divisions.

Against Pacquiao, Margarito sought redemption, or as much redemption as a fighter caught in 2009 with loaded knuckle pads can muster. Margarito claimed no knowledge of the illegal inserts, but two lackluster contests post-scandal only provided ammunition to those who pointed to the lack of damage Margarito had inflicted.

That Margarito showed little remorse, or that a video surfaced earlier in the week of him mocking Roach’s symptoms from Parkinson’s Disease, only further sullied his reputation. At Friday’s weigh-in, fans chanted “Cheater! Cheater!” But he believed, firmly, resolutely, defeating Pacquiao would change all that.

Pacquiao towed a far more distinguished pedigree into the ring, but Margarito enjoyed advantages in weight (17 pounds), height (4.5 inches) and reach (6.5 inches). Margarito also promised the action lacking in Pacquiao’s latest victory, here last March against Joshua Clottey. In contrast, Margarito possessed a strong chin and left uppercut, and he stalked opponents, relentless in moving forward, in throwing body shots, owner of a 60 percent knockout ratio.

Once in Los Angeles, Pacquiao went back to his normal weight. He stopped eating eggs in the middle of the night, stopped consuming 7,000 calories each day. Speed, Roach predicted, would top size. When that speed returned, so did the smile stretched wide across Pacquiao’s face.

Perhaps Pacquiao perfected his fight formula at his new favorite venue, Cowboys Stadium. In the last eight months, he won more here than the Cowboys, while headlining two fights that sold nearly 100,000 seats.

With Pacquiao’s growing political ambitions — the current Congressman truly believes one day he will become president — even Roach wonders how much longer Pacquiao will fight. Perhaps three bouts. Maybe four. But someday soon, Pacquiao will permanently trade boxing for politics, and if a fight against Mayweather again fails to materialize, the list of challengers seems thin, at best.

Pacquiao proved that Saturday, as boxing’s favorite Congressman ran circles around Margarito and made history, once again.

Source: nytimes.com

Pacquiao the eighth wonder -- Sky Sports

By Graham Shaw, Sky Sports

Manny Pacquiao produced yet another boxing masterclass to claim his eighth world title as he dismantled Antonio Margarito in Texas on Saturday night.

The Filipino phenomenon was simply brilliant as he continued his astonishing rise through the weight divisions by claiming the WBC light-middleweight belt.

Fighting fittingly in the $1.2billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington - known locally as the eighth wonder of the world - Pacquiao proved he is very much the fight game's equivalent with another virtuoso display that left Margarito battered and bruised after 12 rounds of sustained punishment.

The Mexican - back in the big time after that well-documented 12-month suspension for having illegal handwraps - achieved some measure of redemption with a brave display. But he was never really a threat to Pacquiao.

Before the first bell the physical size of Manny's task was obvious - unofficially he weighed 148lbs to Margarito's 165 on fight night - more than a stone lighter.

But yet again size just didn't matter as the Filipino buzzsaw simply cut through Margarito's defences to build a commanding lead in the early rounds.

And to add to the Mexican's woes he was cut badly under his right eye by a picture-perfect Pacman shot.

The eye gradually swelled but didn't affect Margarito's vision, and referee Laurence Cole allowed him to continue.

While Margarito was still there the fight was at least a contest, with question marks remaining over whether his size and strength would tell on Pacquiao in the later rounds.

Margarito did have some success - particularly in the middle rounds - landing some decent rights and uppercuts.

Blazing combinations

But Pacquiao's blazing combinations were unerringly accurate and Margarito just couldn't live with the pace.

A sustained assault from Manny in the 10th looked as though it might bring the end for Margarito, but somehow he made it to the bell on weary legs.

And in the 11th it seemed as though Pacquiao - knowing his opponent was now a spent force - was looking towards Cole to call a halt.

With the victory in the bag Pacquiao was content to coast through the final three minutes, producing only the occasional flurry.

Once the final bell sounded the result was never in doubt with the new champion prevailing by scores of 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109.

Pacquiao (now 52-3-2) admitted afterwards: "I got hurt once when I stayed on the ropes and I got hit in the stomach.

"I thought the referee and the doctor should take a look (in round 11) as his eye was really bad. Boxing is not for killing each other."

Megafight

Once again the drum will now beat for a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, but Pacquiao isn't holding his breath.

"If it happens it happens. If not then I'm okay," he said.

"I really don't need him. I'm really satisfied with what I've done in boxing, with my achievements. If it happens it's good for all of us who love boxing."

Source: skysports.com

Pac-Man chews up foe -- Boston Herald

By Ron Borges, Boston Herald

ARLINGTON, Texas - Manny Pacquiao became the volume puncher last night at Cowboys Stadium and Antonio Margarito’s face bore the ugly cuts and bruises to prove it.

For 12 rounds, Pacquiao proved once again the value of speed over size inside a boxing ring by blistering the three-time welterweight champion’s face into an almost unrecognizable mass of contusions and cuts.

Pacquiao was in control from the first punch to the last, his hand speed making Margarito look like what he always has been - a ponderously resilient man whose chin was his greatest asset. Last night it was, however, his co-conspirator because it forced him to take punishment no man should have to endure.

