LOS ANGELES — When the mushroom cloud dissipates at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas next week, Manny Pacquiao will emerge from the bloodbath with his arms raised.
Amid concerns that Pacquiao is still trying to play catch-up in his preparation for Antonio Margarito, the Filipino fighter’s adviser Mike Koncz assured Pacquiao’s legions of fans and followers of a resounding victory come fight night.
“Manny’s going to win the fight,” declared Koncz late Tuesday night after watching his big boss work out at the Wild
Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, 11 days before the scheduled 12-round world super-welterweight title fight.Koncz said Pacquiao remains determined to prove his critics wrong and capture an unprecedented eight world title by nailing the World Boxing Council’s version of the world 154-lb throne.
Margarito stands more than five inches taller than Pacquiao, who at 5-6 also is at a disadvantage owing to Margarito’s 73-inch wingspan since his only measures 67 inches.
Margarito will be the tallest and biggest foe Pacquiao will ever face and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum has, in a way, entertained thoughts about the gruesome possibility of a Pacquiao defeat.
“If the fight turns out to be a one-sided fight, a rematch will not be very sellable. And if it’s a one-sided fight and Manny concluded that Margarito was just too big and too strong for him, why subject him to do it again,” Arum told the website Fanhouse.
The tallest rival Pacquiao has met is the 5-10 Oscar De La Hoya, who Pacquiao toyed with when they fought in 2008.
Pacquiao’s lighting-quick speed is his foremost weapon, while Margarito counts his aggressiveness and pressure as his plus points.
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