Manny Pacquiao fast, furious -- Boston Herald

By Ron Borges, Boston Herald

ARLINGTON, Texas - Speed, when properly used inside a boxing ring, is lethally destructive. It robs an opponent of any other advantage he might possess and strips him bare, exposing every technical flaw to an embarrassing extent.

If the difference is wide enough and the faster man possesses punching accuracy as well, an opponent’s face can end up looking like Antonio Margarito’s did Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium: swollen, bloodied and with eyes reduced to slits that made him look like someone nervously peering through closed venetian blinds at a menacing force against whom he knew he was defenseless.

The freakish force of nature that battered the three-time welterweight champion was Manny Pacquiao, a fighter so quick and powerful it seems the size of his opponent is immaterial.

By the time the two of them entered the ring to fight over the World Boxing Council super welterweight title, Margarito outweighed Pacquiao by 17 pounds. Since he also stood 4 inches taller and held a six-inch reach advantage, it seemed as if Pacquiao had no physical advantage. This was true only if you dismissed the leveling effects of hand speed, agility and superior footwork and boxing technique. In each of those areas it was no contest. Because of that, so was the fight.

Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) was dominant from the opening bell, winning a unanimous decision in which judge Jurgen Langos gave Margarito not a single round and judge Oren Schellenberger gave him only one. The third judge, Glen Crocker, scored it 118-110, a bit of kindness Margarito neither deserved nor earned. The Herald card read 119-109, giving only the ninth round to Margarito.

What Margarito did deserve was better from his cornermen, who refused to stop a one-sided assault that had his right cheek split open by the fourth round and both his eyes closing so tightly he could not see the punches coming in the final few rounds.

Referee Laurence Cole stopped the bout several times to ask Margarito how many fingers he saw. Cole’s fingers were not the problem. Pacquiao’s fists were and after a time Margarito could neither avoid them nor answer their call.

It has been said many times that Margarito is blessed with one of the best chins in boxing. That was proven again in front of 41,734 witnesses but rather than allow him time to wear down his opponent this time its sturdiness became a co-conspirator with Pacquiao in a savage beating that sent him to the hospital.

“He’s a very tough guy,” Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said. “I’m surprised how tough. I wish they had stopped the fight. He has the worst corner in the world. His corner probably ruined his career. I thought Manny carried him the last few rounds. Manny is a very compassionate person.”

His handiwork seemed to argue against that, but Pacquiao tried to convince Cole to protect his opponent even though Margarito’s corner refused to. In the 11th round, he turned to Cole and implored him to stop what had become legalized assault before buckling Margarito’s knees with a combination.

“My opponent looked bad,” an unmarked Pacquiao said. “I wanted the referee to stop it. I told the referee, ‘Look at his eyes! Look at the cuts!’ I didn’t want to damage him permanently. That is not what boxing is about.”

Immediately after the fight, however, Margarito (38-7, 27 KO) insisted the right thing had been done despite visual evidence to the contrary.

“There was no way I was going to quit,” he said. “I’m a Mexican. We fight until the end.”

Said Robert Garcia, Margarito’s trainer, “Manny is the best fighter in the world. He’s just too fast. Very, very quick. But Margarito is a warrior. He would not allow me to stop it.”

Who asked for his permission? As Margarito’s chief second, it was Garcia’s responsibility to protect his fighter. In that area he failed him miserably for this was the kind of beating that does not go away. It leaves a piece of you behind in that arena and it never returns.

As for Pacquiao, he headed to Lake Tahoe where he will continue a budding career as a cabaret singer. Then it’s back to Manila to renew his work as a newly elected congressman while awaiting a bigger challenge.

“I have a job to do in the Philippines,” he said when asked if his future might include a showdown with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Twice efforts to make what would be the biggest fight in recent history have failed. Now Mayweather faces a Jan. 24 court date in Las Vegas to answer domestic abuse charges that carry a maximum 34 years in prison. Promoter Bob Arum said he would look to make the fight but needed assurances a trial would not interfere with the promotion.

Many have insisted the reason the fight hasn’t happened is because Mayweather is afraid of Pacquiao. If he is, after Saturday night who could blame him?