In the end, Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38) won a lop-sided 12-round decision and the WBC super welterweight title, closing both Margarito’s eyes and lacerating his cheek in the process. By the final bell, the once cocky Mexican champion was a man who looked like he’d been jumped by a street gang. He had. A gang of one.

By fight night, much bile had begun to gather in the two camps and it boiled over during a locker room confrontation between trainers Freddie Roach and Robert Garcia and two members of the Texas Boxing Commission when Garcia complained no one from his camp had fully seen Pacquiao’s hand wraps. Roach countered that Margarito (38-7, 27) had taken ephedrine, which when combined with the four cups of coffee he’d consumed in the locker room, could morph with the caffeine into a form of speed. The commission officials agreed ephedrine was on the banned substance list, but said if Margarito had ingested it he did so at the risk of failing the post-fight blood test. Garcia countered that his fighter had simply put splenda, an artificial sweetner, in the coffee.

Whether this was merely high-level brinksmanship or not, that dust up made clear the tension that swirling around both locker rooms in the final hour before their showdown. Talk of doctored hand wraps had dogged Margarito throughout the promotion because he had been found wearing knuckle pads that had been illegally tampered with before a loss to Shane Mosley nearly two years ago and had his license to box revoked for what amounted to 22 months before Texas relented to bring this bout to the Dallas metroplex.

Eventually the real fight began with both starting cautiously, Pacquiao circling, Margarito with his hands held high by his ears. The difference in hand speed was clear from the outset however, Pacquiao landing crisp combinations and a straight right jab that snapped Margarito’s head back and blunted his usually relentless forward motion.

The three-time welterweight champion’s punches were, as always, wide more often missed the mark, giving Pacquiao room to counter, which he did often enough that the normally large number of punches thrown by Margarito became only as a trickle.

Margarito’s size finally came into play in Round 9 when he twice pinned Pacquiao against the ropes and caught him with some big left hands, but he never got there again, instead suffering three more rounds of assault that buckled his knees in the 11th round and left his eyes nearly closed, his cheek slit open and his pride badly bruised after Pacquiao finally turned to referee Laurence Cole late in that round, appealing for him to step in.

He refused and so the beat down went on for three more pointless minutes, the outcome and Pacquiao’s superiority long ago having been decided.

rborges@bostonherald.com

Source: bostonherald.com

Pacquiao proves he's a great -- ESPN

By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Is there anything Manny Pacquiao can't do?

Filipino congressman by day, legendary prize fighter by night, Pacquiao climbed another yet mountain and did it easily.

When you watch Pacquiao ply his trade, you are not only watching the best fighter in the world -- and there is no question about it at this point -- you are watching one of the greatest fighters of all time.

And Pacquiao showed it again as he destroyed former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito to win a vacant junior middleweight title before an electric crowd of 41,734 on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium.

In doing so, the Pacman carved out another chunk of history in his legendary career. Sure, we are in an era of a ridiculous amount of titles, but Pacquiao has done something nobody has ever done -- or even come close to doing or attempting to do.

He broke his own record by winning a title in an eighth weight division. Keep in mind, he started his career at 106 pounds and won his first title in the 112-pound flyweight division.

And then, he skipped over two divisions and has won titles at 122, 126, 130, 135, 140, 147 and now in the 154-pound junior middleweight division.

"He's the best fighter in the world," said Robert Garcia, Margarito's trainer. "He's just too fast. We couldn't get him into the ropes to hit him with clean shots."

Although the fight was contracted at 150 pounds -- a point of contention for some -- Pacquiao wasn't even a close to the weight. He weighed 144.6 at the official weigh-in on Friday and entered the ring at 148.

Margarito was massive compared to him, making Pacquiao's performance that much more impressive. Margarito was 150 pounds officially, but rehydrated to a 165 on fight night. And besides outweighing the little guy by 17 pounds, Margarito also held a 6-inch reach advantage and 4½-inch height advantage.

So what did Pacquiao do?

He chopped on that tree all night long. He gave Margarito the beating of a lifetime, one many believed he deserved in a fight he didn't deserve.

Margarito, who made at least $3 million (a figure likely to more than double after the pay-per-view total comes in), came into the fight as the clear villain. He had been given a license in Texas for the fight following more than a year on ice after he was caught trying to enter the ring for his January 2009 fight in California with Shane Mosley, which Margarito lost.

So watching him take a beating must have been satisfying for those disgusted that the fight was even made in the first place.

"It was a hard fight," Pacquiao said. "I did my best to win this fight. I can't believe I beat someone this big and this strong."

Believe it.

It was not even close as Pacquiao moved to 2-0 at Cowboys Stadium this year -- two more wins in the $1.2 billion palace than the hometown Cowboys have this NFL season.

Pacquiao's voluminous punch output and otherworldly speed advantage was clear immediately, and in the end, the judges had it 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110. ESPN.com also had it 120-108 as Pacquiao ravaged him with hard, fast, flush blows with both hands.

The statistics were overwhelming in Pacquiao's favor, although that's the way it has been for his past several fights as his opponents, each one bigger and bigger, were outclassed.

