On Sunday November 14, Manny Pacquiao showed the world that he truly is the pound for pound king by beating the bigger Antonio Margarito to claim his 8th title and become the undisputed WBC World Super Welterweight Champion.
It was all Manny from start to finish as he methodically dismantled the Mexican boxer round after round after round. After 12 rounds of pounding, the judge’s score cards were at 120-108, 118-110 and 119-109 – all for the Filipino champion, Manny Pacquiao.
So dominating was the Pac-man’s performance that by the 11th round he looks at the referee as if asking for a stoppage. At the end of the fight, the Tijuana Tornado’s face was a bloody mess with both of his eyes nearly shut.
Prior to the event there were doubts about Pacquiao’s conditioning among boxing fans. He was often portrayed as being out of shape and distracted with his many activities totally unrelated to boxing. Among these were his involvement in politics, business, and entertainment.
In the HBO’s 24/7 he is often seen stumbling against his sparring partners, many of whom were relatively unknown. Conditioning coach Ariza and trainer Freddie Roach were very concerned about his speed and power, given that the fight will happen at 150 pounds.
Now that Margarito is out of the way there is one last fight the world wants to see. When asked in the post-fight interview, Manny stated that he is not afraid of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Will Floyd step up to the challenge?