Freddie Roach has been on fine form ahead of his fighter Manny Pacquiao's November 13th showdown with Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC light middleweight title, and predicted that his charge would finish the much taller Mexican within 8 rounds.

Given the size difference between the 5,6 Pacquiao and the 5,11 Margarito, that's an ambitious prediction to make, especially given Margarito's well earned reputation for absorbing punishment. Not to mention that Margarito will be trying to come in as big as he possibly can on top of that, and could well be stepping into the ring somewhere closer to super middleweight rather than junior middleweight if he cuts weight the right way.

Roach's prediction was made sitting face to face with Margarito and his trainer Robert Garcia, during HBO's face off with Max Kellermen, and seemed to get under Margarito's skin, who replied with:

"What does he see he crippled or something?"

Roach without missing a beat simply replied: "I saw your last two fights"

To which there was really nothing Margarito could say in return. His last fight was a somewhat lackluster decision against the clearly over-matched Roberto Garcia, and before this he was famously battered over nine rounds by Shane Mosley, being stopped for the first time in his career.

Margarito's trainer Robert Garcia, speaking to John Martinez of BoxScoreNews, predictably differed in his prediction for the fight, instead opting for an 11th round stoppage in Margarito's favor. He also added:

"This isn't going to just be a win for Margarito, this is going to be a f**king beatdown we put on him. A bigtime beating is what we got for Manny Pacquiao."

Which seems to differ from Garcia's talk of trying to outbox Pacquiao only a few months ago. So what kind of approach Margarito will be taking will have to remain to be seen for the time being, but most picking him to win have done so expecting to see the Margarito of old rather than him keeping Pacquiao on the end of his jab.

Some of Roach's predictions are undoubtedly made in order to rile up his fighter's opponent, which works more often that you might expect. This time though, the bookmakers are agreeing with him, and most odds sites have Pacquiao winning by knockout as the most likely outcome.

Margarito wasn't the only one on the receiving end of Freddie Roach's wit this week though, he also had some choice words for his stable's increasingly beleaguered rival Floyd Mayweather.

Speaking to DaTruthBoxing prior to his trip to the Philippines to train Manny Pacquiao, Roach was asked about what has probably become a familiar topic over the last couple of years, his star pupil fighting Floyd Mayweather. His response was:

"Mayweather's busy beating up girls"

When asked about the possibility of a fight occurring in the future, Roach said:

"Who knows with him, he's so sporadic, he's here, he's there, he's negotiating, he's not negotiating"

A response from Floyd himself is probably not on the cards on this occasion due to his current legal predicament, but should Floyd Sr get wind of Roach's remarks, an at least amusing response will undoubtedly be forthcoming.

Jim Pallis, Pittsburgh: "Can't wait to hear Pappa Mayweather's repsonse to Roach"

Earnie Fleishmann, Philly: "Roach can run circles around most trainers, even when he's just trying to annoy his guy's opponent"

Scott Heritage

With still over two months until Manny “The Mexicutioner” Pacquiao steps into the path of the “Tijuana Tornado” at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas predictions have been starting to roll in.

Most see the fight going the way of Pacquiao.

Ted “The Bull” Sares of Bad Left Hook sees the fight as a back and forth battle with the speed of Pacquiao trying to find openings around the heavy hands of Margarito. Ultimately, Sares sees the speed catching up to Margarito and a late Pacquiao victory.

“Speed will be the critical variable in this fight, Sares wrote. “And Manny has the speed (and skills to go with it). But before he prevails with a 10th or 11th round stoppage, he will be rocked several times by a stalking Margo using his heavy hands. Around the 7th or 8th, I see a facially bruised and puffed up Manny finally asserting himself but not nearly as easily as he did with Cotto.”

There are also those writers who are not only predicting a tough fight for Pacquiao but also envisioning the upset.

Chuy Marco of Now Boxing sees the fight playing out similar to Margarito’s fight against Miguel Cotto, a match which started strongly for Cotto, who dominated the early rounds, but was ultimately worn down and knocked out by the persistent Margarito.

“The strategy that Team Pacquiao, specifically Freddie Roach is trying to use of dehydrating the fighters or draining them will not work on this fight because Margarito can easily make 151-pounds catchweight,” Marco wrote.

“The smile and confidence on Pacquiao during the press conference was almost disrespectful to his opponent. Margarito will wipe the smile off of his face for sure when they step in the boxing ring at Cowboys stadium. Remember, the Pacman has never had someone who will move forward to him, everyone he fought was scared to push him back, Margarito fears no man in that ring and he runs from nobody.”

