WASHINGTON, D.C: Respected boxing commentator Larry Merchant thinks that three-time world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito will give world pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao a tough fight in their junior middleweight title fight on November 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas. ?Margarito has a chance,? Merchant told Michael Woods of The Sweet Science. ?You can?t dismiss him. He?s about the largest welterweight I?ve ever seen.?
He said that Margarito used to be shunned by the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. because they find him a strong and dangerous opponent.
?If you?re trying to make a case for him winning, you have to talk about his size, and the extra motivation,? added the veteran HBO boxing commentator, referring to Margarito?s chance to redeem his tarnished image arising from a hand-wrap controversy by beating Pacquiao, the acknowledged king of the ring.
Merchant said that Margarito?s aggressive, relentless attacking style could be a difficult style to overcome.
?You?re talking about a guy who, when he was on the top of his game, Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn?t want any part of. But how far he is from the top of his game can only be seen at that fight,? he added.
Merchant conceded that the considerable layoff?Margarito has fought only thrice in almost three years?could be a factor in the outcome of the Pacquiao-Margarito showdown.