Source: bostonherald.com

Good riddance to Margarito, so long to Pacquiao -- 15Rounds

By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com

ARLINGTON, Tex. – There was a time when Antonio Margarito was my favorite story in boxing. He was humble, friendly, kind to fans and writers, and willing to absorb copious abuse to prevail. The night he defeated Miguel Cotto at MGM Grand remains a highlight of my time in boxing. But Saturday night, at about 10:20, I realized I don’t like the man anymore.

When the opening bell rang and I saw how much larger he was than Manny Pacquiao, my stomach tightened unexpectedly because at any moment in the next 36 minutes, Margarito might hurt Pacquiao. He might win. And I discovered a Margarito victory was a possibility that repulsed me.

Saturday at Cowboys Stadium, Filipino Manny Pacquiao did not allow Mexican Antonio Margarito to prevail. He clipped him, cut him, closed his eyes and whupped him. The judges scored the match 120-108, 118-110, 119-109 for Pacquiao. I had it 120-109, scoring 10 rounds for Pacquiao, with rounds 6 and 8 even.

Before you scoff at scoring anything for Margarito, consider what Pacquiao said about the sixth, in the post-fight press conference.

“I’m lucky to have survived that round.”

When have you ever heard Pacquiao say something like that?

It was a subdued conclusion to a night that was weird. The return to Cowboys Stadium went not as hoped. Attendance was announced at 41,734 – though we’ll not know the actual number till the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation reports on gate receipts. Still, that was 10,000 fans fewer than was announced for Pacquiao’s March fight with Joshua Clottey. It was 19,000 fans fewer than we’d been told to expect all week.

And while Pacquiao-Clottey was a subpar performance in a remarkable edifice, Pacquiao-Margarito was a remarkable performance in a subpar edifice. Cowboys Stadium, a billion dollars later, had no reliable WiFi; Ethernet cords abounded – just like 1998. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, ubiquitous in March, was hard to find all week.

The home team goes 1-7, in other words, and everyone, from the owner to the bus driver, stops caring about details.

I spent much of Saturday’s undercard on the East Side Plaza, asking Mexican fans about their unceasing loyalty to Margarito even after his 2009 banishment for wearing tampered-with inserts in his hand wraps. They almost had me convinced. Then allegations of ephedra use exploded from Margarito’s dressing room during Saturday’s undercard.

One camp said it was Hydroxycut – a dietary supplement that once contained the banned stimulant ephedrine. The other camp said that it was Splenda, a no-calorie sweetener, Margarito sprinkled in the four cups of coffee he drank in his dressing room. Though it was ultimately an irrelevance, it merits treatment.

The ECA Stack – comprising ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin – is more common in boxing gyms than you think. It is a powerful appetite suppressant that takes a remarkable effect on the central nervous system. Ephedrine races your insides while sending a signal to induce drowsiness. Caffeine ensures that signal never arrives at your brain. Aspirin, meanwhile, thins the blood to increase the duration of the stimulus. A fighter who used it to cut weight in training camp could easily become enchanted by its effect on hand-speed, timing and stamina.

It cannot make you a better fighter. But it can make you a more resilient one – with only a small chance of cardiac arrest.

And so my stomach tightened at ringside late Saturday night. To see Margarito’s size advantage and imagine it leavened with artificial speed and courage was hard to bear.

Margarito’s unofficial advantage was 17 pounds of weight and 4.5 inches of height. It was much more than that, though. Pacquiao is a 140-pound man who couldn’t weigh 160 after a sedentary month of rapacious grazing at a Las Vegas buffet. Margarito is a 190-pound man who, one way or another, weighs less than 150 pounds for a few hours of every year.

Oh, but size isn’t that important. Skill is. Combination punching is. Quickness and accuracy are. Right, right and right. But if size doesn’t matter, what was that scale doing at Cowboys Stadium, Friday?

When you are the much smaller man, see, every punch must be thrown with knockout power. In order merely to keep the larger man off him, a smaller fighter must forsake range-finding punches and deliver each blow with complete commitment. And that is positively exhausting. Even for Manny Pacquiao.

