The respective mythos of Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao couldn?t be more at odds.
Margarito was once better known as the ?Tijuana Tornado?, a slugger known for his hard-punching, no-ducking style that won the respect of many. After his dismantling of then undefeated Miguel Cotto in 2008, Margarito changed from an opponent of the welterweight elites to an elite himself.
The status was short lived and dark days were ahead.
When two plaster-like inserts were found in Margarito?s handwraps prior to his bout with Shane Mosley in 2009, Margarito, after the knockout loss to Mosley, would have his licenses to box revoked and would not enter a boxing ring in a professional bout for a year. All his previous victories on his way to the top of the sport were now brought into question.
?Bleeding out of his nose, bleeding out of his ears. You had to see how deep his wounds were,?Miguel Cotto Sr. said of his son after Cotto?s loss to Margarito. ?It?s impossible to explain. I couldn?t explain how someone with gloves could do that.?
Antonio ?Tijuana Tornado? Margarito was now known as ?Margacheato?, fighting for respect more outside of the ring than in.
Top Rank, Margarito?s promotional company, is currently reapplying for Margarito?s licenses, his state rights to fight.
On August, 18 Margarito?s bid for a license to fight was denied 5-1 by the California State Athletic Commission, keeping him out of the ring in The Golden State for at least another year.
Top Rank and Margarito are now trying for a Texas license. If a license is secured, Margarito is expected to fight Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in November.
In a contrast to Margarito, the last couple years of Manny Pacquiao?s personal and professional life have been nothing short of incredible.
In the ring, Pacquiao has made top-tier fighters (Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Joshua Clottey) look like boxcar opposition. It can be argued that in his last five fights, Pacquiao has only lost one round, the first round in his fight against Cotto.
Rocky Marciano called his devastating head-hunting right ?Suzy Q?, Ray Robinson?s debilitating body punch was the ?Candy Cane.? Pacquiao, in his time at the top, has thrown so many punches from so many angles, using both hands, it?s hard to lock down a nickname defining one aspect of his offensive front.
He is simply ?Pacman,? gobbling up opponents, most of whom have a way of disappearing, ghost-like, after facing him.
Outside of the ring, Pacquiao has been just as dominant.
Humanitarian, movie star, congressman.
From gracing the cover of Time Magazine in Asia to the largest high-definition television in the world at Cowboys Stadium in Texas, Pacquiao at times seems ubiquitous.
Pacquiao vs. Margarito has been highly speculated on by boxing scribes as the good, the bad and the ugly.
Some writers have seen Pacquiao as the man chosen to mete out justice.
Colin Linneweber of Bleacher Report sees the event as more than a fight but as a part of Margarito?s perpetual sentence.
?For ring justice to be properly served, a fighter is badly needed to viciously bludgeon Margarito in a clean and succinct fashion,? Linneweber wrote. ?In either Texas or Mexico, that man will likely be Manny Pacquiao.
Some see Margarito as a man not worthy of a fight against Pacquiao, that Pacquiao should move on.
Michael Marley of Examiner.com has called the fight a ?Stinkbomb? and suggested that Pacquiao should take control of his boxing career.
?First, Manny should tell Arum to drop Margarito like the hot potato with no foil wrapper that he has become,? Marley wrote. ?Second, instead of rewarding a guy who did it the wrong way, Pacman should instruct Arum to go get Tim Bradley, a fresh and unbeaten face who seems to be a good citizen of boxing.?
Others are a bit harsher on Pacquiao.
Geno McGahee of Ringsidereport.com sees Pacquiao being a part of an extreme negative for the sport due to his apparent compliance in the proceedings.
?This fight is as much about the money to Pacquiao as it is to (Bob) Arum and (Jerry) Jones, and everyone else with their hand in the cookie jar,? McGahee wrote. ?This decision to fight Margarito has hurt the reputation of Pacquiao and further hurts boxing as a whole. Had he said that he would not face a known cheater, a man that could have killed Miguel Cotto and Kermit Cintron because he doesn?t deserve the reward that a big scale pay per view brings and should not be allowed to fight again, it would have been great for the sport and further his reputation as the good guy in boxing.?
The good, the bad and the ugly, Margarito-Pacquiao is shaping up to be all three.