"I don't think Manny lost a single round," trainer Freddie Roach said. "I wish we had knocked him out. He's a very tough guy. I was surprised how tough he was. He has the worst corner. They probably ruined his career by not stopping the fight."

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) landed 474 of 1,069 punches for a ridiculous 44-percent connect percentage. Of those blows, he landed 411 of 713 power shots (58 percent)

He simply strafed Margarito with punch after punch. In the fourth round, all those punches left Margarito with nasty swelling under his right eye as the crowd began chanting, "Manny! Manny! Manny!"

Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) got to Pacquiao here and there in the middle rounds, but he could never sustain any offense because Pacquiao was so fast he was able to escape.

"I got hurt," Pacquiao admitted. "He hurt me in the belly and in the face."

Margarito's swelling would only get worse and by the 11th round both of his eyes were swollen so much that referee Laurence Cole called timeout to cover Margarito's eye and make him guess how many fingers he was holding up.

Pacquiao even looked to Cole during an onslaught and asked him to stop the fight in a humane move.

"My opponent looked bad," said Pacquiao, who earned $15 million plus pay-per-view profits that should take him well over $20 million. "I wanted the referee to stop it. In the 12th round I was just looking to get thru the fight. I eased up on him. I told the referee, 'Look at his eyes.' I didn't want to damage him permanently. That's not what boxing is about."

Said Cole: "In the 10th round the eye was starting to swell really bad. I was looking for a chance to stop the fight but Margarito kept fighting back."

Margarito took his beating like man.

"He's very fast. It's hard to land a punch on that guy, but there's no way I was going to quit in the fight," Margarito said. "I am a Mexican and we fight to the end."

Said Garcia, "Toward the end the of the fight the punches were coming clean and Pacquiao was looking to the referee to stop the fight, but we have a warrior here and he would never let me stop the fight."

Having rolled through Margarito, as well as Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey at welterweight, there is but one fight left for Pacquiao.

That would be against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the only fighter in the world close to him in terms of pound-for-pound recognition.

We all know the story about talks have fallen apart twice. Mayweather should have been the one in the ring with Pacquiao on Saturday, but he declined the fight, which looms as the richest in boxing history.

We don't know if Mayweather will ever take it, but Pacquiao remains up for it.

"I will fight anybody," he said. "I'll fight anyone, any where. If the fight happens, it happens. If not, I'm satisfied with my career already, but this fight with Mayweather would be great for boxing."

But before any of that, Pacquiao, the singing congressman, has other plans.

"I have a concert in Lake Tahoe next week," Pacquiao said.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @danrafaelespn.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Pacquiao brutalizes Margarito to unanimous decision -- Ring

By Doug Fischer, The Ring

Manny Pacquiao won a major title in an unprecedented eight weight class, the junior middleweight division, with a brutally one-sided unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) won by scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110. Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) outweighed Pacquiao by 17 pounds by fight night but unable to impose his greater size on the much-faster and more-talented boxer.

Pacquiao appeared to seriously hurt Margarito in round four and many of the later rounds.

The following is the live round-by-round of the fight:

Round 1: Margarito gets his jab off. Pacquiao lands a left cross during an exchange followed by a few straight lefts to the stomach. So far, Pacquiaio's speed controls the action. [Pacquiao's round]

Round 2: Pacquiao moves to his left. Margarito clips him with a cuffing right and then lands a solid left hook. Pacquiao lands right-left-right combination, but Margarito backs him to the ropes. Pacquiao goes to the body with both hands. Margarito gets in a body shot and they trade punches on even terms, but Margarito seems to steal the round with a clean uppercut and hook to the body at the end of the round. [Margarito's round]

Round 3: Pacquiao gets off first and then moves around Margarito. Pacquiao stays on his toes but pauses to land lefts to the body and rights to the head. Margarito tries to corner Pacquiao but he walks into a hard left that makes the mauler smile. Margarito continues to stalk but Pacquiao continues to nail him on the fly. [Pacquiao's round]

Round 4: Margarito backs Pacquiao to the ropes but he eats hard counter shots on his way in. Pacquiao quickly spins out of range and then attacks, putting his punches together and swelling Margarito’s right eye as Mexican veteran wades forward. A hard left to the body hurts Margarito midway through the round, and the bigger man hunches over as he backs up. Margarito continues to come forward and walks into a another hard body shot. [Big round for Pacquiao]

Round 5: Pacquiao is ready to get his fight on. He willingly backs to ropes and takes Margarito’s best shots (all of which are very slow) and then attacks him with fast punishing punches. Pacquiao measures Margarito with right hooks to the head and lefts to the body. Margarito sucks it up and even gets an uppercut in with 30 seconds left, but he was mainly beat up in this round. [Another big round for Pacquiao]

Round 6: Margarito starts the round with an almost-shut right eye. Pacquiao times him with hard one-two combinations while he sticks and moves effectively, but Margarito continues to pursue the little dynamo. Pacquiao doesn’t press the action as much and Margarito gets in a couple lefts to the body that appeared to hurt the smaller man. Margarito tried to jump on him but Pacquiao ran him into hard counter shots to the head. [Pacquiao’s round]