An hour after Saturday’s fight, in a makeshift media area under Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao was spent. This post-fight press conference was not the celebration others have been. Pacquiao said it was the hardest fight of his career. What he didn’t say, perhaps because he’s gracious, was that Margarito was the least-skilled prizefighter Pacquiao has faced in a championship match. Indeed, size mattered.

After cracking the orbital bone under Margarito’s right eye early in the fight and almost stopping the Mexican in round 4, Pacquiao was astonished to be hurt by him in the sixth. Margarito pinned Pacquiao to the ropes and hit him with sustained punches for the first time. Margarito dipped into his well of resentment – a disrespected Tijuana club fighter made good – and tried to break Pacquiao.

But for once, Margarito faced a man with a deeper well of difficult experiences from which to summon fortitude. Take that, marry it to once-in-a-generation speed and power, and well, you have something pretty special there.

So, thank you, Manny, for being the purest embodiment of what we love about prizefighting.

And now, say goodbye to us. The risk-reward ratio is all wrong for you, as you realized Saturday night: To make big purses you have to fight men who are too big. There is nothing left for you to do to burnish your legacy. There is nothing more for you to give to boxing but a happy ending.

It’s now time to retire a legend, wits and fortune intact, and serve your people in a more meaningful way.

Source: 15rounds.com

Masterpiece complete; 'Pretty' fight next? -- FOX Sports

FOX Sports

Manny Pacquiao didn't need to be elected to the Congress of the Philippines to be a public servant. The thrills he delivers inside the squared circle are as generous a gift to his country and boxing fans the world over as any he should ever be asked to provide.

In fact, the show he put on in pummeling disgraced former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito on Saturday night in Dallas packed enough entertainment to overshadow the fact that the fight itself was virtually uncompetitive. Perhaps it was a desire to mend his tarnished legacy that kept Margarito on his feet and willing to take more punishment than he's likely to ever face from any boxing committee for trying to illegally load his gloves before his fight against Shane Mosley last year. Either way, Pacquiao gave him every reason to quit and his fans every reason to smile.

The most intriguing element to Pacquiao-Margarito was never the fight itself. It wasn't a question of whether the faster and more versatile Pacquiao would win, but whether he'd be able to serve up justice to boxing's public enemy No. 1 in a fashion pundits would deem acceptable. How more symbolic can it get than matching an increasingly popular and, by all appearances, humble elected official against the sport's biggest rule-breaker, who not only deflected blame for his crime, but mocked the accusations at every opportunity?

Apparently, those chants of “cheater” aimed at Margarito when he stepped on the scales at Friday's weigh-in bounced off his skin like the punches of a flyweight. Already branded a cheater, he may have figured he might as well play the part to the max.

Unfortunately for Margarito, he found himself across the ring from boxing's designated executioner. Sorry, Bernard, but if there's one man qualified to deliver in-ring justice today, it's Manny Pacquiao. And on Saturday night, Pacquiao was equally ready to play his part.

Aside from one head-turning moment where Margarito momentarily froze him against the ropes with a body shot, Pacquiao answered the call, constantly turning Margarito's head every which way but off his shoulders. By the late rounds, with both of Margarit's eyes swollen and his face bloodied, Manny being Manny showed mercy by first asking the referee to stop the fight, then taking his foot off the gas during the 12th round. Margarito made it to the final bell, but probably would have preferred to be knocked cold in the first several rounds than take the sustained beating he received.

For a fight on such a big stage, the bout ended up almost as one-sidedly brutal an affair as when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. memorably took Arturo Gatti apart with a virtuoso performance in 2005. Fittingly, Mayweather's the one remaining piece of business Pacquiao has in the sport of boxing.

Because despite all of the silly notions about Pacquiao being an “eight division” world champion and the very necessary disclaimers that come along with those accolades, Manny isn't through with boxing until he's through with Mayweather. The public demands it. And Manny, by his own admission, is a public servant. I's time to give the people what they want.

That means, in addition to making his own demands about the fight, Pacquiao must give in to Mayweather's. Translation: Olympic-style drug testing, with no cutoff dates to leave any doubt that the best two boxers in the world are entering the fight on even terms. Not only has Mayweather – undefeated in 41 professional fights and HBO's highest grossing fighter in history – earned that right, but the people deserve to know Pacquiao's success over the last 10 years has been the result of hard work alone.

