Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather: Oscar still believes it can happen -- Examiner

By Edward Castro, Examiner.com

It was clear this weekend that Oscar De La Hoya remains focused on his duties as a boxing promoter and that his firm, Golden Boy Promotions, will continue on its trailblazing path.

De La Hoya said as much during his visit to Fantasy Springs Casino for Golden Boy’s latest card. Nearly 2,000 fight fans packed the California Desert venue, located just minutes East of Palm Springs, where victories were registered by NABO lightweight champion Eloy Perez, young American heavyweights Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, and Desert youngster Randy Caballero.

De La Hoya, swarmed by fight fans from the moment of his arrival to his departure at the conclusion of the card, addressed a handful of issues facing Golden Boy.

De La Hoya stated confidently that he still believes the SuperBout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao “can happen…and it should happen.”

“Sure it will,” De La Hoya said. “That is the biggest fight out there. Fans are demanding it.”

De La Hoya, who saw negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao twice fall through, said if and when the fight happens is up to Mayweather. Pacquiao has instead chosen to fight disgraced former champion Antonio Margarito next month.

“Obviously it’s up to Mayweather to give everyone the thumbs up,” De La Hoya said.

De La Hoya also said he was so impressed with the makeup of Fantasy Springs Casino that future visits to the Desert venue are almost a sure thing.

“It’s a great venue and it’s very intimate,” De La Hoya said. “The fans here are 100 percent behind it. This first show here was a great success.”

De La Hoya, whose stable of fighters range in age and experience, was glowing about newly signed Caballero.

Caballero scored a fourth round decision in what was just his fifth fight as a pro.

“Take Caballero for instance…his footwork, his ability to throw combinations and his speed and power,” De La Hoya noted. “He’s got the goods. I’m excited by that.”

Caballero, 19, was a 2008 U.S. National Champion and completed his amateur career with over 150 bouts, fought in front of his hometown fans for the first time.

“This is the first time I’ve seen him and I am glad I did,” De La Hoya said. “Now all my focus will be on him to make sure we give him the right opportunity to grow and one day become a world champion.”

Source: examiner.com

Arum Says Pacquiao Will Fight Twice Next Year, Both Fights At Welterweight - Says Guys Like Margarito Are Just Too Big -- Eastside Boxing

By James Slater, Eastside Boxing

As fans know, Manny Pacquiao goes for an unprecedented 8th “world” title on November 13th, against the much bigger Antonio Margarito. Yesterday, via the comments facility on ESB, on an article of mine, some fans wondered aloud just how much bigger than Pac-Man Margarito would be in the WBC light-middleweight title fight. There were suggestions of a “re-hydration clause,” a clause in the contract that would disallow “Toney” from putting on any weight after the official weigh-in - a weigh-in for which the Mexican (and Pac-Man) must not weigh any more than the agreed 150-pounds.

Well, according to Bob Arum, in talking to Mike Marley, there is no such “re-hydration clause.” In fact, Arum is concerned about the amount of weight Margarito will put on in the 24-hours between the weigh-in and the fight; so much so that the Top Rank promoter has said the November fight will be Manny’s last at a weight higher than 147-pounds.

“It’s just too much size difference fighting these bigger guys,” Arum said of his star fighter. “Antonio Margarito has a contractual weight limit of 150-pounds but he is likely to add 15-pounds with the day before the fight weigh-in and then weigh 165 when they get into the ring.

“Freddie [Roach] and Alex [Ariza] were telling me Manny will weigh in at 149 or 150 and then not add much weight after that so as not to lose any of his phenomenal speed. But they stressed they don’t want Manny stretching it like this after this fight.”

So there you have it, no mention whatsoever of a contractual deal that insists Margarito remain at 150-pounds during the time between weighing in and entering the ring. And should Pacquiao once again overcome the obstacle of a much bigger (and possibly physically stronger) fighter, his future ring assignments will then likely come against welterweights. Arum spoke of the plans for Pac-Man in 2011.

“Manny will fight twice in the new year,” Arum told Marley. “We’re looking at a May bout with or without [Floyd] Mayweather. Who knows how his legal problems will play out so we don’t count on Floyd. But, like Freddie and Alex told me, from here on out Manny will stick to the welterweight division.”