Round 7: Margarito’s eye was checked before the start of the round but he was allowed to continue. He’s trying to make the most of what looks like a very slim opportunity. Pacquiao tees off on Margarito for a minute and a half but Margarito lands a hard body shot that would have folded most men. Pacquiao continues to land three-, four- and five-punch combinations. Margarito continues to somehow absorb the frightful punishment. [Pacquiao’s round]

Round 8: It’s doubtful that Margarito can see out of his right eye but the fight continues. The man is insanely tough but should he be allowed to fight on much longer? Perhaps so, Margarito gets Pacquiao against the ropes and works him over with heavy body shots. Pacquiao shows that he’s just as tough as Margarito and fires back with gusto. But Margarito keeps pushing forward and manages to land a few body shots and a head-jarring left uppercut, but Pacquiao takes them. Margarito rakes his body again when a seemingly slowing-down Pacquiao is pushed to the ropes in the final 30 seconds of the round. [Margarito’s round]

Round 9: Pacquiao returns to his stick-and-move tactics, which is probably a good idea. Pacquiao throws and lands everything but the kitchen sing but Margarito absorbs the punishment and continues to stalk forward. Pacquiao is content to box from a distance and easily spin away from the bigger man whenever his back gets near the ropes. [Pacquiao’s round]

Round 10: Pacquiao lands three-punch combinations at will for a minute and a half and then tries to close the show by applying pressure and more shots, violently snapping Margarito’s head around. Margarito looks ready to go with 30 seconds left. He barely survives the round but Garcia should pull the plug. Margarito’s got nothing left. [Pacquiao’s round, perhaps 10-8]

Round 11: There’s no way Margarito should be fighting at this point. He’s finished. All he needs is for Pacquiao, the referee or his corner to take him out of his misery. It’s sick target practice for Pacquiao. Cole stops the action to hold fingers in front of Margarito’s face and then lets the slaughter continue. Shameful. The fight should be over by now, but somehow the round finishes with Margarito trudging his way back to his corner like his corner.

Round 12: Pacquiao appears to be carrying Margarito. Either he feels compassion for the poor bastard or his hands are really hurting bad from pounding the hell out of Margarito’s head all night. Pacquiao lands a few combinations in the final minute, and digs in a little bit in the final 30 seconds, allowing Margarito the honor of going the distance. [Pacquiao’s round]

Source: ringtv.com

Manny Pacquiao batters Antonio Margarito, captures WBC super welterweight title at Cowboys Stadium

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

Manny Pacquiao Dominates Antonio Margarito -- FanHouse

By Michael David Smith, FanHouse

The best boxer in the world has won once again, as Manny Pacquiao put on a brilliant fighting display, defeating Antonio Margarito in dominant fashion on Saturday night in Dallas.

At the outset, it was impossible not to notice the significant size difference between the two: At 5-foot-11 Margarito is five inches taller than Pacquiao, and HBO said Margarito weighed 17 pounds more than Pacquiao when both stepped on the scale on Saturday night.

But once the action started, it was impossible not to notice the significant advantage in hand speed of Pacquiao: His punches were a blur, and Margarito was simply powerless to react.

By the end of the fifth round, Margarito's right eye was almost swollen shut. By the end of the 10th, both of Margarito's eyes were a mess. Pacquiao buzzed around the ring with ease and peppered Margarito's face with punches whenever he wanted to hurt his outclassed opponent.

It would have been completely reasonable for Margarito's corner or the referee to stop the fight early, but Margarito insisted he wanted to keep going, and he was allowed to take a beating for 12 rounds. By the end, Pacquiao looked like he may have been taking some sympathy on Margarito and easing up, rather than following through and potentially seriously hurting Margarito.

"I did my best to win the fight," the soft-spoken Pacquiao said afterward. "I can't believe it. He's very tough and strong. I never expected that."

The judges scored it 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109 for Pacquiao. I scored it 120-108 for Pacquiao, who said after the fight that he slowed down a bit in the final rounds because he felt sorry for Margarito.

"I felt pity to my opponent, looking in his eyes and his bloody face," Pacquiao said.

The win improves Pacquiao's professional boxing record to 52-3-2 and earns him the WBC light middleweight title -- the eighth different weight class in which he has won a championship, an all-time boxing record. (Margarito falls to 38-7.) The only question now is whether anyone can challenge Pacquiao: Everyone wants to see him fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., but if that fight can't happen, can anyone challenge Pacman?

"That's my promoter's job," Pacquiao said of questions about his next fight. "I'm just a fighter and I'll do my job."

The fight was not without controversy: Many boxing observers didn't believe Margarito even should have been licensed for the bout because in his last fight in the United States he was caught attempting to put a hard substance in his hand wraps. On Saturday night, it was Margarito's corner that accused Pacquiao of applying tape to his hands improperly, while Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, accused Margarito of taking a banned substance that could clear his system before the post-fight drug test.

But all of that controversy seems fairly irrelevant in the face of what happened in the ring: This was Pacquiao's night to shine, and to show once again that he's the best.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Manny Pacquiao clearly one of the greatest in boxing history after thriller with Antonio Margarito -- Telegraph

By Gareth A Davies, Telegaph.co.uk

If styles make fights, then this was a thriller as Manny Pacquiao became a world champion in eight weight divisions, winning the vacant WBC light-middleweight title and boxing Antonio Margarito to a standstill. Pacquiao was magnificent, and this was a masterclass.

