Relaxed, resilient Margarito confident heading into fight with Pacquiao -- Las Vegas Review-Journal

By STEVE CARP, Las Vegas Review-Journal

LOS ANGELES -- For someone who is two weeks from getting into the ring for the biggest fight of his life, Antonio Margarito is a picture of serenity.

He's not agitated. He's not uptight. Unlike his next opponent, he faces no distractions from moonlighting as a politician.

Instead, Margarito is tanned, relaxed, jovial and confident as he prepares for his Nov. 13 super welterweight showdown against Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

"Things are going great," the 32-year-old Margarito said through an interpreter during his media day workout Thursday at Fortune Gym. "I've had no problems whatsoever. If I had to fight this weekend, I'd be ready to."

He can afford to wait the two weeks. Besides, after battling bureaucrats for more than a year after the California State Athletic Commission revoked his license following a hand-wrapping incident before a January 2009 fight against Shane Mosley, Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) is looking forward to hitting someone -- and not have to worry about needing a lawyer to defend him when he does so.

"My focus is on this fight," he said. "What's in the past is done. I can't change what happened.

"This is an important fight for me, probably the biggest of my career. It's a chance to be a world champion again, and that is my motivation -- that and to win for the people who have stuck with me through everything I have been through."

Margarito credits his new trainer, Robert Garcia, for getting him ready for Pacquiao (51-3, 38 KOs).

"I have had a lot of confidence with him since we first worked together," Margarito said of Garcia, who trained him in his comeback fight in May when he beat Roberto Garcia in Mexico. "But this time, it has been so much better. I trust him much more. When he says something, I believe it."

Garcia said Margarito never questions anything.

"You point something out to him, he listens, then he corrects it," Garcia said. "I think the trust between the two of us has grown over the past few months, and he's really paying close attention to details in camp. Nothing gets by him."

Garcia has been working with Margarito in their Oxnard, Calif., camp on cutting down the ring and improving his footwork to negate Pacquiao's superior speed. But Garcia said he's not buying the news out of the Pacquiao camp that Pacquiao's training has not gone well.

"Not for a minute," he said. "Manny Pacquiao is a professional, and I know he'll be ready to fight Nov. 13, which is what we want. We want Manny at his best so there won't be any excuses when we beat him."

When Margarito lost to Mosley in 2009, his weight was an issue. At one point, he was 40 pounds above the welterweight limit, and by the time he got down to 145, he had little strength and energy and was soundly thrashed by Mosley, who earned a ninth-round knockout.

For the Pacquiao fight, which will be for the WBC super welterweight title but will be contested at a catch weight of 151 pounds instead of the usual 154, Margarito already is in shape. He has watched his weight throughout his training camp, which began last month, and was at 160 on Thursday.

"His weight hasn't fluctuated," said Margarito's manager, Sergio Diaz. "He's got someone cooking for him. He's taking vitamin supplements. He's eating pretty much whatever he wants.

"We ask him every day how he's feeling, and he says, 'Great.' He's right where he needs to be."

Said Margarito: "For this fight, I have controlled the weight very well. For Mosley, I trained for the fight, but I trained to make the weight."

Margarito said he's not taking anything for granted, particularly the fact he's taller than Pacquiao by nearly 5 inches, has a 7-inch reach advantage and is considered the stronger of the two.

"You can't say because I'm bigger he can't hurt me," Margarito said. "Any fighter can hurt the other if he gets careless."

Contact sports reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2913.

Source: lvrj.com

Margarito 'best he's ever felt' -- Sky Sports

Sky Sports

Antonio Margarito is in the best shape of his life to face Manny Pacquiao next month, according to new trainer Robert Garcia.

Garcia has taken over from Javier Capetillo after the latter bore the brunt of the blame for Margarito's hand-wrapping scandal that saw the boxer banned for 12 months.

The Mexican has fought only once since being found to have 'loaded' hand wraps following his defeat to Shane Mosley at the beginning of last year, claiming a lop-sided points victory over Roberto Garcia on his first outing at light-middleweight.