So, assuming he gets past Margarito next month, who will Pac-Man fight in 2011 if “Money” is unavailable? Marley got quite a list of possibilities from uncle Bob!

“Shane Mosley is a possibility,” Arum said. “So is the winner of the Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley fight. You can put Andre Berto’s name in there as well, and Juan Manuel Marquez because of the history with Manny. Don’t forget Cotto because he is flexible, Miguel can go to 147-pounds.”

That’s quite a selection of possibilities. For my money, a third go between Pacquiao and “Dinamita” would appeal hugely to the fans, so too would a Pacquiao-Berto clash. The winner of Alexander and Bradley might wish to try and clean up the 140-pound division instead of facing Pac-Man (but then again, maybe not when you consider the money a fight with the Filipino would bring either guy!), while Mosley is surely too faded to live with the lethal southpaw now.

Whoever the pound-for-pound king faces next, it may come after a very tough fight on Nov. 13th. And rest assured, Margarito will NOT enter the ring in Texas without having been given the chance to re-hydrate!

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Roach: Pacquiao to KO Margarito with big right hand -- ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing trainer Freddie Roach is getting more confident about Manny Pacquiao’s chances against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito, now that the Filipino champ is getting his “good ol’ speed” back.

After dropping a few pounds, Monday’s sparring session with his partners saw Pacquiao display his speed.

Roach said Pacquiao will surely get his punches on Margarito, especially when he throws them in combinations.

But the American trainer believes Pacquiao’s potential knockout punch against Margarito will be his vastly improved right hand.

“I really believe it will be the right…it’s so strong now,” said the Hall of Famer coach.

Roach said the left-handed Pacquiao, with his south paw stance, puts the Filipino’s right hand closer to his opponent.

The American trainer has transformed the Filipino champion from a “one dimensional boxer," over-reliant on his powerful left hand, into a two-fisted fighter who can throw heavy bombs with his left and right hands.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum saw this two-fisted version of Pacquiao on Monday when the Filipino went through 10 rounds of sparring.

In one of those rounds, the hard-hitting Filipino busted the lip of training partner Glen Tapia to Arum’s approval.

'Old Pacquiao' will beat Margarito

Arum earlier said the "old Pacquiao" will defeat Margarito.
“The old Pacquiao would have no problem beating Antonio Margarito. He still has time to bring the old Pacquiao back when he is in LA,” he said in a report posted on Philboxing.com. (Click here for the related story)

Pacquiao had 4 rounds with Tapia, another 4 round with British champion Amir Khan, and 2 rounds with Mexican Michael Medina.

The Filipino has a shed few pounds, after having trouble with the timing of his punches following his weight gain, hence, the improved speed.

His conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said their present training is geared toward getting back Pacquiao’s agility.

“Manny's getting bigger, I think he's starting to be a bit worried he's getting too big, so right now, I'm gonna focus on his speed and get him faster,” said Ariza.

Pacquiao said more improvements are coming after they decided to lessen the plyometric routines in their training.

“Bibilis pa tayo kasi babawasan namin ‘yung plyometrics, ‘yung pampalaki ng katawan at lakas. So focus kami ngayon on speed (We’re going to get faster because we’re lessening the plyometrics, which adds bulk and power. Our focus now is speed),” said the WBO welterweight champion.

In a separate report by Philstar.com, Roach said Pacquiao will step into the ring no heavier than 150 pounds.

“Again, he’s (Margarito) bigger but size don’t win fights. Skill does,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to do – weigh in and climb the ring at almost the same weight. Manny’s not going in there heavier than 150 because it might slow him down a bit.”

Pacquiao and Margarito will fight it out on November 13 (November 14 in Manila) for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title.

Although the contracted weight is at 151 pounds, the 5’1” Margarito has the edge in size and reach against the 7-division champion from the Philippines. – With a report from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Roach: No worry, Manny will be ready -- Philippine Star

By Abac Cordero, The Philippine Star

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – You’ve got to take his word when Freddie Roach says there’s no need to worry.

“We need a little more focus, but I think overall we’re doing okay,” said the trainer of all trainers after Bob Arum sounded the alarm the other day while watching Manny Pacquiao train.

