Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol ? Boxing?s most treasured prizefighter and congressman-elect Manny ?Pacman? Pacquiao of the Philippines will enter the ring as the smaller guy when he faces Mexico?s Antonio ?Loaded Hands? Margarito in their scheduled faceoff later this year. Fight organizers have pointed out Margarito?s huge advantages in height and reach as major obstacles that the Pinoy firebomb is going to overcome come fight night. Pacquiao is gunning for an unprecedented 8th world championship in as many weight divisions to further elevate himself in the ranks of the sport?s rich list of legendary fighters.
Margarito, at 5?11? and enjoying around 6 inches of reach advantage, is expected to climb the squared circle as the huge underdog to the much smaller Pacquiao, who just stands at 5?6?. There is no irony in that especially considering Pacquiao?s daunting history of convincingly beating fighters much bigger than himself. Margarito?s height isn?t something that team Pacquiao needs to worry about. He hunches? therefore he doesn?t fight tall. He leans forward and makes himself an easy target to Pacquiao?s pinpoint accurate punches.
The Mexican?s aggressive come-forward fighting style is as well a perfect fit to Pacquiao?s offensive juggernaut. It also doesn?t help that Pacquiao?s agility is arguably second to none in the business, whereas Margarito?s speed, or aptly speaking, the lack of it, is one major chink in the Mexican?s armor.
The only advantage that Margarito is going to possess against the Pinoy boxing icon is the fact that he?s been fighting around the stipulated weight limit longer than Pacquiao has. This means that he?s been used to taking heavier punches and his fists are probably heavier than those of Pacquiao. But then again, if I may quote myself, ?Incessant droplets of water can break a rock over a periiod of time. Margarito is no exception and Pacquiao’s punches will certainly not be akin to mere droplets of water… they will definitely inflict pain.? Pacquiao?s punches will come in volumes and Margarito?s heavy hands will mean nothing if they don?t land. This is quite frankly a joke of a matchup and fittingly deserves a joke of an ending to this piece. ?Loaded Hands?, as Margarito is called nowadays due to his cheating history, will probably need more plaster of paris planted on his face than his hands as he trades mitts with his boxing career?s greatest nightmare in Pacquiao.
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