LOS ANGELES ? After having struck Antonio Margarito with shots whose thudding effect could be heard from press row, Manny Pacquiao walked back to his corner unsure if the Mexican was ? like himself ? made of flesh and bone.
At one point during the 12-round fight that Pacquiao won handily on points at Cowboys Stadium in Texas, the Filipino fighter told assistant trainer and long-time friend Buboy Fernandez that Margarito was a tough nut to crack.
“Sinalo lahat ng mga suntok ko,” said Pacquiao.
Fernandez said it was Margarito’s sheer size that kept him vertical.
“Malaki talaga, brod,” Fernandez said quoting Pacquiao.
Pacquiao had tipped the scales at 144 1/2 lbs on the eve of the fight and had only grown to 148 by the time he answered the bell, while Margarito had ballooned to 165 lbs after coming in at 150 the day before.
Utilizing his speed and smarts, Pacquiao circled around the lumbering Margarito en route to winning an unprecedented eighth world title, an achievement that is expected to stand the test of time.
While Margarito had bad intentions during the fight, Fernandez felt compassion since the 5-foot-11 Tijuana-bred banger was in nowhere near the level of competence of Pacquiao.
“Dapat hindi na tumagal pa ng nine rounds yung laban,” said Fernandez. “Dapat itinigil na. Nag-suffer pa tuloy yung tao.”
Margarito absorbed everything Pacquiao threw at him and ringsiders felt he was strong enough to survive a 24-hour bombardment.
Pacquiao had Margarito on the verge of going down a few times and Fernandez said there was no way Pacquiao was going to lose the fight.
“Wala na din naman pupuntahan yung laban. Nakakatama na lang siya pag gusto ni Manny,” said Fernandez, recalling several instances in the fight when Margarito would excite the sizeable Mexican crowd by landing some shots.
Meanwhile, conditioning coach Alex Ariza said Pacquiao could have stopped Margarito if only they stuck to plyometrics, which was discontinued when they were in Baguio City in the Philippines for the first half of training camp.
“If only we trained the way we trained in the past, the fight could have been over in seven or eight rounds,” said Ariza.
As for the future, Ariza wants no less than Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico as Pacquiao’s next opponent at 140 lbs or 145 lbs and not the faded Shane Mosley, who will be a lot easier to deal with.
Pacquiao and Marquez had battled to a 12-round draw in May 2004 and in the rematch Pacquiao escaped with a 12-round split decision.
Ariza was not yet with Pacquiao in the second meeting and feels that should the rubber match take place, Pacquiao will finally knock Marquez out.