Arum said he didn’t see the speed in Pacquiao, that blinding speed he would need to stun, overwhelm and get rid of Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 in Texas, after a couple of workouts here.

“If the fight happened on Saturday Margarito would win the fight,” was the quote of the day from Arum.

Roach yesterday admitted that Pacquiao is far from his best but that things can be worked out in the next couple of weeks.

“He’s a hundred percent with the mitts but fifty percent in sparring,” he said.

Pacquiao seemed to have taken the first four weeks of training lightly, skipping roadwork and gym workouts like he’d never done before. Twice on weekends, he left this City of Pines for Manila.

Pacquiao also had too much of basketball early in the camp that it was hard to tell if he was training for a world title fight or a basketball tournament. Or too much of Congress.

Roach, however, said it was all right for Pacquiao to play basketball because the deal was that the 31-year-old champion, would quit it four weeks before the fight.

Saturday evening Pacquiao spent a couple of hours rehearsing his songs for the after-fight concert on Nov. 13, and the other night he was at a late dinner with Arum and friends.

The stormy weather up here, with howling winds and non-stop rains since Monday, forced Pacquiao to once again skip his roadwork yesterday, but went to the gym early to spar.

Somehow, Roach looks satisfied.

“We’ve had good and bad days, but more good than bad lately, so it’s getting better and better. But we need get more focus. Started a little bit late than the usual,” said Roach.

The four-time Trainer of the Year thinks the only way to do this is to get Pacquiao to his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, and on Saturday evening they’d be boarding the plane to LA.

According to plans, Pacquiao should head down to Manila after tomorrow’s workout, spar at the Elorde Gym on Thursday, train on Friday and spar one last time on Saturday.

“I’m still pushing for sparring on Thursday and then go to L.A. on Thursday. But we haven’t work that out yet,” said Roach who may need to beg before the fighting congressman for that.

Roach said the toughest weeks of this camp are coming.

“This would be a big week for sparring. This week and next week. It would be the toughest two weeks coming up,” said Roach, who has plenty of reasons pushing for an earlier flight to LA.

“With the weather and so forth, yes. And I have more sparring there, better sparring. No, not better, but more of the style I’ve been looking for,” he said.

Mexicans Michael Medina and Glen Tapia have done a good job as sparring partners, but Roach is looking for some fresh meat because Pacquiao has this habit of getting too friendly with his sparring partners as the days go by.

“There’s Abdullah, Kid Chocolate, who’s 21-and-0, Amir Khan, Vanes (Martirosyan). That’s plenty. We’ve sparred 36 rounds now. We’ll get about 30 rounds this week and 30 next week, and then we start tapering off,” Roach added.

Roach was asked if he’s sticking to his prediction that Pacquiao would knock Margarito out early or late.

“Yeah,” he said.

Source: philstar.com

Pacquiao Just on Right Track — Roach -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

BAGUIO CITY — Manny Pacquiao is "100 percent" in the punch mitts session but is only "50 percent" in sparring, top trainer Freddie Roach said on Tuesday.

But Roach remains confident that when they head back to the Wild Card in Hollywood, the Filipino pound-for-pound king would be in his element, punishing just about anyone put in front of him in sparring as the buildup for his Nov. 13 battle with Antonio Margarito takes a major step.

"We'll get by," said Roach just before Pacquiao sparred with Glen Tapia and Michael Medina behind closed doors, allowing only a few, like Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, to watch the action.

Roach said this week and the coming week in the US would be "a big week for sparring" and the "toughtest two weeks of training camp."

"We are getting better and better," said the 50-year-old Roach, who still believes his fighter will have too much speed and ammunition to stave off the Mexican's challenge.

Team Pacquiao is slated to leave for the US this Saturday night and plans to motor down to Manila as soon as the weather permits.

Roach had initially wanted to go to Manila last Sunday for fear that the weather would hold them here and endanger their departure for Los Angeles.

As of Tuesday afternoon, howling winds and heavy rains were still being felt here and Roach shook his head when told about the possibility of being stranded in this mountain resort city.

"I told them we should have left Sunday but..." said Roach.

Once they set up camp in Manila, Pacquiao will work out at the Elorde Gym in Quezon City, venue of the first week of training.

