MANILA, Philippines ? For several boxing analysts, Manny Pacquiao?s November 13 fight against Antonio Margarito means so much more than just the Filipino fighter?s attempt to win a record 8th world title.
For them, a Pacquiao loss to the taller and stronger Mexican could affect the sport itself.
?Personally, I hope it doesn?t happen. I didn?t think Margarito?s ban from the sport was long enough, and I certainly don?t think he deserved this fight with Pacquiao,? Martin Rogers, a columnist for Yahoo! Sports, said in a blog report by Ring Magazine?s Doug Fischer.
Rogers said that a Margarito victory would ?absolve? the Mexican from any wrong doing in relation to the 2009 hand wraps controversy.
The 32-year-old Mexican was meted a year’s suspension from boxing in the US after being caught with plaster-of-Paris-like substance in his hand wraps. The discovery was made shortly before his fight against Shane Mosley in 2009.
Javier Capetillo, the boxing coach who did the hand wrapping, was also suspended.
Fighting with ?loaded gloves? is a taboo in boxing. However, Rogers said a Margarito victory on Nov. 13 may simply erase the blemish from the Mexican?s record.
Failure to regulate
Sergio Machado, the programming director for Fanaticos.com, said a Margarito win can be