With that said, it takes two to tango. Before the biggest fight in boxing history can become a reality, Mayweather must handle his own legal dilemma and work to restore his standing in the sport. With an upcoming court date for allegedly assaulting the mother of his children, Floyd, like Margarito, should be thinking damage control. With the spotlight on him once again, Floyd has the opportunity to show the world that he, like Pacquiao, can still be an ambassador for the sport.

And if he doesn't, then rest assured, Pacquiao can be called in to clean up another bad apple in boxing.

Source: msn.foxsports.com

Manny Pacquiao. "The Greatest" in what really counts -- Examiner

By Ed Berliner, Examiner.com

Manny Pacquiao is the single greatest boxer to ever step inside the ring.

More than once the sentence about Pacquiao being the greatest fighter who ever drew breath has been uttered since he rearranged the face of Antonio Margarito in Dallas.

And thus begins what is always the best and worst debate in sports. “The greatest (fill in your choice of sport, team, position or appearance in a video game) to ever play the game”. No phrase has initiated more camaraderie or black eyes. No comment is at the same time so factual and fraudulent. No series of words is more thoughtful and knee-jerk.

No need to see the scorecards on this one.

Pacquiao’s pugilistic achievements are but a mere trifling of his accomplishments and in many ways, perhaps the least of what drives one who could also be considered the finest example of a man. One who outwardly cares about much more than using a physical skill for personal gain.

In a world where we are always tagging athletes and entertainers with the hollow cliché, “role model”, there perhaps also could be no greater example of one historic sports figure who more deserves to have these two words permanently attached to his legacy.

At first glance, Pacquiao’s hardscrabble beginnings are no different than thousands of boxing champions. A broken home, thanks to a philandering and lying father. A father Pacquiao ran away from after this sorry excuse for a human being actually ate Manny's dog.One part of a big family struggling to make some semblance of life in an impoverished situation. Odds stacked so heavily against him that, at times, even the next meal was in question.

There was never any real reason why Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao would be more than another laborer, struggling to feed himself and a family. At the age of 16 when he decided to become a professional boxer in tribute to a friend and aspiring fighter who perished much too young, Manny was 4’11” and weight in at 98 pounds, a full 7 under the minimum weight. While we have no recording of the actual words, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine someone telling the kid about a job bagging groceries or hauling lumber that would be more suited for his future.

But this was more than an ordinary kid seeking a way out of poverty. He already had what used to known as “moxie” in American slang. A hefty dose of daring to make things happen. A liberal dash of courage, that lack of fear for what he was about to get himself into.

This diminutive wisp of street kid jammed weights into his pockets to hit the 105 mark. A star was born.

A brilliance of which is certainly not limited to blinding hand speed, controlled savagery, and infectious smile.

He is a devoted husband and father who has neither strayed nor even mentioned in the same sentence as so many other current-era jocks. Those who believe that being revered for an athletic skill gives them carte blanche to cheat on spouses and leave trails of children scattered across the landscape like so many dirty socks.

He believes one can serve a Nation while at the same time serving a talent few could ever hope to match, much less even possess. Pacquiao is a member of the 15th Ready Reserve Division of the Philippine Army. He is currently in the military reserves with the rank of Sergeant Major, and has often said he would surrender his boxing career in defense of his country.

Following his devastating recent victory, the Aquino government is considering using Pacquiao as their main peace negotiator, trying to quell issues with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Just three years ago, Pacquiao made good on a personal promise, and while his incredible wealth could buy him anything, he went back to school and earned his high school equivalency diploma. He then wasted little time in enrolling for a degree in business management at a college in his hometown.

And he was far from done.

In May of 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the Philippine 15th Congress. And just for giggles and grins, he’s slated to be in an upcoming Sylvester Stallone film.

Oh yes, one more thing. As an elected official, Pacquiao has promised he will not only work toward making the Philippines a boxing power at the Summer Olympics, he promised to use his congressional funds to build schools, hospitals and provide alternative skills training for poor farmers and fishermen in his three-year term.

Sure, you might say. Just another politician making hollow promises to keep the huddled poor masses happy.

Sure. Right.

