Arlington, TX (November 11, 2010) — Two days before PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO face off at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday, November 13, predictions have come in from world champion boxers, trainers of world champions and journalists from around the country.
PUGILISTS
Yuri Foreman, Former Jr. Lightweight World Champion: I pick PacMan, because he is more versatile, he has the advantage of speed and lateral movement. He is just over all a better boxer
Miguel Cotto, Four-Time World Champion: I don’t have a prediction for this fight. I will only say that will be a though fight for both fighters.
Roy Jones Jr, Eight-Time World Champion: I love Pacquiao. He’s a gifted talent in and out of the ring. If he’s still as smart as usual, he should pull it out.
Joshua Clottey, Two-Time World Champion: Pacquio is going to win by hitting him with too many punches. I can tell by the interviews that Margarito thinks Pacquiao doesn’t have the power because he is so small, but he does have the power. Because of this, Margarito will eventually turn the fight into a street fight, a do or die fight. This would not be good for Margarito because Pacquiao will then hit him with so many punches, Margarito will go down and Pacquiao will knock him out.
To have a chance in the fight, Margarito needs to respect him in the ring by throwing jabs and fighting a smart fight. If he does this, he will have a slight chance of winning. A slight chance, but I don’t think so.
Andre Berto, WBC Welterweight Champion: Pacquaio definitely has the advantage in speed, but Margarito is going to apply tremendous pressure so it’s going to be a great fight. I think Pacquaio’s speed is eventually going to win out and he will come out with the victory.
Devon Alexander, WBC & IBF Jr. Welterweight Champion: Pacquiao will win by decision by out-boxing Margarito. Margarito is is going to be big and have a size advantage. He is going to come to fight and apply pressure early but I think Pacquiao will make the adjustment and out-box him by using lateral movement and hand-speed.
Timothy Bradley, Two-Time World Champion, WBO Jr. Welterweight Champion: PacMan Wins by TKO in 3 rounds.
Zab Judah, Former Undisputed Welterweight Champion – I will fight whoever the winner is.
Peter Manfredo Jr.: Having Freddy Roach in your corner is like having an army on your side. Having been trained by Freddy in the past I know that no one gets his fighters more prepared. Pac Man wins by majority decision.
Paul Spadafora, Undefeated former IBF lightweight champion: Pacquiao is too fast up the middle. Margarito is tailor-made for his style because he’s too wide with his punches. Pacquiao will stop him in the later rounds.
TRAINERS
Kevin Cunningham, Trainer: Pacquiao will win be decision because of the hand speed…he is going to be too quick. He is going to be in-and-out and he is going to use angles.
Dan Birmingham, Two-time BWAA Trainer of the Year: I believe Pac will be too fast, his constant movement and work rate will be too much for Margarito. Margarito is strong and well conditioned, good chin, but he has problems with movers and quickness. My pick is Pac by stoppage by the ninth round.
Angelo Dundee: The style of Margarito is the style that gives a southpaw trouble. He comes forward and the only way to fight a southpaw is to come forward. That is my interpretation…Dundeeism. I trained a half dozen southpaws. I had a boxer named Andy Durell fight the greatest boxer of all time, Willie Pep, and he took it as a warm-up in Miami Beach. The southpaw gave him all the trouble he wanted, busted him up and everything and it was supposed to be an easy fight. Margarito has the style to give him ulcers. Margarito will be the biggest guy he has fought and he will fight aggressively and throw punches from every angle. It is going to be a great fight and I am glad it was made, I mean how long can you crucify a guy? It was wrong that Las Vegas turned the fight down. I like the area that the fight is going to be in and the crowd is going to be with Margarito. It is a tough fight and it wouldn’t amaze me to see Margarito come away with a win. I worked a couple of underdog fights…Ali and Liston, Willie Pastrano and Harold Johnson, Rodriguez and Griffin. Odds don’t mean nothing, it is the individuals that are fighting each other that mean everything. By the way, the greatest fight fan I know is Jerry Jones – I signed a football for him one time when I was walking by his office and he called me in. Give Jerry my best and give Bob Arum my best because I am so happy they made this fight, I can’t wait to see it and I would love to be there.
JOURNALISTS
“Fast” Eddie Schuyler, Retired Associated Press Boxing Writer: Margarito might try to keep Pacquiao’s power under wraps, but it will not matter. Manny has some power too, and crazy punching angles and speed should gain the congressman a popular decision.
Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press: I like Manny but I see him struggling early against Margarito as he adjusts to the size difference. I think Margarito will land some big punches, but Manny has taken his chin up in weight with him so far and my guess is he’ll still have it. Eventually the speed should be the deciding factor as Manny wins a close but unanimous 12-round decision
Tim Smith, New York Daily News: Pacquiao TKO 10. He may be smaller, but he’s faster. That’s his only advantage, but it’s a big one.
Calvin Watkins ESPNDallas.com: Pacquiao in a decision. Margarito is a bigger man but he will be unable to withstand Pacquiao’s speed and power. We do believe the Pacquiao camp when they say the fighter is not distracted.