Told about the seemingly wonderful time Margarito is having in his own training camp in Oxnard, California, Roach was convinced the 5-11 Margarito is indeed peaking just in time.

"He’s in great shape. He’s training like an animal," said Roach, who predicts that the fight will not go 12 rounds and that Pacquiao win on a late-round stoppage.

Source: mb.com.ph

Pacquiao's work ethic rubs off on sparmates -- PhilBoxing

By Rene Bonsubre, Jr., PhilBoxing.com

Baguio City - Team Pacquiao had another closed door sparring session Tuesday afternoon at the Shape Up Boxing Gym right inside the Cooyessan Hotel. Pacquiao sparred for four rounds against WBA jr. welterweight champ Amir Khan, four rounds with Glen Tapia and two rounds against Michael Medina.

Medina and Tapia, who are both up trying to make a name for them selves in the boxing business, are enjoying their stint here with the man considered as the best boxer on the planet.

"I'm learning from the best coach in the world and from the best boxer in the world." Tapia said after his sparring session. Tapia said his experience has inspired him and he wants to be a great champion someday.

The 20 year old lt. middleweight has a record of 7W-0L, 5 KO’s. He has a scheduled fight on October 30 in New Jersey against a still to be named opponent.

Medina echoed Tapia's sentiment, "I'm enjoying the experience of sparring with the best boxer in the world. I'm learning from the best coach. I am going to work as hard as he does. You will see a different Michael Medina when I get back to the States."

"I'm hoping for a world title shot next year," the 24 year old Medina added. His record is 24W-2L-2D, 19 KO’s. He once held the WBC FECOMBOX Lt. middleweight belt. He lost to John Duddy by split decision last March but won his last fight against Gilberto Hernandez by 4th round TKO last July.

Khan, who has beaten the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera and Paulie Malignaggi, is scheduled to fight Marcos Maidana this December 11 in Las Vegas.

Assistant trainer Nonoy Neri said that Pacquiao is peaking and his speed his back. Neri also said that Pacquiao is wearing a special sole support to protect his previously injured foot.

Pacquiao was unable to do his road work Tuesday morning due to the heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Juan. The team plans to return to Metro Manila after Wednesday's training session and will continue their regimen until they leave for Los Angeles on Saturday.

Pacquiao will fight Antonio Margarito on November 13 (Nov. 14 R.P. Time) for the vacant WBC superwelterweight (light middleweight) title at the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Top photo: Manny Pacquiao (R) and Amir Khan (L) with Roach have light moments during Monday's workout at the Shape Up Gym, Cooyeesan Hotel in Baguio City.

Source: philboxing.com

Khan: I want Mayweather -- Manchester Evening News

By James Robson, Manchester Evening News

Amir Khan wants a mega fight with Floyd Mayweather on British soil.

The WBA light-welterweight champion is hoping to step into the ring with the man many believe to be the pound-for-pound No.1 in the next 12 months.

And Bolton star Khan believes the bout could even sell out Wembley Stadium such would be the public interest.

Khan defends his world title against Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas in December – but is convinced he will be ready to take on the undefeated Mayweather before the end of 2011.

And he would love to do so in front of a UK audience.

“I always said I wanted a big fight in England,” said the 23-year-old. “I want to bring the big fights back to this country.

“The Floyd Mayweather fight would be one of those.

“I wanted to fight Maidana in the UK, but he wanted to fight in America.

“It wasn’t my decision, but I know my true fans are over here and I will come back after this one.

“The Mayweather fight could definitely happen in England.

“After he fought Ricky Hatton he said he wanted to fight over here and I am the only British fighter of the calibre to take him on.

“We could bring it to the UK and it would be massive.

“That fight could fill anywhere.”

Just last month Khan was talking up the possibility of a Battle of Britain with European lightweight champion, John Murray.

He also has designs on unifying the light-welterweight division by taking on the winner of Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, who hold the WBC, WBO and IBF titles between them.

But US promoter Golden Boy are now looking to fast-track a mouth-watering clash with Mayweather.

They fear they will never get official pound-for-pound No.1, Manny Pacquiao, and Mayweather in the ring together as negotiations continue to stall.