As for those allegations about Pacquaio using steroids? Nothing more than a Floyd Mayweather concocted lie to cover up a palpable fear of facing the 8-time champion.

It really didn’t take much to write about these accomplishments. After all, anyone can find them listed in dozens of places on the Internet.

What is harder to find and must be unearthed in these words is the measure of the man.

For while Manny Pacquiao has earned our praise, our admiration, even our envy, he has earned much more.

Our respect for him as the definition of an athletic role model.

I have long believed there is no such thing, and shouldn’t be. Role models should be parents, those who fill the role of father and mother who guide and set the course for the lives of those who need direction. They are the ones who take these shapeless lives and mold them into something greater. To help them uncover not just who they are and what they can be, but what lies beneath the human façade.

With very rare exceptions, that has, in my opinion, never been the role of an athlete. Especially the 21st century star athlete.

Manny Pacquiao has thankfully changed my mind. And he should change yours as well.

Admire him for what he has done. First and foremost, outside the ring.

And then marvel at what he does inside that ring. And what we only wish we could accomplishment.

In both places.

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao's title fight win over Margarito cements standing -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

ARLINGTON, Texas — His trainer, Freddie Roach, called Manny Pacquiao's annihilation of Antonio Margarito on Saturday night one of the finest performances of his career.

Then he called out Floyd Mayweather, who doesn't appear eager to face the Filipino flash.

Pacquiao, his face slightly bruised and his hand and other body parts hurting, called it the toughest fight of his career, given that Margarito was 4½ inches taller and 17 pounds heavier.

Margarito, his face swollen, bloodied and bruised beyond recognition, called Pacquiao the best fighter in the world and said he was too quick to hit. Then he went to the hospital to have his broken right eye socket treated. He'll have surgery Tuesday.

And the raucous crowd of 41,734 at Cowboys Stadium roared their approval throughout as Pacquiao won a unanimous decision — nearly a shutout — and a world championship in his record eighth weight division. The fight was for the WBC super welterweight title. By the time the fight started, Margarito weighed 165 and Pacquiao 148.

But the congressman from the Philippines left little doubt over his status as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. In this case, the pounds didn't even matter. Pacquiao's speed and quickness were so superior to Margarito's that he was able to connect on multiple combinations of punches at will.

Pacquiao (52-3, 38 KOs) was so accurate and so prolific and relentless with his punches that he connected on 474 of 1,069 thrown (44%). The 474 punches landed were eighth most in a title fight. In a testament to his ability to zero in on his opponent, 411 of 474 of Pacquiao's punches were power shots. Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) landed 135 power shots, though some hurt Pacquiao.

A sixth-round body shot made Pacquiao's knees buckle. "I was lucky to survive that round,' the champ said.

Yet it was Margarito who suffered so much damage to his face and head that Pacquiao felt compassion for his opponent and tried to get the referee to stop the fight in the 11th round, by which time both of Margarito's eyes were swollen shut and his face beaten to a bloody pulp.

My opponent looked bad," said Pacquiao, 31. "I said to (referee Laurence Cole), 'Look at his face.' I didn't want to damage him permanently. That's not what boxing's all about."

Roach, who had his symptoms of Parkinson's disease mocked by Margarito last week in a YouTube video, said he wanted Pacquiao to knock Margarito out. He also criticized Margarito's corner for not stopping the fight. "He might never fight again," Roach said. "His corner ruined him."

But Margarito said he kept fighting because, "I'm a Mexican, and there was no way I was going to quit. I fight until the end."

Roach dispelled talk during fight week that Pacquiao might not fight again. "100%, yes, he will fight again," said Roach, who added he expected Pacquiao to rest for about six months and return to his political duties.

Will Pacquiao's next fight be against Mayweather, who faces up to 34 years in prison for felony assault charges? Pacquiao said he was tired of talking about Mayweather. Roach said, "(Mayweather) has to put up or shut up, or he'll have to move out of the country. Let's face it, Manny is way above him at this point. If he doesn't fight Manny now, this guy should retire."

The closest Pacquiao and Mayweather will get to each other for now will be this week when Pacquiao does a concert at Lake Tahoe, across Nevada from Mayweather's home in Las Vegas.