Margarito is still unable to fight in many American states but Texas provided a permit to take on Pacquiao at the Cowboys Stadium, and the 32-year-old is ready to cause an upset.

"We've got two weeks left, but we could be ready tonight," said Garcia. "He's right where I want him physically, and mentally, he says this is the best he's ever felt.

"Every single day when we're driving home in the morning after running, he tells me there's no doubt this fight is ours. I've never seen him like that before."

Stigma
Margarito admits he still carries the stigma of the scandal but hopes a victory on November 13 will right that wrong.

"It has been really hard but this is a great opportunity for me," said Margarito. "It has always been difficult for me. I have had great challenges but those things have turned me into the boxer I am."

The fighter claims Capetillo loaded the wraps without his knowledge, but Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach believes it happened on more than one occasion, notably in victories over Miguel Cotto and Kermit Cintron.

"It is evident he was loaded in some fights," Roach said. "After a fight what is the first thing a fighter wants to do? It is get the gloves off as quickly as possible.

"Against Cintron he kept the gloves on the whole time didn't take his gloves off until he got to the dressing room. So it makes me wonder."

Source: skysports.com

Pacquiao: I'm ready for world title defense -- CNN

CNN

World champion boxer Manny Pacquaio insists he is fully focused on his defense of the super-welterweight title against Antonio Margarito next month after reports he was planning to quit the ring.

The rumors had been fueled after Pacquaio's long-time coach Freddie Roach said the Filipino was more preoccupied with his new role as a congressman and could not concentrate on his preparations for the November 13 bout.

Nicknamed Pacman, Pacquiao -- the only boxer in history to have won a world title at seven different weight divisions -- has taken a break from politics as he prepares to take on Mexico's Margarito in Dallas, Texas.

Roach was worried that his charge could not fully concentrate on the sport in Baguio City in the Philippines, and the pair decided to move to the trainer's famous gym in Los Angeles for their final weeks of training before the fight.

"He told me at the first week of training that he missed his job. I said this is your job, and he said he missed congress," Roach told Pacquaio's official website.

"So I was a little bit worried, but we got over those distractions. We are here [in L.A.] now and he's on fire."

The 31-year-old Pacquaio confirmed he has buckled down to training since arriving in California.

"Right now it's a good thing we come back here, " he told Sky Sports.

"It's going to be hard and difficult because I'm moving up to a higher weight division so I have to focus and study hard."

Roach -- who reportedly called the training sessions in the south east Asian country their worst ever after Pacquaio had to take a day off to visit the president in Manilla -- also said that things had improved significantly since being in Los Angeles.

"The change of scenery was the biggest thing, this is where he knows it happens," Roach added.

"This is his home, this is his comfort zone, this is where he shines. Yesterday [Wednesday], we had our best day of sparring. It was like night and day compared to last Saturday."

Pacquaio was 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

Roach confident Pacquiao is back on track -- ESPN

ESPN staff

Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach insists the Filipino is back on track for his fight with Antonio Margarito, claiming a recent sparring session was "like night and day" compared with last week's efforts.

The five-weight world champion takes on the unrelenting Margarito in Dallas on November 13 and only last week Roach voiced concerns over his charge's hunger after he was elected into the Philippine Congress in May.

But, following a month's training camp in Baguio City, Pacquiao and his entourage flew to the US to continue their preparations at Roach's infamous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles - a sign that the pugilist was struggling with political distractions in the Philippines.

"The change of scenery was the biggest thing," said Roach. "Because he knows this is where it happens, this is his home, this is where he shines. Yesterday we had our best day of sparring; it was like night and day compared to how it was last Saturday."

Pacquiao takes on Margarito for the vacant WBC light-middleweight belt and the 31-year-old admits he cannot afford to take his eye off the prize.

"Right now it's a good thing we came back, we can focus 100% on the fight," he said. "It will be hard and difficult because I'm moving up a higher weight division. I have to focus and study hard."

