When WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao was on his way to adding the WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt for his eighth crown with an HBO televised, Nov. 13, unanimous decision over ex-titlist, Antonio Margarito, the eventual loser was fighting with impaired vision.
“Before the finish of the fourth round, Antonio told us that he was seeing two Pacquiao’s at the same time,” said Margarito’s co-manager, Francisco Espinosa.
“At the same time, he was joking, ‘Well, I mean, should I throw punches at both of them?'” said Espinosa. “But you know, that’s what happened. And you know, Tony, he’s a tremendous guy with a lot of heart, and he stood right there for his fans.”
Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) earned his 13th straight victory with eight knockouts during that run against Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs), who suffered a fractured right orbital bone after the fight.
Pacquiao landed 474 blows on Margarito, with 411 of them being power shots, and nearly 190 of them being to the right side of the losing fighter’s face. As a result, Margarito was hospitalized at Dallas Medical Center, where he underwent 75 minutes of surgery to repair the damage.
“We’ve had good reactions and bad reactions, you know, ‘Blame it on the corner,’ and, ‘Why didn’t you stop the fight?'” said Espinosa. “But we had a little talk before the fight regarding Tony, and he said, ‘Unless they knock me down, three or four times, you know, stop the fight. But, you know, don’t do nothing, Francisco, don’t stop my fight.'”
Margarito, who, like Pacquiao, is promoted by Top Rank Promotions, could return to the ring as early as March.
“He’s doing great. He’s doing great. According to [Top Rank Promotions CEO] Bob Arum, he was thinking about doing for May or June, Antonio Margarito against Miguel Cotto,” said Espinosa. “But we have to wait, you know. It’s the doctors’ decision to say when.”
