Reflections Before the Megafight

First, let me congratulate Juan Manuel Lopez for stopping Rafael Marquez in the 8th round of their WBO Featherweight Championship fight. Although the volume punching of Lopez overwhelmed Marquez, the latter made his countrymen proud as he proved that Mexicans are warriors. However, I don't think that Marquez can defeat Juanma in a rematch allegedly at 130 as the age and the wars with Vasquez have taken their toll on the former.

Moving on, the Filipinos and Mexicans and even the rest of the world are awaiting for the highly anticipated match between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. The allegations of "lack of focus" and "taking the match lightly" have aroused suspicions of an impending upset. Nevertheless, the camp of Pacman allayed fears of the public by showing that "he knows best" -- an indication that the seven-time world champ knows when to step up.

But what should we expect from Margarito? With his ostensible height and reach advantage, this fight is indeed the "biggest so far". However, his heft would prove to be either an advantage or a disadvantage. His "heaviness" may be favorable because his punches are presumed to be heavier. On the other hand, the weight factor could affect his mobility and there are also observations that it is more difficult for him to cut down his weight -- the effects of which were seen in the Mosley fight.

Next question: What are the punches that we can expect from Margarito? One is the body punch which finished Kermit Cintron. Secondly, his uppercuts are also powerful as we saw in Margarito-Cotto fight. But in my opinion, Margarito's hook and straight should also be avoided by Pacman. While Margarito is slow and the hooks and straights are expected to be long, the least that we expect is a repetition of the knockdown that Pacman suffered in the hands of Nadel Hussein.

I still believe that the fighting Congressman from Saranggani will win by unanimous decision or a late stoppage due to volume punches. On the other hand, I also see this as a war. The key to this fight will be the setting up of the phase of the fight. If Pacman can keep his speed going and make Margarto miss, then we can expect a celebration. On the contrary, it will be a very gloomy Sunday afternoon if Margarito would be able to bully Pacman and place the fight away from the center of the ring.