Source: espn.co.uk

Margarito hopes to beat Pacquiao, erase scandal -- USA Today

By Greg Beacham, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES — Antonio Margarito penitence long ago turned into frustration, and he takes it out on every sparring partner, every heavy bag he punches into submission while preparing to face Manny Pacquiao.

Nearly two years after a hand-wrapping scandal almost ended his boxing career, Margarito still insists he didn't know his former trainer had placed illegal pads over his fists. He's still banned from fighting in California and Nevada but the commissions can't stop him from training in peaceful Oxnard or a noisy Hollywood gym.

With a new trainer who claims to see significant flaws in Pacquiao's vaunted skills, Margarito is determined to capitalize on the chance to take on the pound-for-pound champion Nov. 13 in Texas in a big-money fight that few believe he deserves.

"It's been really tough, but this is a great opportunity for me, and I have to take full advantage of it," Margarito said through a translator before a workout at the Fortune Gym on Sunset Boulevard. "It's always been difficult for me. They always put tough fights in front of me, and never expect me to do anything, but that's what made me into the fighter I am."

Training is a refuge for the former welterweight champion, and two months of isolation for work have improved Margarito's mindset heading into the fight that could catapult him back atop the sport or condemn him to also-ran status, unable to fight on the West Coast.

His frustration with the Nevada Athletic Commission's blunt refusal to consider his appeals and the California commission's intransigence on his suspension has been funneled into determination to win a fight in which few give him a shot.

The seriousness of Margarito's training is obvious in his physique: He's already hovering near his fighting weight with almost no visible body fat, and his calves are crisscrossed with ropy veins.

"We've got two weeks left, but we could be ready tonight," said Robert Garcia, the trainer who replaced the disgraced Javier Capetillo. "He's right where I want him physically, and mentally, he says this is the best he's ever felt. Every single day when we're driving home in the morning after running, he tells me there's no doubt this fight is ours. I've never seen him like that before."

Garcia, also a former fighter, even has the temerity to suggest he sees areas of weakness in Pacquiao's latest string of dominant victories. While trainer Freddie Roach believes Pacquiao's speed will make it easy to execute a winning game plan, Garcia claims to know exactly how to counter it.

"In his last six fights, you watch the video and you see a lot of mistakes," Garcia said. "It doesn't take a scientist to see them. Our job is to cut the ring off and pick the spots to hurt him. He has speed, but when you have someone as good as Margarito, someone that can take a punch, combined with some of the things I've been working on with him, like head movement, it's going to be tough for Manny."

The American-born Mexican fighter known as the Tijuana Tornado never had an easy path: Margarito fought for 7 years before his first title shot in July 2001, but kept that WBO welterweight belt for six years. After losing it to Paul Williams, he returned with three straight knockout wins, including an 11th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto in 2008 that stands as the height of his hard-punching, diamond-chinned excellence.

Margarito was a celebrity in two countries after that victory, and Garcia believes it went to his head and his waistline. He had to cut 40 pounds to make weight for his January 2009 fight against Sugar Shane Mosley and when Mosley's trainer discovered the illegal wraps moments before the fight, Margarito was mentally out of a fight won by Mosley on a ninth-round stoppage.

"When he beat Cotto, he was on top of the world, and then the world came crashing down," promoter Bob Arum said. "It must have affected him mentally, but he's a hardworking kid who wouldn't stop."

Margarito owes his resurgent career to Arum, who also promotes Pacquiao. When Floyd Mayweather Jr. apparently refused numerous offers to fight Pacquiao, Arum matched the Filipino congressman with Margarito in a matchup widely derided by fans and in the media.

Margarito can't apologize for having the right promoter to get the redemptive fight he craved. He also can't think of anything else to say to the Nevada bureaucrats who still refuse to license him to fight in Las Vegas, depriving boxing's cash-starved capital city of an estimated $300 million in revenue from a Pacquiao fight.