There was 17 lbs difference in weight, almost five inches in height, a five inch reach advantage, yet Pacquiao’s superior hand speed was apparent from the off. Pacquiao was awarded the contest 118-100, 119-109, 120-108 on the judges’ cards after twelve non-stop rounds of boxing.

A much better round from Margarito in the second as Pacquiao came in for lightning attacks, throwing combinations. Margarito enjoyed some success with left-right combinations, as two fiercely determined men went to war.

The third round was Pacquiao’s. A great left right and then a three punch combination. Margarito grins at the hand speed, and then lands with a looping right hand.

Pacquiao is astounding in the fourth, really turning it on, hurting the bigger, heavier man, a spring in his step, with a barrage of left hands developing an ugly welt under Margarito’s right eye, landing clean with a left-right down the pipe. The clean shots slow the Mexican. Pacquiao is clinical in the fifth, with a right hook and a left hand, though Margarito responds with a great effort. Pacquiao responds in turn to attack.

Margarito responds again bravery – Pacquiao almost applauds him – but the Filipino replies with combinations and is on the ascendancy again at the end of the round.

It is becoming a battle of two warriors.

Pacquiao moves brilliantly in the sixth round, scoring off the back foot, as Margarito continues to plough forward. A wonderful fight, with Pacquiao elusive, and Margarito hunting for a war.

The sixth was Margarito’s most dangerous round. Pacquiao looked hurt to the body in the final minute, complaining possibly about a low blow, or hurt to the body, backpedalling but then rallying in the last 20 seconds.

The seventh round was all Pacquiao, scoring from different angles. Margarito landed two big right hands but Pacquiao responds with a five-punch barrage, and they trade in a neutral corner at the end of the round.

Between rounds, Margarito’s right eye looks almost closed.

Trainer Freddie Roach had predicted an eighth round finish, and although huge punches rain in from Pacquiao as he is on the ropes, he turns his opponent, and moves from defence to attack. They trade again, toe-to-toe, at the end of the round.

Pacman has a quiet first minute in the ninth, but then moves cleverly keeps himself at distance with Margarito still trying to load up, both eyes swollen, still doggedly marching forward. A great round by Pacquiao.

Round ten. The referee takes a look at the Mexican’s eye. Speed and precision from Pacquiao again, a vicious attack, having to be soaked up by the bigger man. A right hand stopped Margarito in his tracks with 15 seconds remaining, and Pacquiao looked for the finish. A massive round for Pacquiao, but incredible heart from the Mexican.

In the eleventh, Pacquiao is on his toes again, landing with precision, whipping out lefts and rights, picking his opponent off. The referee checks Magarito’s eye again, and immediately throws a right hand to show his intention. Pacquiao lands with two barrages. The bell rings and Pacquiao looks tired, finally.

Pacquiao boxes his way cleverly through the final stanza, in and out of range scoring with both hands. Margarito may be one of the bravest, but Pacquiao is quite simply the best boxer on the planet, and up there with the best in history. Pacquiao will go down in history – speed, precision, power, dynamism, heart, fitness – and will be sorely missed when he leaves the sport.

“I would like to fight Floyd Mayweather, but I don’t need him, because I am happy with what I have acheived in my boxing career,” said the Congressman for Sarangani.

Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather must now be made for next year.

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Pacquiao wins on dominating performance -- The Associated Press

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Manny Pacquiao more than made up with speed what he lacked in size.

Giving away both pounds and inches, boxing's little superstar turned Antonio Margarito into a bloody and nearly blind fighter with a dizzying array of punches Saturday night in a lopsided decision victory that wasn't close from the opening rounds on.

In a spectacular performance before a delighted crowd of 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao cemented his claim to being the best fighter in the world by dominating the bigger but slower Margarito almost from the opening bell. Pacquiao won round after round, opening a cut on Margarito's cheek, closing his right eye, and turning his face into a bloody mess.

The punches came quickly, and they came often. Margarito was plenty game as he tried to stalk Pacquiao around the ring, but every time he got close Pacquiao would land a four- or five-punch combination that snapped his head back and stopped him in his tracks.

The beating was so thorough that Pacquiao turned to referee Laurence Cole several times in the 11th round, imploring him to stop the fight. It went on, though, even though Margarito had no chance to win.

"I can't believe that I beat someone this big and this strong," Pacquiao said. "It's hard. I really do my best to win the fight."

Pacquiao moved up in weight yet again to take on Margarito, a natural welterweight with a reputation for ruggedness in the ring. And rugged he was, though he took a beating all night long at the hands of a faster and seemingly more powerful opponent.

"There was no way I was gong to quit. I'm a Mexican, we fight until the end," Margarito said.

Pacquiao won every round on one scorecard, 120-108, and was ahead 119-109 and 118-110 on the other two. The Associated Press had it a 120-108 shutout.

"We didn't lose a round," said Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. "I wish they would have stopped the fight."

That almost happened, but Cole allowed it to go on even as Margarito kept taking a beating. There wasn't any way Margarito was going to win the fight, but he could still see out of one eye and wanted to continue.

