Pacquiao wins on dominating performance -- The Associated Press

The Associated Press

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Source: google.com

Pacquiao wins eighth crown on points -- Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Pacquiao wins 8th World Boxing Title -- Manila Bulletin

Manila Bulletin

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

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

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

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

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

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

___________________

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

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

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

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

Source: mb.com.ph

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

Los Angeles Times

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

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

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

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

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

Source: lakersblog.latimes.com

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

By Jodi Jill, Examiner.com



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

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

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

Source: examiner.com

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

By Earney White, Examiner.com

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

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

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

MARGARITO’S MOTIVATION

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

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

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

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

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT

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

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

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

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

Pacman will prevail.

Contact Earney: pvamuboxing@gmail.com

Source: examiner.com

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

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Garcia said that the special requirement does not bother him.

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

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

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Will Manny Pacquiao weather the storm? -- Examiner

By Ramon Aranda, Examiner.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the fight!

Source: examiner.com

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

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

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

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

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

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

Your worries are needless but understandable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pacquiao lives in Legendland.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Laurence Cole to Officiate Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito.-- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas-based referee Laurence Cole will be the third man in the ring for Saturday night's clash between WBO welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight belt.

The nearly 5-foot-7 Pacquiao weighed in at 144.6 pounds compared to the 150 pounds for the 5-11 Margarito, who is expected to out-weigh the smaller fighter by as much as 15 pounds come fight night. According to BoxingScene.com's Michael Marley, Cole worked Pacquiao's 11th-round knockout of Marco Antonio Barrera, calling a Pacquiao slip a knockdown.

In this Q&A, Cole shed some light on what he expects not only of himself entering this, his 55th world championship bout since he first began in 1990, but also, what he expects out of the fighters.

FanHouse: The bigger man versus the smaller man is basically what this fight is about, so, how rough will you allow it to get in there between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito?

Laurence Cole: The bigger man is always going to be the one trying to press the action. The guy who is the smaller man who has got speed is going to try to elude it. And, of course, you let the action happen as long as the rules are being enforced.

In other words, there's no pushing, no elbows, no leaning, etc. If there are guys staying up, then they're staying up, they're using their hands, they're working, then there's not a problem.

What is your perception of what people believe that they're going to see in a Laurence Cole-officiated fight?

You have a background and referees have styles just like other guys.

How would you characterize your style?

Because I'm a little bit younger than most officials, I'm pretty physical. I'm very boisterous, I like making strong commands. I expect them to obey my commands. But probably the top thing is that I work the hands away.

In what way?

Well, instead of always breaking a fighter, you know, and constantly getting into the middle and breaking the rhythm of a fight, I will work the hands out. When a guy gets his hands pulled in there, and he gets it hung up or something, I will push it through.

But I will tell them at the same time, 'You keep fighting until you hear a command.' I do it in a strong enough voice. And I want them to fight.

As a former fighter, and not a very good one, I know that if you're paying too much attention to the referee, then you're not paying attention to the job that you're doing as a fighter.

So, if you're constantly being broken up, you lose the rhythm of the fight. It's just like when you're watching an NFL game and they're dropping that yellow flag all of the time.

It bogs the game down. A referee trying to be overactive bogs the fight down. I just want to be able to work, slide in and out, not get involved. If the hands get tied up, we'll work them out.

You have worked only one fight between the two of them, correct?

I've worked with both fighters camps, but not with both fighters. I worked Manny Pacquiao's fight years ago against [Marco Antonio] Barrera in San Antonio [11th-round knockout victory for Pacquiao.] It was a big upset at the time.

How will that experience help you for this fight?

Well you always have an interesting thing with a southpaw fighter like Manny Pacquiao, and that is the way that their heads line up and their jabs line up and you have to be very cautious of their heads clashing.

Because they slide in and out with the punching. So you've got to be cautious that they don't butt heads. And then, you've got a smaller fighter in Manny Pacquiao who is going to come in underneath.

So, you know, that's where you worry that he could be lunging forward sometimes and you worry about the heads coming together.

What is your ultimate goal in this fight?

I was just telling somebody earlier that my goal is to walk out of that ring and to have no one know that I was there working.

How do you mean?

I mean that I didn't have an impact on the fight, and that I let the fighters take center stage, I don't want to be a part of it.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com