ARLINGTON — There are so many side stories with Congressman Manny Pacquiao’s 200-member entourage and Antonio Margarito’s plaster hand wraps that it’s easy to forget there’s still a boxing match at the end of the road.
Promoter Bob Arum cranked up the hype machine to warp speed Wednesday trying to sell a fight that from a pure boxing stand point presents an intriguing matchup.
Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) and Margarito (38-6-0-1, 27 KOs) held the final news conference before Saturday’s WBC super welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium. It seemed there was little time for actual boxing between all the surrounding side plots.
In a simple boxing sense, however, this bout certainly presents a more appetizing matchup than Pacquiao’s bout at Cowboys Stadium last March against Joshua Clottey.
“Well, my concern is how we can give a good fight to the people,” Pacquiao said. “And I believe Margarito and me can give a good fight to the people because of his style and a very aggressive fighter and throws a lot of punches. It’s going to be a great fight.”
Pacquiao’s debut in Arlington proved a disappointing affair because of Clottey’s refusal to emerge from his defensive cocoon.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said that won’t be the case this time.
“If you study [Margarito], he’s a volume puncher,” Roach said. “As long as you stand in front of him, he’ll throw six- to eight-punch combinations. He’s not Clottey at all. This will not be a Clottey rerun, I guarantee you that, because he will try to win.”