"I think I will fight in Vegas again," Margarito said. "Once I get this opportunity, I know I'm going to come through."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: usatoday.com

Freddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao Broke Sparring Partner's Nose -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Trainer Freddie Roach spoke to FanHouse in this Q&A following Wednesday's open workout for the international media, the third day for Manny Pacquiao of preparation at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood since the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king arrived in Los Angeles on Monday from Bagiuo City following weeks of work in his native Philippines.

Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) is readying for a Nov. 13 main event at The Dallas Cowboys of an HBO pay per view televised, Top Rank Promotions WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title clash opposite former titlist Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs), against whom he will pursue his eighth crown in as many weight divisions.

How was the first big media day at the Wild Card for Manny Pacquiao?

Freddie Roach: It was like another day at the office. We just sort of went through the motions. We showed them just a little bit. We just didn't do too much to give away our game plan.


What did Manny do today?

Not too much. We did eight rounds on the mitts, we hit the double-end bag, hit the speed bag, jumped some rope a little bit, did some shadow boxing. You know. Just a little short gym workout.

Normally, we do 12 or 13 rounds on the mitts. Today, we cut it in half. That's just because, like I said, we didn't want to give too much away.


Why is it always better for Manny to be at the Wild Card than it is for him to be in Baguio City of the Philippines for his last few days of training before a big fight?

There are so many fewer distractions. This is always where he prepares himself for the big fights. This is our home base. This is where his comfort zone is. This is where he knows that the fight is getting really close. This is where we always start to get the most serious.

This is where everything begins. Like I said, there are a lot less distractions here in Los Angeles. There are not as many officials and no politicians coming in to drag him out and stuff like that.


Do you think that for this camp, more than perhaps any other, has been bothered by more distractions than in the past?

Well, we had trouble getting focused. I mean, we worked hard, but we had a lot of distractions. We only had to miss one workout when the president of the Philippines wanted to see him.

With Manny being in Congress, I mean, you know, with Manny being a congressman, that's something that in his heart he really wants to be his best at it. We had a little trouble getting his focus.

But once we got back here in Los Angeles, you know, everything sort of fell back into place. Everything is back on schedule.


Over the next few days, do you anticipate that any of his sparring partners will include Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez or Vanes Martirosyan or Glen Tapia?

Right now, we're using Rashaad Holloway, we have David Rodela, Ray Beltran, and, there was this one other kid from Detroit, but I forget his name right now. But Manny broke his nose yesterday, so he's out.


Have you seen any video or any pictures of Antonio Margarito, who apparently has a six-pack and reportedly appears to be in tremendous shape?

I mean, who gives a sh**. I mean, really? Who cares? I'm just trying to get my guy ready. He's getting ready for a world title fight. That's what he's supposed to be in, great shape. But I don't give a sh** what he does.

I don't care about Antonio Margarito. I don't care if he fights at 175 pounds. Who cares? I mean, he's getting ready for a world title fight. If he doesn't get ready, then he's a fool. That's what people do.

He's doing what he's supposed to do. The thing that I hear is that he's in great shape. But like I said before, he should be in shape for a world title fight.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Pacman back on Kimmel show -- FightNews

FightNews.com

Tune in this Monday night, November 1 as Manny Pacquiao returns to ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” at 12:05 a.m. Following in the tradition of Pacquiao’s previous visits, he will be performing a musical number – this time with the help of fellow guest, actor Will Ferrell. Pacquiao is currently in training in Los Angeles for his November 13 WBC junior middleweight championship match with Antonio Margarito in Texas. Last year Pacquiao serenaded the live studio audience with a rendition of the love song, “Sometimes When We Touch.”

Source: fightnews.com

Manny Pacquiao not enjoying L.A. camp -- ESPN

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- When Manny Pacquiao finally made his way past the autograph hounds and the process server to climb the rickety staircase to the Wild Card Gym, he was met by dozens of fans, fellow fighters, reporters and even a television star, all wanting a moment before his workout.

Hollywood is jam-packed with distractions for the world's top pound-for-pound boxer -- and the Pacman isn't even a congressman in this country.