Outside of the pundits and the pencil pushers, Pacquiao’s old nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez has made a prediction on the fight. Marquez, who fought Pacquiao twice to a draw and a split decision loss (both controversial), also sees the speed of Pacquiao being the difference in the fight.

“Like Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, David Diaz, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey before him, Margarito is expected to have a hard time coping up with Pacquiao’s quickness and ring savvy, according to Marquez,” wrote RCJ of GMA News.

“Never mind that he and Margarito are both of Mexican descent, but Marquez is definitely going to bet where the money is.”

The editors at Boxing Dispatch also see the fight going the way of Pacman. Margarito showed considerable rust in his last fight, against Roberto Garcia, and while it was only a tune-up, a jump from Garcia to Pacquiao is going to feel like moving from a soapbox derby to the Indianapolis 500. If we compare the Pacquiao-Margarito fight to the Cotto-Margarito fight, we have to factor in the speed of Pacquiao and the question of whether Margarito was hitting Cotto with what essentially amounted to a cast.

Pacquiao should bring Margarito down from an F5 tornado to a light breeze and we predict a knockout within 10 rounds.

We are curious to know what the readers think the outcome of Pacquiao-Margarito will be and how the fight will play out. Feel free to vote or leave comments.

MANILA, Philippines – The junior middleweight title clash between “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao and “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito will be officially announced in Beverly Hills, California on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Pacquiao is expected to arrive in the US on Monday to sign the contract formalizing the deal.

The formal announcement of the fight is expected to take place the next day at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

The press tour will resume in New York City at the Chelsea Piers near the Hudson River on Wednesday before it wraps up at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Pacquiao will return to Manila after the tour to begin his training camp together with his team, led by his boxing coach Freddie Roach.

The clash, which will take place at a catch weight between 147 to 154 pounds, is said to be for the World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight title. The fight venue will be at the Cowboys Stadium.

Fight promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, said he expects greater interest in the Pacquiao-Margarito match compared with the Joshua Clottey fight.

“We have a lot of stuff that we didn't have for the Clottey fight. With Margarito being Hispanic, and this is North Texas, which has a huge Hispanic population, that will make this even bigger," Arum had said in a report posted on ESPN.com.

Pacquiao's World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title defense against Clottey drew 50,994 spectators, one of the largest in US history.

Aside from the Filipino champ’s popularity and the expected numbers from Margarito’s supporters, Arum said the on-going season of the National Football League (NFL) will also play a big part in the fight’s commercial successes.

"The last fight was not during football season. This one is, and we have all the Dallas Cowboys assets they use during the season to help this time,” said the veteran boxing promoter.

Aside from gate receipt earnings from the 50,994 spectators, the Pacquiao-Clottey fight generated 700,000 HBO pay-per-view buys and $35.3 million in US domestic television revenue.

Antonio Margarito, now licensed and ready to fight, has his game face on.

The former king of welterweights shared with boxingscene.com his happiness after Texas gave him the green light to fight pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao in the Lone Star State on Nov. 13.

Margarito, who turned 32 last March, welcomed the opportunity to go up against the giant-killer from the Philippines, and at the same time prove to everyone that he doesn’t need a loaded pair of hands to win.

Then he vowed to beat Pacquiao.

“I will beat Pacquiao,” said Margarito, at 5’11” more than four inches taller than Pacquiao.

Margarito was denied in his bid to regain his license in California last Aug. 18, and when he turned to Texas he was met with open arms. The decision to let him fight Pacquiao in Texas came the other day.

Margarito couldn’t hide his bitterness over the decision of the California State Athletic Commission to keep his hands frozen, following its revocation in February last year due to illegal hand wraps in a fight with Shane Mosley.

The Mexican warrior has only had one fight since then, a small one, and now he has the license to return to the big stage. In fact, no stage is bigger than when Pacquiao is on one corner, whoever he’s up against.

When he climbs the ring inside the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, Margarito will try to prove a lot of people wrong.

“It’s unfair what they (the commission of California) did to me. I had to appear before them when their minds were already been made up.

“But now I’m happy because I have the fight with Pacquiao in my hands and because I have the opportunity to show that I am a clean fighter,” said Margarito.

“I thank Texas for giving me the license, for believing in me. I am going to prove that I don’t need anything forbidden to win my battles or past fights, including Miguel Cotto. But again, I’ll tell them, that when the date arrives I’m going to show them that I have what it takes to win. It’s a hard fight but I’m going to win.”

by Abac Cordero

The Texas State Athletic commission has granted a license to former world champion Antonio Margarito, or "Margacheato" as he is so affectionately referred to by some. This is despite the fact that California denied him the right to fight in their state. Now a fight between Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao and Margarito is a certainty.

