Make no mistake about it. The intrigue for Saturday night?s event is not about Antonio Margarito?s past or his current efforts to remain Public Enemy #1. It?s not about the state of the art $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium housing the festivities.
No, sports fans (and even non-sports fans) – this one is all about Manny Pacquiao, with everyone else playing a supporting role.
Such has been evident ever since this weekend?s super welterweight bout was initially announced. It was enthusiastically confirmed at Friday?s weigh-in, where both fighters made weight in anticipation of their pay-per-view headliner tomorrow night in Arlington, Texas.
Margarito checked in at a ripped 150 lb, the contracted limit. The former three-time welterweight titlist outweighed Pacquiao by more than five pounds, as the sport?s current pound-for-pound king weighed 144.6 lb, with nary an ounce of fat on his chiseled physique.
The bout headlines the highly anticipated pay-per-view event, which airs live on Saturday at 9PM ET (8PM local time).
There isn?t a current active fighter on the planet who can hold a candle to the appeal and star power of Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38KO), who headlines his 12th pay-per-view show, including his last 11 bouts.
The Filipino superstar brings into the ring a 12-fight win streak as he looks to add to his own all-time record for number of weight divisions in which he?s won a title. The most belted fighter in boxing pursues alphabet hardware in a record eighth weight class, gunning for a vacant belt at super welterweight, just 20 months after having captured a lineal championship four pounds south at super featherweight.
While alarming that he would concede so much weight at the scales to a naturally bigger fighter, it?s not very surprising for Pacquiao to come in so far under the limit. The three-time Fighter of the Year came in at 142 for his December 2008 bout with Oscar de la Hoya, a bout that was contracted at the 147 lb. welterweight limit.
What is odd, however, is that his weight is lighter than this most recent fight, which was fought at the welterweight limit. Pacquiao weighed in at a career-high 145.75 lb for his 12-round whitewash of Joshua Clottey in a bout that marked the first ever boxing event at Cowboys Stadium.
The state-of-the-art $1.2 billion stadium turned out to be the main attraction when Pacquiao came to town in March. There wasn?t much interest in the fight itself, as Clottey carried little appeal beyond industry-wide regard as a solid contender going into the event and even less so after his non-performance.
With some of the novelty removed in regards to the stadium backdrop, Pacquiao resumes center stage as the star attraction, as evidenced by the rabid crowd on hand at Friday?s weigh-in. Chants of ?Manny!? echoed throughout the venue as the southpaw disrobed to expose his Adonis-like upper body while stepping on the scales.
A matchup that was once ridiculed by many in the industry has now transformed into the most anticipated event of the year, with media coverage extending all the way to a feature on 60 Minutes last Sunday.
Causing much of the initial disdain for this event had everything to do with Margarito (38-6-1, 27KO) and his recent past.
Few believed that the disgraced Mexican was deserving of such a premium assignment (and payday) without having prove his worth since the now infamous hand wrap scandal prior to last January?s beatdown at the hands of Shane Mosley.
Margarito was banned from fighting in the United States for one year, and avoided temptation to exploit loopholes and fight outside of the country during that period.
However, plans for a March return ? incidentally enough, on the Pacquiao-Clottey televised undercard ? were thwarted when the Texas Boxing Commission caved into public pressure and refused to grant Margarito a license.
Anxious to return to the ring, Margarito went south of the border for a May rust-shaker against Robert Garcia, a bout in which he won by 10-round decision.
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum ? who handles both Pacquiao and Margarito ? knew all along that this was the fight he wanted for the end of the year, but the real challenge became where to stage it, and who would issue a license to the former welterweight champ.
Nevada removed itself from the running when the state athletic commission tabled his application, insisting that he return to the scene of the crime in California and appear before the CSAC. Margarito obliged, but was denied a license in his home state, prompting Arum to return to the Lone Star state, where he was all too willingly granted the opportunity to once again fight stateside.
To this day, Margarito maintains his innocence in the scandal, insisting it was all done without his knowledge on the part of his now-former trainer Javier Capetillo.
Little to no sympathy was ever extended towards the Mexican, but even less so after a video leaked out earlier this week showing him ? along with stable mate Brandon Rios and accompanied by trainer Roberto ?Grandpa? Garcia ? mocking Freddie Roach (Pacquiao?s trainer), who suffers from Parkinson?s disease.
Garcia and Rios both repeatedly apologized to Roach and the boxing public, though Margarito once again goes the babe-in-the-woods route, claiming the video was edited to make it appear as if he was disrespecting the four-time Trainer of the Year.
Sadly in this day and age, negative publicity is still publicity and only makes the anticipation that much greater for any given event. The same holds true here, as the near-unanimous verdict throughout the boxing world is the hope that Pacquiao levies a career-worst beating on a man who will probably enjoy a 20 lb. weight advantage by the opening bell.
That said, there remains a throng of fans who continue to believe in Margarito. Heard among the massive crowd on hand Friday afternoon was a rousing chant of his name as he manned the scale.
But his following pales in comparison to the overwhelming support for Pacquiao, whose massive star appeal takes center stage on Saturday night ? this time overshadowing the stadium as well as his opponent.
FULL WEIGH IN RESULTS
Main Event: Manny Pacquiao 144.6 vs. Antonio Margarito 150 (12 rounds, 150 lb. catchweight limit)
Televised Undercard: Ricardo Cordoba 121 vs Guillermo Rigondeaux 121.5 (12 rounds, super bantamweight) Mike Jones 145.5 vs Jesus Soto Karras 148 (10 rounds, welterweight) Brandon Rios 140.25 vs Omri Lowther 137.5 (10 rounds, super lightweight)
Off-TV: Dennis Laurente 146.5 vs Rashad Holloway 147 (8 rounds, welterweight) Richie Mepranum 112.75 vs Anthony Villarreal 112 (8 rounds, flyweight) Oscar Meza 137.5 vs Jose Hernandez 136.5 (6 rounds, lightweight) Roberto Marroquin 125.75 vs Francisco Dominguez 126 (8 rounds, featherweight) Jose Benavidez 140.25 vs Winston Mathis 141.75 (6 rounds, super lightweight) Juan Martin Elorde 131.25 vs Angel Rodriguez 132.5 (4 rounds, super featherweight) Mike Lee 175.25 vs Keith Debow 172.25 (4 rounds, light heavyweight)
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at [email protected].
