Small But Terrible

11:43 PM // 0 comments // Ian Purugganan // Category: Margarito , Pacquiao //

The marvelous Manny Pacquiao did it again. The 98-pound weakling kicked sand in the big guy's face. Yet another Paul Bunyan was chopped down, although this one, a tough and game Antonio Margarito, never allowed anyone to yell "Timber."

Pacquiao did what his camp, and especially his trainer, Freddie Roach, said he would. He methodically sliced apart a man who had five inches on him in height, six inches of reach and 16 pounds by fight time.

The Congressman from the Sarangani district of the Philippines, a boxing wonder, countered off most of Margarito's plodding charges with flurries of combinations. By the fourth round, Margarito's face was a mess and Pacquiao was in control.

By the 11th round, the cut under Margarito's right eye, inspected in his corner after each round, was so bad and Pacquiao was doing such damage that Pacquiao kept glancing at the referee, expecting him to step in and stop it. He even admitted after the fight that he had backed off a bit in the last two rounds because he didn't want to damage the eye any more. The result was a unanimous decision and the WBC junior-middleweight title.

Margarito kept coming forward, plodding, lunging, lurching and occasionally landing.

Little did we think that there was another body part in Pacquiao's arsenal that we hadn't identified. Now we have: his chin. Margarito connected several times. Pacquiao took the hits, danced away and peppered Margarito with four or five quick shots in return.

"I never expected him to be as strong as he was," Pacquiao said.

Margarito said, "I am a Mexican. I would never quit."

Roach was less diplomatic. He said the Margarito corner "probably ruined Margarito's career by not stopping it earlier."

[Courtesy: Bill Dwyer | LA Times]