In today’s trying, economic times some people have to make certain sacrifices and concessions in order to make the most of what they’ve got. I included.
A few months ago, I went through a reevaluation of my finances and made the decision to go with cable instead of satellite and was able to package my internet/cable/phone and saved quite a few bucks per month. The dilemma I was faced with was; should I forgo one Premium channel for the other? With Oz, The Wire, The Sopranos all gone, the only reason I kept HBO was for the Boxing.. Showtime on the other-hand didn’t have the star power in terms of name recognition but whenever they put on a boxing show more times than not, it was exciting. With the emergence of the Super Six, I decided I needed to get in on this and ordered Showtime as well. So far I have not been disappointed.
Now, the next high priced decision I am faced with is should I or shouldn’t I order the Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito fight?
Morally, I wouldn’t order this fight because of the whole wrapgate scandal involving Margarito and his trainer. There’s absolutely no way that a fighter’s not going to know what’s going on with his wraps. I mean, comeon! I’ve never boxed professionally or have had my hands wrapped professionally but, hand wraps to a professional boxer is an intimate piece of protection. It could mean a long lived or short lived career if done improperly. Also, in my whole entire life, I’ve never seen someone literally box the ears off of someone the way Margarito did to Sebastian Lujan. Could this have been happening since back in 2005? It’s a stretch but I’ve never ever seen that happen before.
Margarito doesn’t deserve this opportunity. But who am I to judge? Before the whole incident I was becoming a big fan of Margarito. I loved his ‘walk you down and conquer you’ style. He reminded me of a prime Julio Cesear Chavez. He was able to take shots and laugh it off as he plodded slowly to catch his opponents with some wicked body shots. He was exciting and I was beginning to like him. Even after the Mosely fight, I still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I just couldn’t root for him in that sense anymore.
Pacquiao is a beast. He’s the epitome of what I consider boxers to be. He’s humble, takes on all comers, challenges himself and has improved tremendously since the first time I saw him in the ring against Ledwaba. Pacquiao is not invincible, he has enough faults to make him look human and that’s where the intrigue lies. He can be taken out. However, so far no one has.
Since his dismantling of Ledwaba back in 2001, Pacquiao’s only lackluster showing was a non-televised bout against Oscar Larios that went the full 12 rounds. I’ve never been disappointed with a Pacquiao fight. I know what to expect; fireworks, and lots of it. He’s exciting and he makes his challengers exciting as well.
Margarito’s no easy task either. He was a formidable opponent for many years before the whole incident. So in no way am I looking past him and think that this will be an easy fight for Pacquiao. Margarito’s a good 5 inches taller than Pacman and on fight night he might also be a good 8 – 10 .lbs heavier as well. Speed kills and I don’t think Margarito has the quickness to nullify Pacquiao’s speed. Pacquiao can take a punch, and when he raises his arms and bangs his gloves together; you know it’s on.
I understand it seems almost like a slap in the face by Top Rank for even putting this fight together, but honestly, who else is out there other than Mayweather that could even give Pacquiao trouble?
Andre Berto’s way too green. If he changed his trainer he’d be ready in about a year or two. Devon Alexander’s in the same boat as Berto, he’s too green and may have gone as far as he can with his current trainer. In my opinion, Alexander’s a better fighter than Berto but lacks drawing power. Pacquiao would have everything to lose and nothing to gain by taking on Alexander in this point of his career. It’d be almost like taking a step back. The other name on the list is Tiny Timothy Bradley. He’s got quite a resume, has the speed and ring smarts but lacks that punching power that could take Pacquiao out. If there’s no fear or intrigue of a KO then it’s not very exciting at all. (Kind of like all of Paulie Malignnagi’s fights; sure he’s a good, speedy boxer but seriously, who’s he going to knock out?)
The only other logical name out there is Juan Manuel Marquez. I believe Pacman should make this one of his final fights. Make the trilogy happen against Marquez and I guarantee you the outcome will not be as close as the first 2 fights. But with Marquez still campaigning at Lightweight this fight doesn’t make much sense right now either. Pacquiao’s building his legacy and he’s on the right track.
So, to answer my question, will I plunk down $50 bucks to see my favorite fighter take on an undeserving opponent? I sure will and I’ve made the decision before the first HBO 24/7 series even aired.