"I told the referee look at his eyes, look at his cuts," Pacquiao said. "I did not want to damage him permanently. That's not what boxing is about."

Ringside punch stats reflected Pacquiao's dominance, showing him landing 474 punches to 229 for Margarito.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Source: google.com

Pacquiao wins eighth crown on points -- Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

Manny Pacquiao cemented his place in the pantheon of boxing greats by recording a unanimous points victory over Antonio Margarito to claim the vacant WBC super welterweight title.

The 31-year-old southpaw dominated all 12 rounds against his bigger Mexican opponent at Cowboys Stadium to land an eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class.

Having already established himself as one of the best offensive fighters of all time, Pacquiao outclassed Margarito with his lightning hand speed to improve his career record to 52-3-2 with 38 knockouts.

The Filipino, a heavily odds-on favourite going into the fight, pummelled the Mexican's head virtually at will for much of the bout, leaving his opponent with a badly swollen right eye and a puffed left eye.

Despite being outweighed by 17 pounds on the night, Pacquiao blended raw power with speed to deliver a dominant performance against an opponent who was also five inches taller.

Three-times world champion Margarito, back in the ring for the first time in the United States since he lost to American Shane Mosley in a WBC welterweight title bout in January 2009, slipped to (38-7, 27 KOs).

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Pacquiao wins 8th World Boxing Title -- Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin

Manila, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao took Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito to school after giving the “Tijuana Tornado” a sound beating and thus winning his record 8th world boxing title in their scheduled 12-round WBC super welterweight championship at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Pacquiao was aggressive all throughout, throwing punching combinations which Margarito failed to dodge.

At one point all Margarito could do was smile, believing that the Pac-Man was indeed fast and for real.

However, Margarito would just not go down. Despite fighting with a clear handicap and impaired vision due to the beating he took, Margarito held his ground and would not give Pacquiao a knockout.

For Pacquiao, the win was a record 8th world boxing title, a feat that will truly be hard to surpass by any boxer.

The score cards showed 120-108, 118-110, 119-109, all for Manny Pacquiao en route to a unanimous decision victory.

___________________

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Manny Pacquiao used both speed and power in a dominating performance Saturday night to beat Antonio Margarito and win their 150-pound showdown.

Pacquiao landed early and often, bloodying Margarito's face, closing his right eye and nearly closing his left. Pacquiao seemed on the verge of stopping Margarito in the late rounds, but had to settle for a lopsided decision.

It was the eighth different title won by Pacquiao, the Filipino star who also is a congressman in his native land. And it was a magnificent performance against a tough opponent who both outweighed him by nearly 20 pounds and towered over him.

Margarito tried gamely but he simply had no answer as Pacquiao landed punches in flurries from the opening bell, snapping Margarito's head back time and time again. By the middle rounds his face was a bloody mess as Pacquiao landed punches seemingly at will.

Source: mb.com.ph

Ron Artest will celebrate 31st birthday tonight by watching Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito fight -- Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

For someone who says he hasn't received a memorable birthday gift growing up beyond a new pair of "Air Jordan's," Lakers forward Ron Artest will at least receive a cool present for his 31st birthday.

His birthday today coincides with WBC super welterweight title fight tonight at 6 between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. Artest, a staunch boxing fan, wishes he could attend the fight at Cowboy Stadium, but he decided otherwise considering the Lakers play Sunday at Staples Center to Phoenix.

"It's not worth the loss tomorrow," said Artest, who also has a birthday party lined up at the Conga Room at L.A. Live following the Phoenix game, an event that will feature Faith Evans and will raise money for mental health charities.

Still, Artest plans to wear a Pacquiao shirt during the fight and even shared a bold prediction on the outcome.

"I think Margarita is going to be dehydrated," Artest said. "I think Pacquiao is probably going to knock him out."

Source: lakersblog.latimes.com

Boxer Manny Pacquiao future: Bob Simon hints Pacman's last fight (Video) -- Examiner

By Jodi Jill, Examiner.com



Boxer Manny Pacquiao is going into the ring for what might be the last fight of his career. Known as one of the greatest fighters in the world, Manny (also known as Pacman) was in Los Angeles for the filming of the segment on 60 minutes and afterwards Bob Simon talked to the press about the boxer and how his career might be ending after this last fight.

Bob Simon was taking a break outside during the interview, while Manny was eating inside and talked to other reporters covering the boxing champion. In his interview, Bob Simon shares that he thinks this might be Manny's last fight. With no one else to challenge in the ring and pursuing politics, it might be we won't see him again after the boxing match on November 13.

This interview is extraordinarily rare as most of the 60 minute staff will only talk to their cameras. Since Mr. Simon was so nice to talk about the champion boxer in the behind the scenes interview, you might want to take a peek. He even admits he knew little to nothing about boxing before he started this segment.

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao-Margarito will be closer than you think -- Examiner

By Earney White, Examiner.com

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- For those of you thinking that Manny Pacquiao (51-3, 38 KOs) will walk into Cowboys Stadium and steamroll Antonio Margarito….think again. Tonight will most likely be the Pacman’s toughest test to date. Some wonder if Pacquiao’s rockstar status will come back to haunt him for this fight.