Source: usatoday.com

Referee Reflects on Manny Pacquiao's Battering of Antonio Margarito -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

ARLINGTON, Texas -- By the ninth round, Antonio Margarito's eyes were nearly swollen shut. The right one was particularly damaged from "eating" an assortment of left hands from southpaw Manny Pacquiao, according to referee, Laurence Cole.

"The right side had that cut on the cheek bone. He had swelling right under the eyelid all the way pushing up to his eye. He had a cut right on his right eyebrow, and the swelling was coming down. And his field of vision on his right eye was very limited," said Cole.

"On his left side, Margarito just had swelling under the left eye, and, it was starting to swell, but it wasn't affecting his vision at all. But what I was concerned with from about the ninth round on was his vision out of the right eye and whether he could see any more," said Cole. "I just didn't want him to eat any more left hands from Manny, because he was already eating left hands way before he even started to have a problem with his vision."

Margarito (38-7, 27 knockouts) was beaten bloody over the course of Saturday night's HBO pay-per-view televised, Top Rank Promotions 12-round unanimous decision loss to Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), who earned his eighth title in as many different weight classes by adding the WBC's junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt to the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown that he already owned.

But as a result of the punishment he took against the 31-year-old Pacquiao, the 32-year-old Margarito is hospitalized at least until Wednesday with a broken right orbital bone that will require surgery to repair on Tuesday, according to the fighter's manager, Sergio Diaz.

Margarito was out-punched, 474-to-229, overall, even as he had an advantage in jabs, 94-63. Margarito absorbed 411 power punches while landing 135 by comparison, and was an easy target for the powerful left hooks, upper cuts and crosses from Pacquiao.

"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."

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

"I was covering up his good eye. I was covering up his right eye and I was asking him how many fingers I was holding up. So that way, I could tell if he could see my hands at all. I was kind of setting them a little bit off to the outside because I didn't want him to keep on eating those left hands that Manny was throwing," Cole said.

"If he's a blind fighter, then you can't let him keep on fighting. Both times that I did that and I asked him, he answered correctly. The doctor did the same thing once also between rounds. I did it first, like at the beginning of the 10th, and then, the doctor did it in-between the 10th and the 11th.

"And then I did it a little bit later on in the 11th round, when he got another little cut above the original swelling of his right eye. So I was getting worried about whether or not he could see. My concern was always with his right eye."

At that point, said Cole, "I was very close to stopping the fight."

"The whole 10th and 11th round, I was close by. Most of the other parts of the fight, I stayed away from them, so that you can see the vision of their entire bodies and you can see their feet, which can often get tangled up" when you have a right hander in Margarito, and a southpaw in Pacquiao, Cole noted.

"But in those rounds, I started to sneak in closer so that I could work a lot closer and wait to see how Margarito was responding. I wanted a reason to stop it," said Cole. "I guess that Tony kind of knew that I was getting close and that I wanted to stop it, because Tony kept firing back and he kept fighting. Every time that I got close, and he'd eat two or three punches, he would fire back.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Manny Pacquiao seeks new worlds to conquer after dismantling of Antonio Margarito -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — Manny Pacquiao was kind enough to visit Antonio Margarito in his locker room early Sunday morning.

Margarito weighed 17 pounds more than Pacquiao when they walked into the Cowboys Stadium ring Saturday night, but now he was lying motionless on a table with ice packs on his battered face and head. Stitches and a brain scan at a hospital would await.

At the hospital, doctors found that Margarito had suffered a broken right orbital bone.

Sergio Diaz, the fighter's co-manager, said Sunday that an eye muscle is lodged in that fracture and needs to be surgically repaired.

"The doctor mentioned that it is a common injury and there is nothing to be worried about," Diaz said.

Maybe not.

But for Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has already given every indication that he wants no part of a Pacquiao fight, Margarito's condition is a nightmare reminder of Pacquiao's ability.

Margarito is a former world champion who had nearly 20 pounds of extra weight, along with a notable height advantage over Pacquiao.

"Mayweather has ducked Margarito in the past," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said Sunday. "I'm sure this put more fear into him and puts him even further away from wanting to make this fight."