Trainer Freddie Roach says Pacquiao is having the worst training camp of his career heading into his Nov. 13 meeting with Antonio Margarito in Texas.

In the five months since he won a congressional seat in his native Philippines, boxing has lost some of its urgency for Pacquiao. Roach can even cite physical evidence their careers have been hurt by politics.

"He has a foot problem, and that's because he wears dress shoes too much," Roach said, referring to the nagging left heel injury that has slowed Pacquiao's running.

Although Roach thinks he'll have no problem putting together a speed-based game plan to beat the bigger Margarito, he's worried about Pacquiao's ability to execute it. The fighter who flawlessly teamed with boxing's most respected trainer to forge a 12-fight winning streak just doesn't have the same focus, or even the same drive.

"At two in the morning, I'm walking around Baguio pulling my hair out, saying, 'What do I have to do?'" Roach said, referring to the Filipino city where they trained before returning to Los Angeles last weekend.

"I know his mind is off the fight. I know his mind is somewhere else, and that's because of politics. If there are no more challenges out there after this fight, this could be it. If Floyd (Mayweather Jr.) doesn't come to the table, I don't know what's going to challenge him. He loves his other job, and he might be done with this one."

Roach hopes the move stateside will help, although the hubbub Wednesday at the open workout suggested otherwise.

After Pacquiao apparently was served with papers in an envelope on the way into the gym, he quickly got his hands wrapped before walking slowly around the ring in the Wild Card's stifling heat, patiently answering questions from dozens of reporters. Perhaps after greeting actor Jeremy Piven, Pacquiao would be ready to train.

"I've been under pressure and tough conditions before," Pacquiao said. "The training is going good, but the problem is aside from training, there's lots of stuff to do. ... I'm thinking about (retirement), but I can still fight. I think I'll do a few more."

The mob scene in L.A. is a sea of tranquility compared to home, where the 31-year-old spends at least part of each day as the Honorable Emmanuel D. Pacquiao, freshman congressman from the Sarangani province. Although he's formally excused from legislative duties during training, he still takes regular phone calls from his staff, sometimes even in the middle of workouts.

And for the first time in his career with Roach, Pacquiao took a day off from training to travel to Manila for a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III, although Pacquiao claims he got in a workout there.

"Even if it was the worst training camp we ever had, he never missed a day before," Roach said.

Pacquiao has suggested he'll make it up to Roach by proposing a bill to grant Filipino citizenship to the trainer, who says he has never voted in an American election.

"I'd still vote for Manny if I'm a citizen," Roach said, laughing.

In his spare time, Pacquiao also has a wife and four kids, gestating careers in singing and acting, and a variety of business interests including a greater marketing push for his Nike apparel.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, acknowledges his fighter's life has become ridiculously complicated, but doesn't share Roach's pessimism.

"These things would be distractions to any other fighter or any other human being," Arum said. "Not Manny. He has the ability to multitask like nobody else I've ever seen. He doesn't let distractions affect his performance. I've seen him go from meetings all day to a workout, and then he'll wash up and eat and go to band rehearsal."

Arum also promotes Margarito and has an interest in talking up the fight, but even he can't discount Pacquiao's fearsome abilities.

"If Manny is trained and is in good condition, because of his skill set, he should be able to handle Margarito," Arum said. "He's just different than anybody else fighting today. The only guy who comes close to those abilities is Floyd."

Pacquiao won't stop politicking even on this continent: He's headed to Las Vegas on Friday for a quick campaign stop in support of Harry Reid, the Democratic senator and combat sports advocate in a tight race with Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle.

Yet Pacquiao claims he has plenty of time to get his mind and body right to face Margarito, the hard-punching Mexican with a 5-inch height advantage. The fight is at a 150-pound catch weight, but the winner will get a 154-pound title, which would be a belt in Pacquiao's eighth weight class.

"I have to win this fight to prove I can move to a higher division easily," Pacquiao said. "That's my role, to fight bigger men."

