Tijuana Tornado

GRAPEVINE, Texas—As soon as the final bell sounded, Antonio Margarito, struggling to keep his balance on  unsteady feet, made the sign of the cross. His trainer, Robert Garcia, rushed to meet and embrace him.

No words were exchanged, but the scene was easy to interpret. Margarito was thankful he lasted the full 12 rounds against Manny Pacquiao still up on his feet. Garcia, on the other hand, was proud of the gallant though  vain stand put up by the former three-time world champion.
For experts, Margarito suffered a beating that ordinary mortals couldn’t afford to bear. A Team Margarito insider said the man known as the Tijuana Tornado could hardly speak, mumbling in slow tones at the dugout, where a physician was waiting for him. Margarito, his right eye nearly close, and with cuts on the other side, had to be stitched up right then and there as customarily done in boxing fights. Then, after a brief rest, Margarito was rushed to a nearby hospital for a mandatory checkup. Margarito took a lot of punishment from Pacquiao, who peppered him with 411 power shots that may be enough to put down a mule. Living up to his reputation as a punching machine, Pacquiao unleashed an average of 34 power shots per round, which is 21 more than the average thrown in the super welterweight division where they fought.  Margarito, using his long arms and given the opportunity by Pacquiao, was able to land some power punches himself, connecting on 135 of 312 shots. So accurate was Pacquiao that he landed 42 of 62 power shots in round four for an astonishing conversion rate of 69 percent. Proving that he is too fast for the 154-pound division, Pacquiao also sneaked in 40 of 60 punches in the fifth, 57 of 89 in the 10th and 51 of 75 in the 11th, when Margarito’s corner was contemplating on throwing in the towel.
Margarito, however, was too proud to quit. He fought on and was lucky to survive. Photo by Associates Press