MANILA, Philippines—Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao believes Antonio Margarito is better than Joshua Clottey and sees an action-packed bout when they tangle for the World Boxing Council super welterweight crown on Nov. 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas.
In an interview with the Inquirerprior to his departure for Los Angeles Monday night, Pacquiao noted that Margarito “is a very aggressive fighter” and the Mexican’s height and reach advantage will make it “difficult for me.”
Pacquiao predicted “it’s going to be a good fight because Margarito likes to come forward all the time and throw punches and that’s what we like—plenty of action. For sure there’s going to be a lot of action in the ring and it won’t be like the Joshua Clottey fight.”
In their 147-pound showdown at the same venue last March 13, Clottey merely took the punches thrown by Pacquiao and hardly fought back.
Pacquiao compared the upcoming clash with the 5-foot-11 Margarito to his fight with the 5-10 Oscar De La Hoya, who quit at the end of the eighth round after taking a beating.
Pacquiao also said he doesn’t believe Margarito’s claim that he didn’t know about the illegal hand-wraps that were discovered prior to his fight against Shane Mosley, when Margarito suffered a ninth-round TKO and lost his WBA super world welterweight title on Jan. 24, 2009.
“I don’t believe him (Margarito),” Pacquiao said. “Of course he knows about that (illegal hand-wraps). Its his hands and he watches the taping.”
Pacquiao believes Margarito denied he knew about the hand-wraps because he was “looking for a way out so his reputation won’t be damaged among his fans.”
However, Pacquiao noted that Margarito had “paid his dues by sacrificing and not fighting for one year.
“I hope he learned his lesson and will not repeat the same mistake.”
At the same time, Pacquiao said he is not taking any chances, pointing out that “we can watch his hands being wrapped because our agreement is we will have two representatives led by my coach (Freddie Roach) to watch the taping.”
Reacting to the comments of boxing writers who wanted him to punish Margarito for what he did Pacquiao said: “No, I can’t do that. He is good fighter. He’s big and skilled and also has power. We will do what we are capable of so that we will win for our country.”
The Pacquiao-Margarito promotional tour kicks off Tuesday at the Rodeo Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel.
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