Important people will try to persuade Mayweather to accept a lucrative payday and take on the gifted Filipino.

"When you get to the point where Pacquiao is, the American public asks, 'Who's out there who can beat him,'" HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg said. "I don't have to tell you who that name is."

Whether Mayweather can beat Pacquiao is another question.

In claiming a record eighth world weight-class title by battering Margarito in a unanimous decision, Pacquiao (52-3-2) moved toward a third effort to negotiate a super-fight against the unbeaten Mayweather.

"My marching orders are to see if the Mayweather fight is feasible," said Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum.

There are impediments. Not only is Mayweather's openness to a Pacquiao fight in question, but he also has a criminal case to deal with in Nevada. He faces felony and misdemeanor charges after he was accused of hitting the mother of his children and threatening the kids.

His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 24, and even though a Clark County (Nev.) legal source said 2011 could pass without Mayweather going to trial, Arum wants a more complete picture.

Source: articles.latimes.com

Antonio Margarito Suffers Broken Eye Socket Against Manny Pacquiao -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

ARLINGTON, Texas -- 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 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, his manager, Sergio Diaz, told FanHouse on Sunday.

Margarito (38-7, 27 knockouts) did not attend the post-fight press conference after losing to Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), who was already the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king and earned his eighth crown in as many different weight classes.

Instead, Margarito was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital, where the massive cut and swelling beneath his right eye socket was examined, and, where he will remain for through at least Tuesday, when he is expected to receive surgery to repair the damage, Diaz said.

"Antonio suffered a broken right orbital. Unfortunately, the eye muscle is lodged in that fracture and needs to be surgically repaired," Diaz said in a text message to FanHouse.

"The doctor mentioned that it is a common injury and that there is nothing to be worried about," said Diaz. "Due to the swelling around the injured eye, the doctor cannot perform the surgery until Tuesday. He'll be hospitalized until Wednesday."

Margarito's right eye revealed a cut from an uppercut in the fourth round against Pacqauiao, and both eyes were nearly closed shut by the ninth round.

Pacquiao eased up and actually tried to appeal for a stoppage to referee Laurence Cole, who 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.

"In the ninth round and in the 10th round, I looked at his eyes and at his face and I took pity on him, because his eyes were closing up," Pacquiao said. "He had really, really bad cuts around his eyes."

"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."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Pacquiao's trainer issues new challenge to Mayweather -- AFP

By Greg Heakes, AFP

DALLAS, Texas — Freddie Roach threw down the gauntlet to Floyd Mayweather, saying the undefeated American boxer needs to stop talking about beating Manny Pacquiao and prove it in the ring.

"Mayweather has to put up or shut up now or move out of the country," Pacquiao's trainer Roach said. "Let's face it. Manny is way above him at this point.

"Because I remember when he was ducking (Antonio) Margarito and he wouldn't fight him either.

"If he doesn't fight Manny now (Mayweather) should retire."

Roach said Pacquiao stuck to the game plan Saturday at Cowboys Stadium and it paid off in one of the most impressive victories of Filipino fighter's career as Pacquiao pounded out a 12-round unanimous decision over Mexico's Margarito.

Pacquiao, who has won 13 consecutive fights since losing to Erik Morales in March 2005, was planning to face unbeaten Mayweather earlier this year before negotiations broke off over a drug-testing dispute.

Heading into Saturday's fight some had speculated this might be the Filipino's last fight but Pacquiao said two days ago that he wants to have three more fights. And after the way he bloodied, bruised and disfigured Margarito's face it looks like the sport's pound-for-pound champion is still at the top of his game.

Roach made good on his promise to personally go into Margarito's dressing room before the fight to watch the taping of his hands. Margarito is coming off a one year ban from the sport after getting caught using illegal wraps in a fight against Shane Mosley.

Now a new controversy has erupted from the dressing rooms as Roach on Sunday said Margarito attempted to take the drug ephedrine before the world title fight.

Roach said they asked that Margarito undergo a drug test immediately.

"He (Margarito) pulled a bottle of ephedrine out of his bag," Roach said.

"My guy called him on it and he put the pill down and didn't take it. Ephedrine is illegal. I said I want a drug test right now. He did have it in his bag and he did attempt to take it."