Marcus Henry, Newsday: Manny Pacquiao has been cruising in the ring the last two years. In fact, he hasn’t really been tested since his second fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in May, 2008. With five relatively easy fights (Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya, David Diaz) over the last two years and his commitment to the Filipino government, will Pacquiao be motivated? As for Antonio Margarito, he looked terrible against Shane Mosely, but that fight was almost two years ago. He was a bit sluggish in his comeback fight against Roberto Garcia, too. One thing Margarito has going for him is a strong chin. He took some punishment in his fights against Cotto and Mosley. Pacquiao will emerge here, but it won’t be a walk-through. Margarito’s strong chin will keep him in it. Pacquiao prevails, 116-112.
Bryan Armen Graham, SI.com: Freddie Roach says Pacquiao is having the worst training camp of his career, with distractions from Baguiao to Hollywood compromising his focus. We’ve heard these Cassandra cries before: the world’s first boxer/congressman/actor/singer has elevated overcommitment to an art form, keeping a schedule that’d make James Franco blush, and it’s never undercut his performance in the ring. But even if Roach’s concerns are founded, the forward-moving Margarito appears tailor-made for Pacquiao, who fires punches from so many angles and blurs the line between offense and defense so effectively. The size differential lends some intrigue to the mismatch, but it didn’t stop Pacquiao from peppering De La Hoya, Cotto and Clottey all night long. I’d be more hesitant if I didn’t see Manny absorb Cotto’s best shots in November with that impish grin … but I did. Pacquiao proves too fast and too busy and stops Margarito in the later rounds.
Ron Borges, Boston Herald: Pacquiao by 9th round stoppage – Margarito i big enough and strong enough to give the smaller man some early problems but he’s not fast enough to prevent Pac-Man from becoming a bigger problem for Margarito than the California State Athletic Commission was. –
Norm Frauenheim, 15rounds.com: The guessing game that revolves around Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao produces few answers. Pacquiao has distractions. When doesn’t he? Margarito has controversy, just enough perhaps for some powerful motivation. What’s even harder to know is whether either of those pre-fight themes will have anything to do with the outcome after the opening bell sounds on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Here’s what we do know: Margarito will be bigger, by 10 pounds and maybe more. Bigger might mean slower. Margarito figures to mount an early rush in an attempt to capitalize on his size and strength. But it won’t matter because Pacquiao is no fool either. He will employ his foot-speed in an attempt to sidestep the early rush. By the middle rounds, he will step up his attack with a high-rate of punches to Margarito’s exposed ribs and liver. By the late rounds, we’ll know whether all of those reported distractions took a toll on Pacquiao’s conditioning. The guess here is that they won’t. If anything, Pacquiao looks as if he needs distractions the way the rest most of us ordinary mortals need oxygen. He’s energized by the chaos. He won’t tire. Instead, Pacquiao will score a late-round TKO, say in the 10th, with a blinding succession of combinations.
Jack Obermeyer: Pacquiao-Margarito. Should be a beauty. Head to head for much of the fight. Speed edge to Pacman and Margarito can bust up. He’ll walk right into the lions den with no plan B. Manny to win in late rounds.
Jack McCaffery, Delaware County (PA) Times: Pacquiao by TKO in 9. Margarito has to come down some in weight, which is tough at 32, and will be tested early and often. He will be too far behind on points to win late, will become exhausted, will take one chance too many and will be stopped.
Dave Weinberg, Press of Atlantic City: I’ll take Margarito to upset Pacquiao by decision. Margarito’s bigger, stronger and determined to put that hand wrap controversy behind him. Manny seems more focused on politics.
Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: Congressman Pacquiao has been a one-man stimulus for boxing, and the sport’s economic and artistic recovery depend much more on his winning than Margarito, the perceived hand-wraps cheat. My independently conducted prefight poll (I asked myself and a couple of friends who have expressed interest in the fight projects Manny as the winner), but I’m not sure it’s going to be a landslide. I’ve heard the rumors, as has everyone else, of how his training camp was something less than fully focused. So let’s call it PacMan on points, not the knockout so many of his constituents expect.
Keith Idec, North Jersey herald News: Pacquiao by 10th-round TKO: Margarito’s granite chin should help him withstand Pacquiao’s early onslaught, but Pacquiao’s speed eventually should help him wear down a bigger, stronger man who isn’t your typical 5-1 underdog.
Robert Velin, USA Today: Much like the Pacquiao-Cotto fight, I believe Margarito will come out early and pressure Pacquiao, trying to use his weight and size advantage to hurt Pacquiao. But by the 5th round or so, Manny will have weathered the storm and begin to dominate with his superior speed. Pacquiao by 11th round TKO.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cowboys Stadium, MP Promotions and Tecate, PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO will take place Saturday, November 13 in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. The $1.2 billion stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Pacquiao vs. Margarito will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Margarito are priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium ticket office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.
The finale of HBO®’s all-access reality series “24/7 Pacquiao/Margarito” debuts Friday, November 12 at 9:30 p.m. Episodes one thru three are available on HBO ON DEMAND®. The entire four-part series can be watched on HBO starting Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. All times are ET/PT.
For Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com.