The matchup is being heavily criticized. Many feel that it's wrong on several different levels.

1. Margarito is an (attempted) cheater and doesn't deserve the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

Jose Silva of Lowell, Arkansas said, "They should really make an example of Margarito. He shouldn't be allowed to fight anymore. That would show boxers who are tempted to cheat what happens when you get caught."

Many boxing fans that I've spoken to agree with Silva on this point.

Dale Pippin of Seligman compared Margarito's attempted crime to the incident that occurred during the 1983 Louis Resto vs. Billy Collins Jr. fight. After Collins took a horrendous beating for 10 rounds, it was discovered that Resto's trainer Panama Lewis had removed some of the padding from his fighter's gloves. In 1986, Lewis and Resto were found guilty of assault, criminal possession of a weapon (Resto's hands) and conspiracy. Resto served 2 1/2 years in prison. He was never allowed to fight again.

Fast forward to January 24, 2009. Margarito was preparing to step into the ring with Shane Mosley. It was discovered that there was some hard, "Plaster of Paris" like strips in his handwraps. Hands were rewrapped, the fight went on, and Mosley preceded to beat Margarito half to death, stopping him in Rnd. 9. Margarito was suspended from boxing in the United States.

There is one clear difference in Resto and Margarito. Resto was caught after he cheated, while Margarito was caught before committing a crime. Margarito also maintains that he wasn't aware that anything was being placed in his handwraps by former trainer Javier Capetillo. Still, it is the opinion of many that Margarito should be banned from boxing for life. Instead, Margarito is being rewarded with a huge payday in a fight with the current king of boxing.

This is yet another black eye to the sport, and boxing afficianados ain't diggin' it. Yahoo boxing columnist, Kevin Iole recently penned "Margarito’s return should make fans nauseous". The respected scribe obviously isn't happy about the decision to give Margarito the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

2. Manny Pacquiao is the "Catchweight King" and this is how he manages to beat bigger, stronger fighters.

At this point, Manny Pacquiao has only fought one fight at a catchweight. Did you get that? That's his grand total of catchweight fights. One. Uno. (1) He certainly doesn't deserve to be referred to as the "Catweight King".

Catchweights actually do serve a purpose. They sometimes allow fights to be made that otherwise wouldn't. Catchweights make it possible for a smaller fighter and a bigger fighter to compromise, and it should be noted that some great fights have been made as a result of this type of compromise.

Catchweights weren't invented by Manny Pacquiao or Bob Arum. They are nothing new.

In 1940, Henry Armstrong fought Law Jenkins at a catchweight of 140 for a welterweight fight. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Donny Lalond, Roy Jones Jr. vs Felix Trinidad, Jose Luis Castillo vs Diego Corrales and Julio Cesar Chavez vs Pernell Whitaker were all fought at catchweights.

Does Pacquiao actually need a catchweight for the Margarito fight? No.

Allowing Margarito to weigh in at 154 instead of 150 wouldn't change the outcome of the fight.

Tomasz Adamek weighed in a full 44 lbs lighter that Michael Grant last Saturday night. If Adamek wasn't worried about 44 lbs, Team Pacquiao doesn't need to be worried about 4.

The fact of the matter is that Pacquiao has never fought at light middleweight and even has to drastically increase his caloric intake during training just to keep from losing weight.

Margarito has fought at welterweight for most of his career, so making 150 lbs obviously won't be a problem for him.

3. How can this be a title fight for the vacant WBC light middleweight division when neither fighter has established himself in the weight class?

W.M. is a Pacquiao fan who asked not to be identified. He said, "I don't like it at all. I know for sure this is just a way to give Manny another title. I am 100% sure of this."

It is up to the sanctioning body to choose who deserves the honor of fighting for a vacant title, and while Pacquiao's acheivments are momentous, and Margarito is a former world champ, neither of them are actually light middleweights. There are plenty of fighters who have toiled in the light middleweight division who would love a chance to fight for that title.

Boxing fan Raye Santiago said, "To be honest, I want them to fight in 147 so there's no catch weight. They are both welterweights. it's just unfair to the other light middleweight contenders, but Manny just wants to fight who's being lined in front of him. We want Floyd but he doesn't seem interested as of now."

4. It is what it is, and fans will make the best of it.

Whether you agree or disagree about Margarito being Pacquiao's next opponent, the inclusion of a catchweight or the fight being a WBA title fight, the matchup itself is actually a pretty good one.

