SAN DIEGO?The temptation to waiver, to go balimbing, is strong.
It gets stronger each passing day, each passing hour, each passing minute.
You hear things. You hear that promoter Bob Arum is mumbling and grumbling. You hear that Coach Freddie Roach, the second most important ranking officer on Team Pacquiao, is dissatisfied with his pupil’s training camp efforts.
The publicity blasts come out of Oxnard every day.
Antonio Margarito is desperate, for redemption. Margarito will go all out and he’s not distracted by Congressional duties or by weddings and parties in his camp.
The thought is a recurring one. What if Pacman, at the peak of his career or damned close to it, has an off night on Nov. 13?
The Mexican is bigger, stronger, and maybe more impervious to punches than the Little Guy.
While, on one side of the world Pacquiao had a 40 minute audience with President Noynoy Aquino, Margarito was running another mile or going more rounds on the mitts with taskmaster trainer Robert Garcia at La Colonia Boxing Gym.
Ah, a presidential audience, another distaction, you say.
Don’t but it, don’t go balimbing. Do not flip your script.
Resist the temptation because ?Margacheato? is going to fight hard. He is going to be a helluva lot more competitive than Joshua Clottey.
But, when it’s all over at Cowboys Stadium, the soon to be age 32 Pacman will be Two for Texas, he will leave Arlington with his second victory since March 13 in Jerry Jones’ gleaming football playpen.
Come Manny’s Dec. 18 birthday, it will be another festive occasion in Gensan or another massive party in Manila.
By that time, the wheels may have started turning to remake Pacquiao against Mayweather with a target date of May, 2011.
Mayweather has run out of big money options, it says here. He has no intention of fighting an Amir Khan, not now and besides Khan has a fight a week before Manny’s birthday.
Arum is the door to door salesman. Roach is getting better and better at playing the media angles and now rivals the great Angelo Dundee with his made for the media yarns.
Neither promoter or trainer tells any lies.
They tell tales, tales designed to spark the box office and rev up the PPV TV numbers.
Margarito is the Danger Man.
Margarito is going to catch a too cocky Pacquiao by surprise.
Me, I don’t buy any of this.
An all time great doesn’t lose to a pedestrian talent like Margarito.
A guy who can beat up a Barrera, a Morales and floor a Juan Manuel Marquez thrice in one round, he does not lose to a lesser talent like Margarito.
Margarito will have his moments. He will land some punches, a few of them thudding. He may cut up and bruise Pacquiao.
But, after 12 rounds, it will be the Pinoy Idol whose hand is raised in victory.
If you want to think different, to subscribe to the continuing and oh so predictable con job, be my guest. Be Arum’s guest and Roach’s guest and the guest of all the other pitchmen.
You might even enjoy the ride.
But, on Nov. 14, you will wake up with a huge headache of regret.
And you will vow never to go balimbing like that again.
What becomes a legend most?
Not losing to a rugged opponent who is most dangerous when he’s getting his hands wrapped, that;s what.
