Shattered Records and Eyesockets, Just Another Day at the Office for Manny Pacquiao

Added on Nov 15, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

You can go ahead and completely disregard any notion that Manny Pacquiao was in any way ill prepared for his world title clash against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito. Even if he was, it didn’t matter in the least as he became the first fighter in the history of the sport to win titles in eight different weight classes.

From the moment the opening bell sounded, Pacquiao utilized his superior hand and foot speed along with the ability to launch his trademark vicious assault from angles that even the sport’s elite aren’t accustomed to dealing with. While Margarito was able to handle Pacquiao’s shots without much of a problem, it was enough for the pint sized Pacquiao to build up an early points lead on the judge’s scorecards.

As the rounds progressed, Margarito was able to fare a bit better than he had started out. The Tijuana brawler mostly plodded around the ring in an attempt to get to Pacquiao, but began to find a bit of a rhythm, landing in spots during exchanges that had the 41,000 fans at Cowboy’s Stadium on their feet. While it wasn’t nearly the dominance displayed by Pacquiao, it was enough to earn him a couple of points on the cards.

As soon as he found any success it was just as quickly lost, and on top of that, Pacquiao’s assault was beginning to take its toll on his much larger opponent. By the end of the bout, both of Margarito’s eyes were completely swollen and cut, making this tough outing even more difficult. When you consider Margarito had a hard enough time trying to avoid Manny’s shots when he was able to see them coming, with his eyesight hindered, his chances of avoiding punishment was non existent.

In a sport filled with warriors and the bravado they possess, it’s not very often you see a fighter call it quits in the middle of a fight. On this night, there aren’t too many spectators that would have blamed him for calling it a night, and to be perfectly honest, there’s plenty of people who feel his corner would have been completely justified in saving their charge from absorbing further punishment as they entered the championship rounds. Battered, bleeding, bruised and unable to find any success, Margarito was fighting a pointless fight, relying solely on heart to get him through the battle.

As Pacquiao continued his relentless attack in the 12th and final round, there were moments when he turned to referee Laurence Cole as if to ask Cole to spare Margarito from any permanent damage.

As the final bell sounded, Margarito walked back to his corner, clearly a beaten man, while Pacquiao and his team raised there hands in triumph. It was made official when ring announcer Michael Buffer declared Pacquiao as the victor, predictably by unanimous decision, with scores of 118-110, 119-109 and the third awarding his a clean sweep at 120-108.

Following the bout, Margarito was transported to the local medical center where it was determined that he had suffered a broken orbital bone. Pacquiao, only showed a few scrapes and a bit of swelling as he was awarded the WBC Junior Middleweight Championship.

Even with undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. active, Manny Pacquiao solidified his claim as to being the best fighter in the game today. His eight championships in as many weight classes now places him two ahead of Oscar De La Hoya, whom Pacquiao retired, with an impressive six championships.

As with any time that Pacquiao or Mayweather fight, talks will once again, and very appropriately, shift to their potential showdown. With Pacquiao having already accomplished so much in the sport, a fight with Floyd is the only thing left for him to do.