Athletes sometimes use ephedrine because it increased energy and alertness.

"It is like three cups of coffee. It is like speed. It picks you up," Roach said.

Ephedrine is banned by the International Olympic Committee and major sports the National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.

Roach said Saturday's fight went pretty much the way he expected with the bigger stronger Margarito not presenting many surprises for them other than the fact he came into the fight with a 17-pound weight advantage.

All three judges scored the fight in Pacquiao's favour with one judge Jurgen Langos having Pacquiao winning all 12 rounds.

Roach thought Margarito, who landed some solid blows in the sixth and eighth round, won just one round.

But the Mexican paid the price as he suffered a nasty gash under his right eye and he failed to show for the post fight news conference because he had to go to the hospital for treatment. Roach didn't say whether Margarito underwent a drug test after the fight.

"Manny only lost one round and did what he was supposed to do," Roach said. "We worked on going to the ropes and sometimes he stayed there a little too long.

"I told him to box him, beat him down the middle all night long. The jab worked perfectly the straight left hand landed well too. If he had stayed on the body he would have stopped him. Body shots were taking its toll."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

Source: google.com

Antonio Margarito Has Broken Orbital Bone -- Bad Left Hook

By Scott Christ, Bad Left Hook

A report at ESPN Dallas quoting Top Rank's Carl Moretti says that last night against Manny Pacquiao, the badly thrashed Antonio Margarito suffered a broken orbital bone, which will come as no surprise to those who saw the fight or are just seeing the photos from today.

There has been some discussion today that Margarito should have been pulled out of the fight by his corner or referee Laurence Cole, but Margarito, as you might expect, says he's glad he got to finish the fight. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, however, fears that Margarito's remaining career has been impacted:

"He's a very tough guy," Roach said of Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs). "I was surprised how tough he was. He has the worst corner. They probably ruined his career by not stopping the fight."

I think Freddie might well be right that this has stunted whatever remained of Margarito's career, but as nasty a beating as this was, we've seen worse, and it shouldn't be surprising that Margarito wanted to finish the fight. At 32, he was fighting to put himself back at the top of the food chain. Realistically, someone with Margarito's skill set (or lack thereof, if you prefer) doesn't have a long time left as a big player. And I thought Margarito, warts and all, did show plenty of guts and plenty of resolve and a lot of determination. He wasn't good enough, but he never, ever stopped trying to knock Pacquiao out.

Margarito's own comments on it were brief:

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

I'm still no fan of Antonio Margarito, and I'm sure many feel the same way. But he left it in the ring last night. That much I can say.

Source: badlefthook.com

Justin Bieber calls out Floyd 'Money' Mayweather after Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito fight -- Grand Rapids Press

John Gonzalez, The Grand Rapids Press

So, I had to check Twitter last night and again today to see what the buzz was after Manny Pacquiao's impressive win over Antonio Margarito. What did I find? Justin Bieber calling out Floyd Mayweather.

Bieber and others are busy in the Twittersphere, making "Pacquiao-Margarito" a trending topic on Saturday night. By Sunday morning, "Mayweather" was trending, as well as "#pacquiao" and "FILIPINO PRIDE" and "Congrats Manny"

Here is what pop star Bieber said on Twitter:

Heard Manny did work tonight. I think it's time we got the Money Mayweather fight we have all been waiting for. #EPICBATTLE

I tweeted Floyd "Money" Mayweather Saturday night to see if he was watching the fight and did not get a response.

However, Floyd did retweet John Shahidi, Co-Founder & CEO, Rock Software, who tweeted after Pacquiao's win over Margarito: "Who is 41-0? just curious"

One of more popular tweets of the night came from ESPN2's Skip Bayless, who said:

"After watching PacMan, Mayweather had to be thinking, "I want no part of that." Who wants to get their face cut, eyes shut? Not Floyd."

Tweets from boxing experts can't hurt Floyd or his image.

But a tweet from Justin Bieber?

Floyd, maybe it's time to get this fight done. What do you say?

Let's have the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in your hometown of Grand Rapids.

And Justin Bieber can sing the National Anthem before the fight. Or maybe he can replace Michael Buffer and shout: "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!"

Source: mlive.com