One-dimensional Mexican fighter

At this point, I have seen tapes of six Antonio Margarito fights over 40 rounds dating back from his one-round demolition (Technical Knock Out or TKO in 1:14 of the first round) of Manuel Gomez on February 18, 2006 at The Aladdin in Las Vegas to successfully retain his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title.

During the post-fight interview conducted in the center of the ring where Margarito made short work of Gomez, Margarito, with the help of promoter Bob Arum, called out the winner of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Zab Judah fight on April 8 of that year as his next opponent.

Judah eventually lost the bout by unanimous decision but not after precipitating a near-riot between the corner men of the two camps after Judah low-blowed Mayweather in the 10th round. Judah was fined $250,000 for the infraction and had his boxing license revoked for one year.

After a successful defense of his WBO welterweight title against Joshua Clottey over 12rounds at the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 2, 2006, Margarito then faced Paul Williams, the elongated (6’1”) southpaw welterweight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California on July 14, 2007.

Pundits said that it was a tactical mistake for Margarito to have fought Williams. The lanky Williams exposed a terrible Margarito weakness: a one-dimensional fighter who went only one direction, forward, and had almost no side-to-side movement. In contrast, Williams showed quick hands and feet in fashioning the split decision. Williams kept the onrushing Margarito at bay with his right jab and footwork to grab the WBO welterweight title from the Tijuana-based, California-born Mexican.

Margarito next faced Golden Johnson on November 10, 2007 at the Madison Square Garden in New York before a sparse crowd which further emphasized the poor quality of the match up. Johnson, who could be considered a journeyman because of inactivity for prolonged periods, was out for good in 2:28 of the first round. Margarito used the same formula that worked in previous bouts: move toward your opponent on a straight line (no angles) and get to the other guy even if you take punishment. In the case of Johnson, the risk of being hit by a haymaker was close to nil as Johnson’s punches seemed to have the same impact as pillows during a pillow fight.

Kermit Cintron served as Margarito’s next victim on April 12, 2008. The Puerto Rican Cintron had earlier lost to Margarito by a fifth round TKO on April 23, 2005 at the Cesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The rematch had the same result: Margarito relentlessly attacked the head and the body of Cintron with one bomb landing smack on the Puerto Rican’s midsection in the sixth round. The bout highlighted another Margarito weakness: the guy is a notoriously slow starter who gets his bearings only in the middle rounds.

Perhaps, Margarito’s most spectacular performance was his 11th round TKO win over Cotto. When the two met on July 26, 2008, Cotto had an unblemished record of 32 wins which included a unanimous decision over the surprisingly lethargic Shane Mosley.

Up to the seventh round, Cotto had been beating the Mexican to the punch and had managed to extricate himself when pinned to the ropes (which is considered Margarito’s “office” by some observant boxing commentators). Cotto was however tagged in the nose in one of the exchanges in the seventh. With bloodied nose and all, the Puerto Rican had difficulty breathing from that point on. Cotto’s footwork had almost totally deserted him in the 11th round when he fell on one knee hanging on to the ropes. Months later, it was discovered that Margarito may have used illegal Plaster of Paris-like substances in his hand wraps.

Cotto had the quick hands but did not have the feet speed to run rings around Margarito. Cotto had unleashed a number of rapid combinations which Margarito, whose face is long enough to qualify as an easier target than most of Pacquiao’s previous opponents, was practically unmindful of.

Such however was not the case against Shane Mosley. Even at 38, Mosley, on January 24, 2009 at Staples Center, demonstrated how his hand speed and footwork unmasked Margarito, who in the words of an American boxing commentator “has no reverse gear”. The referee stopped the fight in the ninth round when Margarito had nothing more to give after a barrage of punches from the American.

Given the obvious fact that Margarito is an easy target for the expectedly big volume of punches that Pacquiao will throw from different directions and at blinding speed, Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach is probably right: Margarito may just walk into Pacquiao’s punches - he did that so well in his lost battles against Mosley and Williams and even in his victories over Cotto and Cintron.