And bigger obstacles at every turn.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Manny Pacquiao reveals: I am praying for Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

HOLLYWOOD--All the world is Manny Pacquaio's stage and he reconfirmed Wednesday afternoon that he still relishes his role going into his 57th professional fight.

Pacquiao tries for a record eighth world division title (at junior middleweight) against Mexican retread Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium.

According to Megamanny himself, he enjoys playing the giantkiller.

It was Media Day at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym and the Fighting Congressmany debriefed assembled reporters on various germane topics like so:

FIGHTING BIGGER, STRONGER GUYS LIKE MARGACHEATO:

“My role is to fight a bigger man. Of course I don't have to fight these bigger guys but this is my role in boxing.”

ON CLIMBING EVEN HIGHER TO 160 POUNDS AND TAKING ON SIX FOOT, TWO INCH GIANT PAUL THE PUNISHER WILLIAMS:

“I don't think so (smiling brightly as one scribe described Pwill as being “seven feet tall).

ON FLYING FRIDAY NIGHT TO LAS VEGAS TO APPEAR AT REID'S SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN RALLY:

“I am going to support Harry Reid, I know him, I know about him.”

ON SPECULATION OF RETIREMENT FROM THE RING, EVEN THOUGH HE WILL ONLY TURN 32 IN DECEMBER:

“I'm not thinking of retirement now. I can fight a few more fights.”

ON FIGHTING OR NOT FIGHTING UNDEFEATED MAYWEATHER:

“I don't know if that fight can happen or not but I am fine if it happens or does not happen. I am praying for him (reference to Mayweather's criminal case involving Baby Mama Josie Harris).”

ON COACH ROACH SAYING THEIR TIME IN BAGIO WAS 'WORST PACMAN TRAINING CAMP EXPERIENCE EVER:'

“There were some problems . We can learn from our mistakes on that."

ON HIS RECENT POWOW WITH PRESIDENT NOYNOY AQUINO:

“We only talked about politics, not boxing. He wants to watch my fight but he is too busy (working) for the Philippines.”

ON ROACH NOW BEING A FILIPINO CITIZEN:

“We just passed a bill and made Freddie a citizen. (Manny laughed when I asked if his trainer must pay Filipino taxes now.)

ON HIS CONGRESSIONAL DUTIES:

“We don't have Congress right now, Congres is on vacation. Congress for me is public service and I don't mix it with my other businesses.”

ASKED AT START OF INTERVIEW WHY HE SEEMED GRUMPY (at about 2pm PDT):

(Smiles) “Because I just woke up.”

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao’s handlers not fretting over form -- Yahoo! Sports

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

Bob Arum has promoted boxing for nearly half a century and has seen a lot of strange things, but it’s a rare day when he watches a 6-1 favorite train and thinks he’s looking at a 6-1 underdog instead.

When Arum entered Manny Pacquiao’s training camp in Baguio City, Philippines, on Oct. 16, he was stunned by what he saw from the man regarded as the best fighter in the world.

“He looked like [expletive],” Arum said in his typically gruff, blunt style.

Pacquiao is set to face Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a challenge that Arum knows will be much more difficult than the nearly 6-1 odds that favor Pacquiao would indicate. Throw out Margarito’s one-sided loss to Shane Mosley on Jan. 24, 2009, and the odds would likely favor Pacquiao by no more than 8-5, perhaps less.

And so, after having flown halfway around the world to check on Pacquiao’s preparations, Arum wasn’t particularly thrilled by what he saw on his first day in camp.

“I was totally surprised,” Arum said. “He looked lethargic. He wasn’t sharp. I was not very impressed.”

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, was thrilled when the team arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday and could set up camp for the final three weeks at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, but he said that Arum had nothing to worry about.

Roach is also blunt and never shy about giving his opinion. He said Arum just picked a bad day to show up at the gym.

“The day Bob got there, I will admit that he looked like [expletive],” Roach said. “The next day, he was back to himself. We’ve had good days and bad days and Bob showed up on a bad day. But we’re getting the bad days out of the way and Manny is doing what he should be doing and he’s getting where I want him to be.”