It's not Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but it's Pacquiao vs. a strong, resiliant, hard-punching opponent. It's sure to be a tough night for both pugilists.

The fight will take place at Cowboy's Stadium in Dallas, where 50, 994 fans showed up last March 13 to witness the lackluster Joshua Clottey serve as Pacquiao's mobile punching bag for the full 12 rounds.

Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are confident that Pacquiao - Margarito will far exceed the numbers of the previous bout.

Right or wrong, the fight is going to happen, and it's going to give Pacquiao the opportunity to fight for an 8th world title.

Boxing fans might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

It should be a good one.

by Lorne Scoggins

From the deck of a cruise ship docked in the South of France, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said that a ringside ticket to the Nov. 13 world super-welterweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will be retailed at a reasonable $700 a pop. Arum told Manila Bulletin and Fightnews that other tickets will be sold at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 for the fight to be held at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. These were the same prices when Pacquiao fought the last time in March against Joshua Clottey when he drew almost 51,000 spectators. Arum believes this fight will lure more than 70,000 fans since Margarito has a fan-base in Texas being Mexican and that the event will take place right smack in the (National Football League) season. “This is going to be a lot bigger than the March fight,” said Arum, who is in the final phase of his two-week European vacation. Arum will be back in the US in time for a three-city press tour that kicks off in Los Angeles on Tuesday. From Hollywood, the traveling circus’ succeeding stops would be New York and Dallas, where Texas billionaire Jerry Jones is rolling out the red carpet.

By Nick Giongco

Top Rank Promotions has announced next week's press tour schedule for the Nov. 13, HBO pay per view televised clash between WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao and ex-champ Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

On Tuesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time, the fighters will be at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Rodeo Room. On Wednesday, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the conference will be at Chelsea Piers' Pier 60 in New York. On Friday, at 11:30 a.m. Central Time, the venue will be the Cowboys Stadium on its East end zone platform.

All three events are free and open to the public.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) will be after his eighth crown in as many different weight classes against the 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts).

Watch the most awaited and the most exciting boxing event, Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout live at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA. The said Pacquiao vs Margarito bout will be the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at the super welterweight catch-weight match. The Pacquiao-Margarito fight will take place on November 13, 2010 for the HBO pay-per-view main event presented by TOP Rank and HBO sports.

Watch Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito Live Stream Online Free. Manny Pacquiao was all that excitement to fight Antonio Margarito on November 13 and first tentatively held at Las Vegas or Mexico but Margarito is still banned to fight in United States. It was then moved to Arlington, Texas after the Margarito got license to fight Pacquiao in Texas. It was all set and on. Now, lets the fight begin. Who do you think will win the Pacquiao-Margarito fight? Lets find out and watch Pacquiao vs Margarito live.

Manny Pacquiao is the most popular boxer in the world today. Many fighters call him out from featherweights to light middleweights because they know fighting him will give them a big payday. People can say that Floyd Mayweather is the most famous but he is only famous in America, Pacquiao is famous worldwide.

Recently, Juan Manuel Marquez, someone that Manny Pacquiao faced at featherweight and superfeatherweight, called Manny out after he defeated Juan Diaz on HBO.

I have to say, that in my view, I would much rather see Juan Manuel Marquez fight Manny Pacquiao in November, rather than, giving Antonio Margarito a shot at a big payday with Manny.

Marquez looked very sharp against Juan Diaz and he would give Manny Pacquiao an amazing fight. The two have a big history together and a third match is something that could easily be sold with an HBO 24/7. The Mexican and Filipino boxing fans like Marquez and they like Pacquiao and since Marquez has also fought Floyd Mayweather Jr., they can add that to the intrigue and build up of the fight.

I fear that Bob Arum making a fight with Antonio Margarito will make the sport of boxing come under a lot of fire. A lot of Filipino fans are saying Margarito should be given a chance but I beg to differ, now that I think about it, it is not proper.

In boxing , using illegal handwraps is the ultimate “No No”, putting plaster on the wraps is almost like you are attempting to murder your opponent with concrete fists as weapons.

The Pay-per-view will truly suffer if Bob Arum makes a fight with Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao.

Look at the boxer Luis Resto, he ended the career of another Bob Arum fighter, Billy Collins Jr., by using plaster on his handwraps. Luis Resto’s trainer, Panama Lewis, applied the plaster before the fight that ended Collins boxing career. Resto claimed that he didn’t know what was put in his gloves by Lewis but later he admitted he knew that Panama Lewis was loading his gloves.