They see Khan – whose profile has sky-rocketed Stateside since his US debut against Paulie Malignaggi in May – as an ideal alternative and are hoping the clash will garner the same sort of worldwide interest as when Hatton took on Mayweather in 2007.

“In the next 12 months I will be ready to take on huge names,” said Khan.

“The biggest names are in the divisions and that excites me.

“When I went to Freddie Roach, people thought it would happen overnight, that I’d suddenly be ready to fight Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

“We put the suggestion out about Mayweather because in the next 12 months I will be more developed and stronger.

“Also styles make fights. I don’t think Mayweather has ever fought anyone as fast as me – and with Freddie Roach in my corner, I would be confident fighting him.

“People have seen how I’ve improved with my performances.

“For them to be talking about me and saying I should fight Mayweather, it shows how far I’ve come.

“The days have gone where people are saying I should fight John Murray. Now they are putting my name alongside Pacquiao and Mayweather.”

Khan has transformed his career since suffering a devastating first round knockout at the hands of Breidis Prescott in 2008.

In the space of 12 months he decamped to Los Angeles to work with super trainer Roach, and won his first world title with a comprehensive points win over Andriy Kotelnik.

He made a stunning first defence of the title with a first round knockout of Dmitriy Salita last December and followed that up with a hugely impressive stoppage of Malignaggi in New York this year.

It has made him one of the most talked about fighters on the planet and seen him tipped to be a future pound-for-pound No.1. Victory over Argentine knockout specialist Maidana would only see his reputation soar even higher in America.

MEN Arena

Khan puts all that success down to that crushing defeat against Prescott at the MEN Arena.

While Hatton has suffered with depression and problems with alcohol and drugs since his defeat to Pacquiao last year – Khan says he knew he could overcome a knockout that was every bit as brutal as the Hitman’s.

“It all happened so quickly after that,” he said.

“I always had dreams and ambitions and I knew I’d get far one day – but it was that defeat that made me realise how serious boxing is.

“Without that I wouldn’t be here today, so I want to thank him for that.

“I knew I made mistakes in the camp leading up to the fight, so I knew I could overcome it.

“If I hadn’t made any mistakes, it might have been different.

“When you know you’ve not given your best and there is so much room for improvement then you can move on.

“That’s why it hurt Ricky Hatton so much.

“But after the Prescott fight I changed everything.

“I got with the best trainer in the world and you can see how my style and body shape have changed over the past two years. And I can still get better.”

Khan is currently training with Pacquiao in the Philippines ahead of the Pacman’s clash with Antonio Margarito next month.

“Sometimes he gets the better of me, sometimes I get the better of him,” he says.

So can Khan see a day when the two of them step into the ring together for real?

“I don’t want to fight him,” he says.

“We are so close as friends now that it would be very difficult.

“But at the end of the day, boxing is a business, so anything can happen.”

Source: menmedia.co.uk

Manny needs to resurrect 'old Pacquiao' - Arum -- ABS-CBN News

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines -- The “old Pacquiao” just has to resurrect himself to defeat Mexico's Antonio Margarito.

Boxing promoter Bob Arum assured this as 7-division world champion Manny Pacquiao trained in an open-media invitation Monday afternoon.

“The old Pacquiao would have no problem beating Antonio Margarito. He still has time to bring the old Pacquiao back when he is in LA,” he said in a report posted on Philboxing.com.

Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank Inc., which handles the promotion of Pacquiao's fights.

Arum, who arrived in the country Saturday morning to watch Pacquaio’s training that same afternoon, added that he himself doesn’t “interfere with where the fighter wants to train.”

He, however, stated that the Filipino boxing icon’s performance during Saturday's sparring session was “satisfactory.”

Amidst super typhoon Juan (International name Megi) hitting the northern parts of the country Monday, the Filipino champion went under a rigorous training in preparation for his World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight bout against Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas, on November 13.

Pacquiao worked under the supervision of trainer Freddie Roach, conditioning coach Alex Ariza and assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez.

The Filipino champ is reportedly scheduled to fly to the US on October 23. There, he will continue his training until his bout in Texas.

Defying gravity

Earlier, Arum warned Pacquiao that the Tijuana’s Tornado might be a threat, posing “very, very unique dangers,” to the Fighter of the Decade.