In the words of the great Marvin Hagler, “It’s hard to get up and train when you’re sleeping on silk sheets”.

Pacquiao is at the apex of his career and really doesn’t need the sport of boxing anymore. He’s achieved nearly more than any fighter in history at this point. Manny Pacquiao is a cultural icon who has transcended the sport of boxing like few others before him. Can he dig deep and continue to perform at the normal “Pacquiao-type” level?

MARGARITO’S MOTIVATION

Margarito (38-6, 28 KO) is the complete opposite of Pacquiao. His back is against the wall, he’s motivated, and has a humongous chip on his shoulder going into this fight.

In 1982, Roberto Duran was nearly written off by everyone after dropping back to back fights to Wilfred Benitez, and journeyman Kirkland Laing. With his career on the line, a motived Duran stopped Pipino Cueves and Davey Moore to prove all of his critics wrong.

By no means am I comparing the careers of the great Roberto Duran and Margarito.

The question is whether or not Margarito have the willingness and drive like Duran to silence everyone who has turned on him during the midst of all of his transgressions in the past.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT

Expect Margarito to start slow as usual as he tries to time the much faster Pacquiao. It will take him at least 6 rounds to find his comfort level. Manny will use his speed to throw off his much slower opponent. A constant body attack is vital for Pacquiao to be successful against Margarito. Mosley worked the body early against Margarito, and slowed him down in the rounds that he usually gets stronger in.

Both fighters don’t know how to back up, they only know how to come forward. This will not be a facsimile of Pacquiao’s snoozer against Joshua Clottey.

Ultimately, with Manny’s speed and ability to punch from all angles, he should be able to hammer out a tough decision. Margarito cannot win a decision in this fight, he has to stop Pacquiao in order to win.

Normally in boxing, a good big man beats the good small man. In this case, we have a good big man against a great small man.

Pacman will prevail.

Contact Earney: pvamuboxing@gmail.com

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao, Margarito Camps to Monitor Pre-Fight Hand Wrapping -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach has assigned assistant Billy Keane to be in the dressing room of Antonio Margarito from beginning to end. Roach will be there as well to watch Margarito's trainer, Robert Garcia, wrap his fighter's hands prior to Saturday night's bout for the WBC junior welterweight crown at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Garcia confirmed to FanHouse.

The 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) will meet 31-year-old southpaw WBO welterweight king Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) in a clash for the 154-pound title belt as Pacquiao pursues his eighth title in as many different weight classes, his 13th straight victory and his ninth knockout during that run.

Prior to his knockout loss to Shane Mosley that dethroned him as WBO welterweight titlist, Margarito was found to have a plaster-like substance in his gloves which resulted in his being suspended by the California State Athletic Commission a month later.

Margarito, who has blamed then-trainer, Javier Capetillo and claims no knowledge of the illegal wrappings, made two, failed attempts to have his license renewed in California before being granted one in Texas in August, setting up his clash with Pacquiao.

Garcia said that he will also have a member of his camp in the dressing room of Pacquiao, whom Garcia said that he has been told wraps his own hands by Roach.

"I think that we're going to wrap the hands at the same time. We're going to wrap the hands at about 9 p.m. So I'll be wrapping at 9 p.m., and Freddie's going to be in my dressing room," said Garcia.

"I'm going to send somebody to their dressing room because I was told by Freddie that Manny wraps his own hands," said Garcia."So I'll probably send my assistant, Francisco Navarro, over to their dressing room, or maybe even Francisco Espinoza, Margarito's manager."

Garcia said that the special requirement does not bother him.

"Freddie says that he needs to have two people there during the hand-wrap situation, so you know, that's no problem. He could have his whole team there if he wants to. Whatever happened at the Mosley fight I was not a part of," said Garcia.

"I've always done a great job with my fighters and the commissions have always told me that I've done some of the best wrapping that they've ever seen," said Garcia. "So I hope that Freddie's going to have his eyes wide open, but I think that he's going to say the same thing because I do a pretty good job."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Will Manny Pacquiao weather the storm? -- Examiner

By Ramon Aranda, Examiner.com

Tonight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Manny Pacquiao is set to take on Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC 154-pound title.

It's being said that there is a storm on its way to the arena, courtesy of "The Tijuana Tornado", who enjoys a 5-inch height advantage and as of Friday afternoon's weigh-in, a 6-pound weight advantage over Pacquiao. In boxing, size disadvantages are nothing new to Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) who has come in as the smaller man in bouts against Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De la Hoya. In those bouts, it was believed that Pacquiao would have a tough time not only taking his opponent's punches but also inflicting enough damage to hurt them.

As we found out quite emphatically, Manny was not only able to withstand the shots from his bigger foes, but it was in fact Pacquaio who dealt the bigger punishment, knocking all three fighters out - Cotto and De la Hoya via TKO and Hatton via brutal one-punch knockout.

Still there has to be a limit as to just how far up Pacquiao can go before he finds himself in over his head. Will Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) prove to be that opponent?

