MANILA, Philippines—Conditioning expert Alex Ariza feels the smaller but speedy pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao will have the edge over the bigger but slower Antonio Margarito when the two clash for the vacant WBC super welterweight title at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13.
Speaking to the Inquirer from the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles Saturday, Ariza said Pacquiao’s smaller frame could be “an advantage because (for a big man) to fight a small guy, you have to make yourself small.
“It’s no secret that Margarito doesn’t move his feet, he doesn’t move well, he doesn’t move side-to-side and a smaller guy can create more problems than fighting a guy your own size who is there in front of you all the time.”
Ariza noted that while Margarito “throws a lot of punches, he also takes a lot of punches.”
And the punches that Margarito will take will hurt the Mexican, Ariza said.
“If Shane Mosley can hurt Margarito, I definitely think Manny can hurt Margarito,” said the conditioning guru, who has helped trainer Freddie Roach in transforming Pacquiao into a relentless fighting machine.
“He hurts you not only because he is strong, he hurts you because of the angles he throws punches from. You don’t see them coming and the speed and velocity accentuates the power and make the punches twice as hard.”
Ariza said he was pleased when he saw Pacquiao on his arrival saying “he looked good. I was really pleased. He didn’t look like he was drained or tired, he was in a good mood, smiling. He looked really good to me. Very healthy unlike sometimes in the past when he looked skinny.”
Ariza is arriving in the country on Sept. 13, one week ahead of Roach. Pacquiao is expected to set up camp anew in Baguio City, where the pound-for-pound champion trained for his historic fight against Miguel Cotto last year.
Pacquiao stopped the Puerto Rican in the 12th round to become the first boxer in history to win world crowns in seven different weight categories.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz revealed that the last stop of the three-city promotional tour drew a packed audience at Cowboys Stadium, with Margarito supporters even outnumbering Pacquiao’s.
“But that’s okay because it just shows you the excitement for the fight,” Koncz said.
Pacquiao is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Monday morning but Koncz said he had been instructed to stay behind and represent Pacquiao at the funeral of the son of Top Rank chief and Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum.
John Arum, a 49-year-old lawyer, environmentalist and mountaineer was spotted dead by search helicopters five days after he went missing on a mountain trip. Arum had apparently fallen while trying to climb Storm King mountain, news reports said yesterday.
Koncz described it as “a horrible tragedy.” Koncz said Pacquiao “has great concern for Bob. They have become friends over the past four or five years because Arum has done so much for Manny and supported him and Manny feels obligated and throughout the whole thing he was worried for Bob.”
Pacquiao said he is dedicating the fight against Margarito to the Arum family.
Top Rank president Todd duBeof “took over the press tour and did a great job and Bob will be back in a couple of weeks,” Koncz said. “He is not going to sit there and mope. He likes to stay busy and that’s what he’s going to do.”
Margarito told media people at Cowboys Stadium that a “big Tornado is approaching,” in reference to his Tijuana Tornado moniker. Pacquiao countered by saying he is going to hide the $1.2-billion stadium “from that Tornado.”
“I’m just doing my job in the ring to make the fans happy,” added Pacquiao.
“This one is for Mexico,” said Margarito. “I’m bringing back the title.”
Roach also got into the little verbal joust, saying “the tornado will be downsized to a tropical storm by Manny Pacquiao.” Photo by Francis Ochoa
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