Of all the punches in all the rings, Margarito could walk into Pacquiao’s
HOLLYWOOD—Like scenes in a movie, Freddie Roach imagines and analyzes probable scenarios of Manny Pacquiao’s showdown with Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13.
The more he follows the script, the more he becomes convinced that Pacquiao will capture his eighth weight crown.
“Don’t be surprised if this ends early, Roach, who had previously predicted an eighth-round stoppage of Margarito, told Filipino journalists at his Wild Card Gym here Thursday.
“Manny Pacquiao will kick his ass.”
Part of the Trainer of the Year’s confidence rests on the new-found zest and enthusiasm being shown by Pacquiao in recent workouts.
“Manny Pacquiao is back. Mentally, he is much more into the fight,” said Roach “He knows the gameplan. He looks great in sparring. He did what he was supposed to do. “He is 100 percent ready to go. We will knock this guy out, I promise you.”
Of course, Maragarito could spend the night running and doing everything to stay up until the final bell, just as Joshua Clottey did against Pacquiao earlier this year.
But Roach thinks Margarito is bolder than Clottey, who contented himself with collecting a paycheck in a shutout defeat to the Filipino ring icon.
And it is this boldness that could get the Tijuana Tornado in trouble.
“(Margarito) is going to be aggressive. He will come after us and try to get our respect and he’s going to walk into Manny’s power and he’s going to feel it and it’s going to change the course of the fight,” said Roach. “He is notoriously a slow starter they say, but I expect him to come out quick and try to get Pacquiao’s respect right away and he might run into one (knockout punch).”
Roach said Margarito walking into a knockout punch is feasible mainly because of, well, the Mexican’s footwork.
“I want Manny to show this guy that we mean business and get him off-balanced because this guy’s footwork is terrible and it’ll show in the fight and we’re going to take full advantage of it. He crosses his feet, he walks around the ring and doesn’t have the traditional footwork of a boxer, he gets off-balanced and when he is off-balanced, he doesn’t have any power.”
Though Margarito enjoys a six-inch reach advantage, Roach feels Pacquiao can easily penetrate his defenses.
“He is a decent body-puncher but he really, really telegraphs those punches, really, really long and Manny will work on the counter shot. Margarito pulls back and cocks his punches and he is wide open.
“We will beat him to the punch every time. He is very slow. He is very easily read and makes the same bad habits every time and reaches for punches.”
Seeing that Pacquiao has reached peak form, Roach said he’ll limit sparring to five rounds on Saturday and three or four on Mondaybefore Team Pacquiao flies to Texas by chartered plane.
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