Garcia sure ‘Tornado’ will win by KO
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—Trainer Robert Garcia sees no other ending than a Manny Pacquiao crumpled on the canvas in the latter rounds of his fight with Antonio Margarito for the WBC super welterweight crown on Nov. 13.
“Knockout, no doubt,” said Garcia, who predicted that the end will come in the 11th round. “There’s no other way.”
Garcia attributed his confidence to the superb condition of Margarito and his advantage in height, power and reach.
Even the venerable promoter Bob Arum is not sure whether Pacquiao can get away with another victory.
“He (Margarito) certainly has the tools to pull off an upset,” Arum said during Tuesday’s open workout at the Gaylord Texan Hotel here. “I mean, he’s the bigger, stronger guy.”
Though the 78-year-old Arum, who promotes both fighters, believes that Pacquiao’s phenomenal speed is hard to overcome, he thinks Antonio’s chances will increase if he can withstand Pacquiao’s initial salvo.
In the same vein, Arum said that the fight’s outcome also hinges on Pacquiao sustaining his attack throughout 12 rounds.
After watching Pacquiao’s tapes for the past three months, Garcia claims he saw many flaws in the Filipino’s arsenal.
He said that Margarito also feels better than when he beat Cotto or when he first won the WBC title (in 2002).
Garcia, a former International Boxing Federation super featherweright champion, said they have been working on the jab to fend off Pacquiao, especially in the early stages.
Garcia said he studied Pacquiao’s past fights against Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez to find out how to break down the seven-time, seven-division champion.
Morales was the last man to beat Pacquiao, in 2005, while Marquez held the Filipino to a draw in their first bout in 2004, before yielding a split decision two years ago.
“We expect Manny to come full blast in the first three rounds,” said Garcia. “We’ll pick up the pace our way.”
Garcia said Margarito will tip the scales at an exact 150 pounds (the catch weight) at the official weigh-in and then move up to 160-162 on fight night. That will make the “Tijuana Tornado” at least 10 lb heavier than Pacquiao.
Knowing that extra poundage could also hamper Margarito’s movements, Garcia said his fighter will not come in at 165, as boxing analysts generally believe.
Meanwhile, Arum predicted a mammoth crowd at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, although “it won’t be a sellout.”
“We’re setting the target at between 60,000 and 70,000,” said Arum, who believes the Pacquiao-Margarito setto will exceed the 50,994 crowd that came to watch the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey tiff in March.
That attendance was the third largest indoor crowd in United States boxing history after the Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks tussle (63,350) at the Lousiana Superdome in 1978 and the Pernell Whitaker-Julio Cesar Chavez clash (59,995) at the Alamodome in 1993. Photo by Associated Press
