ARLINGTON, Texas ( MindaNews/11 Nov) – A very hungry Antonio Margarito promised World Boxing Council (WBC) President Jose Sulaiman there will be a new Mexican super welterweight boxing champion on Saturday (Sunday in Philippines).
“I feel I am very strong enough to knock out Manny Pacquiao,” Margarito told MindaNews shortly after a press conference held here at the Dallas Cowboys stadium.
Margarito was responding to Sulaiman’s narrative of how Mexican and Filipino boxers have fought each other already for 61 title fights. Filipinos won 24 of those fights, with Manny Pacquiao winning 12 title fights.
Mexican trainer Robert Garcia backed up his ward’s claim with Margarito undergoing nine weeks of intense training.
“We’re here to pull up an upset,” Garcia said in describing the Mexican boxer as a “fighter who has the will and the heart to do it.”
And just how would Margarito effectively address Pacquiao’s speed?
The pouncing comes in, according to Garcia, when Pacquiao backs up. It is in this moment when the Filipino boxer is not going to be on an offense, but on a defense mode.
This is where Margarito’s height and reach advantage comes into play. “But we will play smart,” Garcia told MindaNews, noting that the Mexican tornado is not a mindless bull that goes on a rampage.
Freddie Roach, however, has a much more serious concern, now that he is confident of Pacquiao’s focus on the fight.
He agrees that Margarito is indeed hungry. But his hunger is so that “he will do anything to win.”
He said he asked the boxing commission to allow a member of team Pacquiao to be at Margarito’s dressing room from start to finish of the super welterweight title fight. Margarito can also send someone from his group to observe Pacman’s dressing room.
Mincing no words in describing Margarito as a cheat, Roach said the Mexican boxer “will even wet his wraps” if given the opportunity. (Merpu Roa / MindaNews)