The first half of Pacquiao’s training camp was typically hectic. As a congressman in the Philippines, duties required him to make a six-hour drive from Baguio to Manila. He also had to fly to Manila for a meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III, which didn’t sit well with Roach.

For most people, a meeting with a country’s president is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. For Pacquiao, it’s old hat, and Roach didn’t want him to go.

“He had to miss training one day because he had to meet the president and I said to him, ‘[Expletive] the president. We have a fight coming up you need to get ready for,’ ” Roach said.

Pacquiao chuckled about Roach’s concern and hopped onto the plane and fulfilled his commitment to meet Aquino. Pacquiao has become something of a legend for his ability to focus on the task at hand while seemingly in the midst of chaos, and both Arum and Roach said this time appears to be no different.

After his initial scare of watching Pacquiao struggle through a workout, Arum was relieved when he saw Pacquiao humming along like his old self the next two days.

He’s legitimately concerned about the challenge Pacquiao faces and said he needs to be at his best in order to win.

“You can’t be at top speed every day,” Arum said of Pacquiao. “The first day I was there, I definitely was concerned. Definitely. But on Monday and Tuesday, he showed marked improvements. He’s where he needs to be.”

Pacquiao has faced all sorts of different challenges since 2008, when he moved up from featherweight and began to regularly face much bigger fighters. He’s handled it with aplomb – ask Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, David Diaz and Ricky Hatton for their opinions if you need more evidence that Pacquiao can hang with the big boys – but he’s yet to face the type of challenge that Margarito poses.

The perception of Margarito’s chances has been skewed by his one-sided loss to Mosley, by his lengthy layoff as a result of his suspension for having been caught with loaded hand wraps prior to the Mosley fight and for Pacquiao’s huge speed advantage.

But it was less than two years ago that Roach was convinced that Margarito was too big and too physical for Pacquiao and was saying he’d never allow the two to meet. And though Pacquiao’s performance in the interim has caused him to change his mind, Roach still has much respect for Margarito.

And if the Mosley fight and the suspension hadn’t taken place, the outcome of the fight would be perceived much differently. Pacquiao has a massive speed advantage, but Margarito is far stronger and has an iron chin.

The only time he ever had a problem with his chin came in the Mosley fight, when he was stopped at 43 seconds of the ninth round. The controversy about the hand wraps that occurred in his dressing room earlier that night had an impact, but more so was the fact that in the three weeks prior to the fight, Margarito had to shed 35 pounds to make the welterweight limit of 147.

Margarito had still been celebrating his epic July 26, 2008, victory over Miguel Cotto and wasn’t in nearly the kind of shape he should have been when he faced Mosley. Hand wraps controversy or not, Margarito likely would have taken a beating that night because of the lifestyle he was living after the Cotto fight.

But he’s been working with trainer Robert Garcia diligently for the last several months and has been committed as he has ever been. The result, Roach said, is an exceptionally dangerous opponent for Pacquiao.

“I wish people would quit thinking Manny is just going to walk through this guy,” Roach said. “In my mind, this is the toughest fight of his life, by far. He’s the biggest, strongest guy Manny has ever fought. He’s got a big reach advantage. He’s got a lot of things going for him.”

Roach knows that Pacquiao is faster and quicker than just about everyone he faces and has become an expert at placing his punches and putting them together in combination. Margarito’s defense “sucks,” in Roach’s estimation, and he expects Pacquiao to be able to exploit that flaw.

If Pacquiao wins, Arum plans to make another run at making a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, but he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself because he realizes the seriousness of the challenge Margarito poses.

“I get it, but the more important thing is that Manny totally gets it,” Arum said. “Everyone in that camp does. I was a little concerned by what I saw that first day, but after the next couple of days, I realized that it was just one of those things. They are taking this fight very seriously, as they should, because anything less than their best effort is going to be a big problem.”

Source: sports.yahoo.com