WASHINGTON, D.C.: His confidence level hitting sky high, former three-time world welterweight champion Antonio Margarito promised to avenge the losses of his fellow Mexican fighters and stop pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in their November 13 showdown in Texas.
Pacquiao has earned the unwelcome nickname of ?Mexicutioner? for the way he has beaten the greatest active fighters of Mexico?Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez?en route to becoming the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound.
Speaking through his head trainer Robert Garcia, Margarito said that he will attack Pacquiao from the opening round to prevent the Filipino boxing superstar from dictating the tempo of the fight.
?I?m in great shape now and I?m ready for Pacquiao,? said Margarito, who sparred for 12 rounds for the first time with four different boxers on Monday. He has been training at the Roberto Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, California, where he has camped for training for more than a month now.
Margarito said that he expects to be in the best shape of his career against Pacquiao for the vacant World Boxing Council junior middleweight title. The fight will be held at the $1.2 billion modern Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Mexican-American earlier predicted that he will knock out Pacquiao in the late rounds. Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach is also predicting a knockout by the eighth round or even sooner for his prized fighter.
Ready to rumble When asked by boxing scribe Elie Seckbach how he intends to knock Pacquiao out, Margarito said: ?Anything, it could be [an] uppercut, right hand, body shots, whatever I get him with!?
Garcia, a former world super featherweight champion, said that their main objective is to ?neutralize? Pacquiao?s speed by pressuring him throughout the fight.
?We know that speed is Pacquiao?s principal weapon, and we?ve got to neutralize that. How? Bully him, bully him, and keep him on the defensive throughout the fight,? Garcia said by phone from Oxnard.
