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| Sky's the limit? |
As has been predicted prematurely by both critics and fans alike, Pacquiao's speed and agility proved to be too much for the relatively static Margarito, who went nowhere, and seemed lost, in the waning rounds of the fight. And despite having significant advantages over height, weight and reach, Margarito still wasn't able to control the fight right from the get-go, as Pacquiao simply overpowered him with a flurry of punches from all angles, sending Margarito's face badly beaten into what might become a career-ending move of the Tijuana Tornado after suffering a TKO from both Sugar Shane Mosley and his infamous hand wrap scandal barely two years ago.
But you have to give him credit. He may be physically imposing to the seemingly diminutive Pacquiao, and yet somehow he was able to withstand the power punches and the dizzying footwork of an obviously quicker opponent. He even surprised some by displaying an extreme tolerance to punishment, enabling Pacquiao to caution Laurence Cole (Pacquiao's referee in his first fight with Marco Antonio Barrera) in encouraging him to consider stopping the fight. And yet with his Mexican code of honor of not giving up and fighting it to the finish hanging precariously on the ropes, Margarito's stubborn will not to surrender somehow solidifies his already precarious situation as a worthy opponent for the pound-for-pound king despite numerous negativity surrounding his camp.
Assuming that de la Hoya's refusal to do it bloody, as in the cases of the battered faces of Cotto and Margarito, seemed bent of leaving unanswered questions among Pacquiao's critics, particularly in de la Hoya's penchant for unleashing one major blow to his opponents and somehow altering the course of the fight, it still doesn't make ends meet considering the odds de la Hoya faced under the trailing hands of Pacquiao. There was no way he could have that golden moment even if he fought his way through a 12-round gauntlet. That could have been devastating to his legend if it so and to the business of boxing as well.
And so it might be safe to say that because of Pacquiao's recent winning ways and his downright invincibility in and out of the ring, that his much anticipated fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. might not push through at all despite constant cajoling from all corners, and might not be as positive as everyone thought it should be. Since Mayweather has to do some constant soul-searching from here onwards, that if he still has the soul to take on the challenge, of how poignant and pathetic de la Hoya once was when he walked right in front of Pacquiao and conceded silently just to preserve, not so much of his legend, but more so of himself.
That in as much we give credit to Margarito's wile in fighting Pacquiao, we should also give credit at least to Mayweather's wits, no matter what it takes, in staying away from Pacman, especially inside the ring. Perhaps it was a wise decision for him so far. That if indeed Mayweather is intent of preserving his name, his constant grandstanding, his self-professed money-making mojo, his legend; he should, by all means, stay away from you-know-who, since it would be quite risky to gamble on a assertion that is obviously founded on empty talk and the glaring inability to hurt the likes of de la Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, Clottey and Margarito.
Which makes it even more daunting for Teddy Atlas who, after watching Pacquiao beating the hell out of the Mexican Tornado, is still pressing for that Olympic style of blood testing in concurrence of the conditions set from the Mayweather camp for a possible mega fight between Pacman and Pretty Boy Floyd. In as much as how many justifications Teddy Atlas could probably disseminate in his Friday Night Fights on ESPN, and possibly being a tacit believer of Money Mayweather, his covert criticism of Pacquiao may probably add to the growing dissatisfaction of his bet as a far more superior fighter than the one who trounced Hatton in less than 6 minutes.
Why is it that this blood testing hoopla be given a thorough emphasis only in a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight? It simply doesn't make sense in the first place. Why not test every pugilist from now on, and not just plunge the brunt on Pacquiao, to maintain consistency and not go about blurting out a lot of excuses, analysts and boxers alike, just to accommodate unwanted braggadocio ad infinitum?
Somehow it doesn't diminish, in any way possible, Pacquiao's standing in boxing antiquity if, and when, his pressure cooker bout with Mayweather comes to naught. In fact, even Pacquiao himself finds little, if at all nothing, in dignifying all talks of such a fight when interviewed right after pounding Margarito to pieces and said almost in passing that he doesn't need that fight (with Mayweather) anymore.
"If the fight happens, it happens," Pacquiao said, immediately after the fight, leaving Mayweather all the burden of reciprocating it. But it was a declaration that needs no further blood letting. Whatever happens to Pacquiao between now and his next opponent (and that doesn't necessarily mean Mayweather) and even beyond it, his achievement in the boxing world is already unprecedented, even with the conditions of an undefeated opponent in Mayweather part of the billing.
The Margarito fight may well be a premature departure for Pacquiao in the ring because in some ways it was. It might be his last hurrah, his parvum opus now nearly in completion, since he is simply running out of opponents in almost half of the divisions available in the list. And for all of Mayweather's antics in trying to delay, question, or even disregard the Pacquiao myth, the once not-so-pretty boy from Sarangani Province has now come full circle from a mere pugilist under the dim lights of Blow by Blow into the glaring spectacle of a much brighter Dallas Cowboy Stadium, as he repeatedly pound a much taller, much heavier, and a significantly much taller Margarito on his way to immortality.
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