Pacquiao and Margarito ready for battle
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 07 Nov 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA (via Pera Padala) ? With all the bases believed to have been covered, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito end their separate Southern California preparations and drive towards Texas for their much-awaited showdown for the vacant World Boxing Council junior-middleweight championship Nov. 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
The World Boxing Organization welterweight belt holder Pacquiao, for his part will cap his two-week buildup program at the Freddie Roach-owned Wild Card Gym Monday with a brief two-round sparring Monday (Tuesday in Manila) before flying on a chartered flight to Dallas mid-afternoon of the same day.
A mass has been scheduled to be celebrated Sunday at the Christ the King Church in Santa Monica here, a regular affair every time the reigning junior-welterweight champ is here for a fight, with Pacquiao himself in attendance along with wife Jinkee, who arrived here Thursday.
?Great, I feel great. Manny also feels great, everything seems in place. Today, we did what exactly we have to do in every situation,? Roach, the trainer, said following the pound for-pound king?s five-round sparing and several more rounds with the mitts Saturday.
?Our two weeks here really did us well. We recovered loss grounds. Manny regained his focus on the way to training hard that made him ready for what could be his toughest fight in terms of size and preparedness of Margarito,? he said.
?I can?t wait any longer. Kung maari lang, bukas na sana ang laban (In fact, if it?s only possible, I want the fight held tomorrow),? the 31-year-old southpaw, for his part, blurted out.
?They said Margarito has been preparing like he didn?t do before. That?s good, meaning we?ll be having a good fight. Good for the fans and good for boxing. I also look forward to giving boxing fans the fight they?ve been waiting for,? he said.
Even the harsh feelings that existed in both camps seemed to have tone down.
Margarito shared the same feeling, saying he respects Pacquiao as a fighter and feels honored that he was given a chance to face somebody of his caliber.
?I couldn?t tell you anyone that has come close to his style or the way he fights,? the Mexican icon, popularly known as the ?Tijuana Tornado,? said in a tribute to his rival during a conference call held a few days ago.
?I never fought anyone like that or anyone that comes close. I see his speed. I know he is fast, but he is smaller guy, ?the three-time world champion himself said. ?I think I have a big advantage there.?
?He may think he?s a big puncher in this division. So I want to get up in the ring to see what we can do to each other,? Margarito said.
Even Robert Garcia, Margarito?s newly-acquired trainer for this fight, couldn?t hide expressing his admiration to the Filipino ring hero.
?I have always admired Pacquiao?s career. He has done good things in boxing. He is seven-time world champion. You can?t beat that. But watching his fights over and over we know he makes mistakes.?
Incidentally, Pacquiao had just added a brand new Land Cruiser fleet of expensive vehicles in Los Angeles after acquiring the $80,000 donation from Glendale Toyota Friday.
Harlan Gittin, Glendale-Toyota owner, also presented the seven-division kingpin his firm?s $10,000 donation to the Manny Pacquiao Foundation.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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