Now that the entire boxing community is convinced that Floyd is a Strayweather, Manny has moved on to the next opponent albeit not a patsy but a ?glovegate? and equally dangerous banger-cum-cheater in the name of Antonio Margarito.
The demise of Floyd and his dance with the Disney characters in the company of Donald and Duffy Duck (note: read my lips!) and his recent ?marriage made in heaven? with the equally palpable Don King, can mean greater things for Pacquiao. Until after, of course, Floyd changes his mind ? once Don King has fully massaged his ego and deliver him right into the Manny world ? and decides that he has extracted enough gold in the negotiation. Arum thinks that Floyd?s move into the Don King den is right and that they can finally agree to the terms, particularly the money terms. But until then, ?glovegate? Margarito is the next best opponent for Pacquiao. For so many reasons ? and despite his questionable wins prior to the secret weapon plaster of Paris hand wrap revealed after the Mosley fight ? Margarito will be a charging bull, ready to prove to the boxing public that indeed he has no prior knowledge of such misdemeanor and that he is the ?Tijuana Tornado? that the adoring public has known him to be.
Arum?s choice of Margarito makes dollar sense. But from the fans? perspective, it is a dangerous choice tantamount to high-risk low-return for Pacquiao. For most, Margarito does not deserve to be paid handsomely when he might have cheated on some of his wins. He has lost the luster that has made him the biggest welterweight name after his unexpected brutal conquest of Miguel Cotto in 2008. The nosedive was compounded after Shane Mosley?s trainer found brick-like wrapping of Margarito?s hands after their own 2009 gig. No wonder pundits were left blank upon hearing the strategy of Margarito?s trainer: ?connect, connect, connect?you have to connect.? Even the now-deceased father of Cotto attested to the fact that he had not seen Miguel in the worst form after badly beaten by Margarito. He was ?suspecting something? because he had seen so much blood wherever he looked at Cotto?s face. Outside?inside?everywhere! The punches had penetrated even Cotto?s will that he finally succumbed in the 11th round, kneeling on his right and his spirit keeling to the left. It was supposed to be the start of Antonio?s superstardom but which turned out to be a black-eye in boxing after Mosley exposed him as a cheat six months later. And better yet, Mosley continually pounded him with overhand rights that Margarito was a walking zombie in the 9th round until the referee Raul Caiz waived a stoppage to the fight.
This Pacquiao-Margarito fight will be a mismatch, in a sense. A pound-for-pound king giving a proven cheater a chance to redeem himself. A gargantuan 5?11 tornado up against ? in the joking words of Paulie Malignaggi ? a ?midget? 5?6 buzzsaw. A plastered fist in a 73-inch reach compared to a 67-inch reach of Pacquiao. A man disowned by his own profession for more than a year versus a man honored by the most illustrious award-giving boxing body, the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), for his decade-long brilliance. A well-known Mexican ?outlaw? up against Philippines? first-time lawmaker. The comparison can go on and on, and it is quite obvious what kind of mismatch I am talking here.
On the flipside, this ?mismatch? might just be the kind of ?mismatch? that justice deserves. I hate to say this but come November, Pacquiao will be the executioner. In a more subtle term, Pacquiao will be the judge. And he will be representing not just Philippines but all the boxers that Margarito taunted and cheated on his way to the top. He will have morphed into sports? own Judge Dredd. Or the Robinhood and his merrymen. Or even Floyd Mayweather in his quest for drug-free boxing. Or Mexico?s own revolutionary, Pancho Villa. Again the comparatives can go on and on here.
On November 13, 2010, Antonio Margarito will either flourish or diminish. But history loves justice. And it will love Pacquiao.
May Pacquiao have mercy on Margarito. Or shall we say, Antonio saw it coming and he did it to himself. May the judge execute the rightful judgment.