We shouldn’t approve of this type of fight because it will just make boxing look bad. That is why I prefer to see Pacquiao vs. Marquez in a third fight. Marquez deserves a shot and he is an honest man, who never cheats and proved that he really wants the fight with Pacquiao.

Also, this time around, they can truly settle the score of who really won. Marquez will not demand a 50-50 split of the money, Pacquiao can get a bigger share since he is the true star in boxing.

I don’t think we should boycott a Antonio Margarito vs Manny Pacquiao fight but I think we should have our voices heard that we prefer a more worthy opponent for Manny Pacquiao.

Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall is one of three U.S. sites promoter Bob Arum is considering for the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito junior middleweight title fight Nov. 13.

MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, are considered Arum's top two choices, but sources close to the situation believe Boardwalk Hall has become a viable alternative because executives at Arum's Top Rank Inc. think New Jersey's State Athletic Control Board would approve Margarito's application for a license to box in this state. Haledon native Nick Lembo, general counsel for the SACB, declined comment Tuesday because Margarito has yet to submit an application.

The California State Athletic Commission suspended Margarito for a year in February 2009 because he was caught in his dressing room trying to use illegal hard pads in his hand wraps prior to his ninth-round technical knockout loss to Shane Mosley in Los Angeles.

Margarito, 32, hasn't boxed in the United States since Mosley dominated him in January 2009 at Staples Center. The former welterweight champion returned from a 15-month layoff May 8 and beat Roberto Garcia by unanimous decision in a 10-round fight in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Margarito hasn't applied for a license in the United States since the suspension, but Arum hopes to get Margarito's license request on the agenda for the Nevada State Athletic Commission's Aug. 9 meeting. The NSAC voted, 4-1, in favor of tabling Margarito's license request July 9, and requested that Margarito first apply for a license in California.

The CSAC won't convene again until September, however, and might not review a license application from Margarito unless Margarito drops a lawsuit against the CSAC for suspending him without due process. Margarito needs to get licensed somewhere soon because Top Rank must start selling tickets and promoting the pay-per-view card headlined by Pacquiao-Margarito by next month.

Arum also is considering Monterrey, Mexico, but only if Margarito cannot get a license to box in New Jersey, Nevada or Texas.

Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) will fight Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs, 1 NC) because Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs) wasn't interested in opposing Pacquiao on Nov. 13. A Pacquiao-Mayweather match would crown boxing's mythical pound-for-pound champion, earn each boxer more than $30 million and probably become the most lucrative event in boxing history, but negotiations for the fight have fallen apart twice this year.

Manny Pacquiao will challenge Antonio Margarito for the vacant super welterweight title on November 13 at tentative venue either Las Vegas or Mexico. Bob Arum still on the place of the big fight but it depends on Margarito. There's a little conflict on Margarito's license to fight in Las Vegas but if he is allowed to fight there, it will be there to held the fight but if not, Mexico is the last option.

Lets measure the Pacquiao vs Margarito The Tale of the Tape. I think there's a big differences in the tale of the tape between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. The height and reach advantage is in favor of Margarito. It's a big difference and they say that it will happen as Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight again as we can see. But according to all us, Pacquiao destroyed De La Hoya and made him to retired on their 2009 fight. Pacquiao will go up in weight maybe at 150-lbs catch-weight or in a certain weight for both camps agreement.

Take a look at Pacquiao vs Margarito The Tale of the Tape

The Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout will take place on November 13 at either Las Vegas or Mexico. It a pay-per-view bout presented by HBO sports and Top Rank promotion. Watch out for more Pacquiao vs Margarito latest news and upodates.

I made this blog (Manny Pacquiao vs  Antonio Margarito) because I want to share and blog about their latest news and updates. The Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout will be now officially on and scheduled to fight on November 13 at tentative venue either Las Vegas or Mexico. Manny Pacquiao will challenge Antonio Margarito for vacant title. The said title will be the prize for the fight on November 13. Bob Arum decided to set this exciting fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito after the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega fight failed and off.

Well, Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout is still the most exciting than Pacquiao-Mayweather fight but we will still love boxing even your most awaited and most wanted fight to watch. Antonio Margarito will takes on Manny Pacquiao and maybe he is so lucky to have Pacquiao on his boxing career because Pacquiao is most demand opponent for others. We will see this fight and love this fight no matter will it takes but we will surely expect to watch this fight live.

The Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito's Blog will give the latest news and updates about the fight of the fighter of the decade and 7-times world champion Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. Expect for more latest news and updates about Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout.