A ‘lovesick’ Margarito could be dangerous

NO NEED to worry, Antonio Margarito will be at his best—maybe 110 percent—on fight night, but trainer Freddie Roach says Manny Pacquiao will dominate the taller Mexican, exploit his very poor defense, and then knock him out.

Is there still time for Pacquiao to be a hundred percent for his Nov. 13 title fight in Texas?
No need to worry, Pacquiao himself has said he is something like 90 to 95 percent, but he has vowed to hit his fabulous peak after a final dash to perfection starting today in Los Angeles, California.
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Pacquiao and Roach, the most brilliant trainer-boxer tandem in prizefighting today, sound extremely sure the bigger Margarito, tipped to outweigh the Pacman by at least 10 pounds on fight night, will be very slow and predictable.
Look, this has never been openly told before, but there’s this quiet belief that, in order to succeed against a prizefight masterpiece with Pacquiao’s speed and sharpness, a challenger should be similarly super quick, if not invisible.
Well, Freddie Roach did not say this, but one big problem with Margarito is his sickening predictability.
In fact, not a few ringside pundits have maintained that you don’t have to be specially sharp, you need not even aim straight in order to hit the big, lumbering fellow, also known as the Tijuana Tornado.
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A very detectable windstorm. So where do Margarito’s chances of wreaking havoc in Pacman Territory lie?
He could play it dirty, says my favorite dusky and toothless fruit vendor, then cut Pacquiao with an errant elbow and put the Pinoy Pride in deep trouble.
Margarito is bigger and stronger, period, cries another raging expert from the wet market meat section, the reason the Mexican will eventually hurt and overwhelm Pacquiao.
Of course, Pacquiao has remained an overwhelming favorite in the Mandaluyong City Market area since Day One.
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As expected, tips, often wild and way off, continue to pour in on how Margarito could possibly score a reversal.
This one about a lovesick Margarito taking the fight out of Pacquiao simply takes the cake.
The tiny thesis revolves around how the inborn slowness of Margarito could be utilized to cramp and hamper Pacquiao’s style.
This sounded odd enough but, come to think of it, this practice of turning a fast-paced title duel into a slow, sticky dance had been used with relative success in the past.
The ageless Archie Moore and Sandy Saddler, legendary pike-like featherweight, were among the noted practitioners of the hug-and-clinch drag boxing, to name only two.
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By “love sick,” certain pundits point out that Margarito, if he does not succeed in shoving and cornering Pacquiao, could end up making a spectacle of himself at mid-ring.
It should not be beyond the tricky Mexican to grab and hug Pacquiao—like a long-lost brother or sweetheart—short of wrestling him to the floor, if all other tactics failed.
It could not be ascertained if Freddie Roach has made advanced preparations for this ugly possibility.
Truth is that, if Pacquiao allows himself to be drawn into a muscular push-and-shove power play, he could be on the losing end and waste oxygen reserves unnecessarily.
Not to say Roach should order a cut-down on speedy sparring, but he may have to also take in bigger sparmates who could do the lovesick blues on Pacquiao.
The Pacman, riding on inborn nimbleness, must rock and roll and avoid being caught in a boring slow drag.