Before we can answer that we must first analyze Margarito as a fighter. We all know that the hand-wrap scandal is hovering over his career like a dark cloud, but that issue aside, how will Margarito fair against a smaller, yet faster and more agile opponent? Shane Mosley, who knocked Margarito into next week when he blitzed him in 2009, was a quick-fisted and used his speed to outland and beat Margarito to the punch. That Mosley also was able to move in and out against the slow, prodding Margarito also kept him out of harm's way for most of the fight. His previous loss was handed to him by Paul Williams, a fighter who also had a slight speed advantage and simply was too busy to allow Margarito to sit on his punches and throw harder blows.

Though Margarito is a power puncher by nature, when he's busy chasing his opponent or on the defense, his workrate suffers and has shown he can be out-worked.

Speed, foot movement and workrate is Pacquiao's bread and butter.

The Pacman tends to overwhelm his adversaries with a volley of punches, while his constant movement makes him difficult to keep up with and connect with flush shots.

While Margarito certainly has the goods to hurt Pacquiao, he'll have to cut off the ring and force Pacquiao to trade at close quarters. It's a small window of opportunity but a window Pacquiao typically closes.

Look for Pacquiao to fire one-twos up the middle throughout the night with plenty of success while making Margarito walk him down. Unlike Cotto who tired out after easily outworking and moving away from Margarito, Pacquiao will keep up the pace. Paccquiao may not have the one-punch KO power to truly hurt a legit junior middleweight but speed kills and that will be the biggest factor in the fight.

Though a TKO is possible, I'd look for Pacquiao to put a systematic beatdown on Margarito that gets more one-sided late in the fight. Margarito's constant pressure will keep things entertaining but in the end, I like Pacquiao to take home a comfortable decision win.

Enjoy the fight!

Source: examiner.com

Santa Claus won't let bad boy Margario beat good boy Pacquiao, never -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—I thought we'd be carving up the Thanksgiving pavo next but I could be wrong as our now familiar host hotel, the Gaylord Texan, exploded into the Christmas spirit on Friday.

They call their theme a “Lone Star Christmas,” meaning the usual holiday trappings but with a Texas bent or twang.

It includes 1.5 million holiday lights; a life-size Gingerbread House; visits by the ever popular Santa Claus and Jinkee, oops, I mean Mrs. Claus; a 50-foot rotating Christmas tree rotating in one of the three atriums; Toy Soldiers; a “Charlie Brown Christmas” bit and more, all of being lapped up by parents and kiddies with video and regular cameras in tow.

If you look at the video below, showing Antonio Margarito hammering Miguel Cotto in their final round, you might have great fear and apprehension about Manny Pacquiao getting his lights put out by the Mexican Mauler this evening (Saturday) at Texas Stadium.

Your worries are needless but understandable.

This fight, this buildup, started as a passion play (wow, is Easter next?) and is finishing as one.

We started with Margarito's desperate three state bid—Nevada, California and finally Friendly Texas—to get a boxer's license. His vociferous advocate was Bob Arum, promoter of both Manny and Marg and a guy who is loathe to let outside promoters into his swelling revenue pots, a common affliction with his kind.

We finish with the distasteful but soon apologized for Elie SeckbahAOL Fan House video in which Margarito, young boxer Brandon Rios and trainer Robert Garcia make light of how Pacman tutor Freddie Roach's boxing-induced Parksinson's often makes him tremble.

“Bad behavior,” Principal Arum termed it to me, saying the heartfelt apologies by the trio ameliorated the situation.

As is typical in the run-up to a PPV TV bout, all publicity is GOOD publicity.

All this did was induce some fence sitters to get on the Margarito Bad Guy bandwagon and also the Cheering for Good Guy Manny team.

The weight difference—Manny's measly 144.6 to Margarito's allowable limit of 150 from Friday—is meaningless.

Roach told me so Friday night, smiling broadly and noting how Manny has done some of his best work at around that weight.

Let's all face it, Pacman turns age on Dec. 18 and he will never be any kind of a junior middleweight.

He's too short in stature. Those of you hoping he ever fights a 6-2 Paul “Punisher Williams, your dreams are in the fantasy division, nothing more.

I see four, maybe five bouts before Pacman quits the ring, including a Floyd May weather super bout next spring

But you wanna fight Manny, you got to make welterweight, 147 pounds, from here on in.

As for this encounter of the fistic kind, I expect Pacquiao's formula—speed combined with elusiveness,m landing quick shots and then moving out of harm's way—to work well.

It could merely an enough to win clearly effort. Or it could be a bravura performance. We know it can't possibly be more lackluster than what we all endured here on March 13 when someone apparently glued Joshua Clottey's gloves (Superglue?) to his earlobes.

Pacquiao lives in Legendland.

Margarito has been a better than pedestrian talent but he's no Hall of Famer, no Mexican icon even before he and Slimeball Capetillo tried the handwrap chat move against Shane Mosley.

I don't know about cement like substance in a boxer's wraps but they say water seeks its own level.

They also say “no good deed goes unpunished” which I now surmise is true since “Margacheato” gets at least $3 million in his paycheck.

The Good Big Man beats the Good Little Man or so goes the boxing aphorism.

I say the Great Little Man beats the Good But hardly Great Big Man.

Anything else is a Christmas tale, save it for the kiddies.

As for me, I was 27 when I “found out” that Mr. and Mrs Claus are bunco artists with criminal rap sheets as long as Santa's long, white beard.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com