"He better step up his training because this guy (Margarito) poses very, very unique dangers," the Top Rank CEO affirmed.

"(Margarito) is in the best shape I have ever seen. He would be a big danger for any welterweight in the world,” he added.

Although, this doesn’t have to hamper Pacquiao, who will be at his heaviest of 151 pounds against Margarito, Arum also said earlier.

"Pacquiao is something special. No matter how big they are, Manny Pacquiao can handle them," Arum said.

Pacquiao, who started his training since last month, concentrated on regaining his old speed which he claimed to have lost after focusing on adding power. -- With reports from Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News, and Rene Bonsubre, Jr., PhilBoxing.com

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

Margarito Gets Sponsored -- 411mania

By Joe Roche, 411mania.com

Well not really.

Antonio Margarito is not an overly popular guy right now. His recent history has left the one time hugely popular Mexican champion without a main sponsor for his Nov. 13th fight with Manny Pacquiao. The fact that Margarito could not find a sponsor for a Pacquiao fight is telling, especially when you consider how many eyeballs will likely fall on the Nov. 13th clash in Cowboy Stadium. One company though was made an offer that they simply could not refuse.

On Nov. 13th, Margarito will wear Affliction gear to the ring as his official sponsor. The catch – if he loses (and he will lose), Margarito will earn zero dollars and zero cents from the sponsorship deal. If Margarito wins (and he won't) he stands to earn a sum of money in the five figure range.

The deal if a no brainer for Affliction who is getting publicity simply for clothing the controversial Margarito, because it's very likely that this huge jump in publicity will come at a cost of zero dollars to the clothing company. As for Margarito – no matter what he says, the fact that he couldn't get a sponsor to pay him a dime for a fight against the biggest draw in boxing is more telling than all the denials he can muster.

Source: 411mania.com

Distracted Pacquiao fails to impress Arum -- GMA News

GMA News

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum went straight to the point, even if the object of his frustration was boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

Arum expressed concern in Baguio City after seeing Pacquiao spar for nine rounds over the weekend, saying the 31-year-old Filipino stands to lose against Antonio Margarito if their Nov. 13 title fight is held right now.

“When I watched him on Saturday, I didn’t see the kind of speed that he would need to beat Margarito," said the 78-year-old Arum while holding court when media day was held in Pacquiao’s high-altitude training camp at the Shape-Up gym inside the Cooyesan Hotel on a stormy Monday afternoon.

“If the fight happened on Saturday, Margarito would win the fight."

Accompanied by stepdaughter Dena duBoef, Arum arrived in the country’s Summer Capital Saturday and was personally at ringside when the `Pacman’ sparred with Michael Medina and Glen Tapia.

Pacquiao, according to Arum, was hardly impressive.

“To come into the ring with a lot of speed requires a lot of training and effort. That’s where you get your speed, from preparing," said Arum. “Manny’s success is based largely on hard work and focus. He’s skillfull and he has a lot of attributes, but without the hard work, it’s not gonna be there."

Pacquiao has been in training camp for about a month now, but had been distracted several times in his preparation by constant traveling back to Manila to honor several commitments as part of his job as congressman of the province of Sarangani.

The Filipino southpaw also missed some early-morning roadwork due to playing basketball at night, not to mention skipping one day in training after contracting sinusitis.

But with at least three weeks before fight time, Arum said Pacquiao still has time to get himself into shape.

"Absolutely, he has plenty of time to get into shape and be the old Manny Pacquiao," stressed the man who also promoted boxing legends Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"He's got plenty of time back in Los Angeles to work on his skills and get ready for the fight," added Arum, who also stressed that he would have been happier “if he (Pacquiao) left for L.A. last Saturday."

Pacquiao is set to break camp tomorrow, resume training in Manila for a couple of days, and then fly to L.A. for the final phase of his preparation at the famed Wild Card gym of trainer Freddie Roach.

Arum added that Margarito is in "tremendous shape" as reported to him by Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler.

But then he believes that a Pacquiao in tip-top shape would simply be too superior even against a top-caliber opponent in the mold of Margarito.

"If he is the old Manny Pacquiao, he’s too fast and too talented to get beaten by Margarito," Arum said. “But this Manny Pacquiao is not enough." - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV

Source: gmanews.tv