Around the Net: Pacquiao vs Margarito Post-Fight Edition

Saturday night saw yet another remarkable performance from Manny Pacquiao.  The sensational Filipino southpaw simply chewed Antonio Margarito up with a rapid fire double fisted assault, leaving the Tijuana fighter a beaten swollen mess after twelve violent rounds.  It was both savage and artistic, and exactly what we've come to expect from the sport's most brilliant fighter.

Deftly moving in and out, he beat Margarito to the punch over and over, smacking the bigger man around with straight lefts and right hooks and the occasional well placed dig downstairs.  Margarito tried to respond behind a steady left jab, though was outclassed in the middle of the ring and rarely managed to force the action to the ropes.  Even when he did, except for a brief spell towards the end of the sixth round, he was beaten up by Pacquiao's sharp accurate counters.

Heading into the last few rounds, a stoppage seemed imminent.  Margarito's right eye, of which the orbital bone was later determined to have been fractured, was almost swollen shut and on two occasions referee Laurence Cole called time-out to check the fighter's vision.  But Cole let Margarito continue, as did trainer Robert Garcia, while Pacquiao appeared to go easy down the stretch, content to let his courageous opponent hear the final bell.

The scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110.

The best fight of the night in terms of competitive action featured the up and coming Mike Jones getting all he could handle from a determined Jesus Soto Karass.  Jones looked well on his way to an easy victory early, only to thoroughly exhaust himself with a minute long power punch barrage during a moment of madness in the second round.  He never fully recovered, and with his back resting on the ropes, was pounded on by a bloody Soto Karass for long stretches of the remaining eight rounds.  Jones showed showed guts in battling through the fatigue, and did have some good moments later, but was very fortunate to walk away a winner by majority decision (97-93, 95-94 and 93-93).

Guillermo Rigondeaux made few fans in topping Ricardo Cordoba via split decision over twelve rounds.  The Cuban was the aggressor early, albeit an extremely patient one, and looked well on his way to a decisive victory after scoring a knockdown with a straight left to the body in the fourth round.  That all changed in the sixth, when Rigondeaux was dropped by a right hand during an exchange in the middle of the ring.  It was a track meet from that point on, with Rigondeaux rarely stopping to engage the suddenly far more confident Cordoba.  The scores were 117-109, 114-112 and 112-114.

In the opening bout of the telecast, Brandon Rios was much too strong for Omri Lowther.  Enjoying a nine pound pull in fight night weights, Rios steadily walked Lowther down with a punishing body attack until the bout was stopped by referee Raul Caiz at 2:17 of the fifth round.  Lowther had his moments early by using his quickness to get there first before slipping away along the perimeter, but couldn't keep the distance he needed against the heavy hitter from the second round on.

Let's take a look around the net for more post-fight reaction to Saturday night's show...

Bad Left Hook - With Margarito Vanquished, Who Does Manny Pacquiao Face Next?

The obvious answer is Floyd Mayweather Jr., of course, but "Money" has some pretty big reservations about fighting Pacquiao, no matter what he says about playing fields being even. While I agree with his cause (Olympic-level testing for big-time boxing), I don't agree that he's doing it to "clean up boxing." He's not out there crusading to have it done across the sport during his downtime, he brings it up when Pacquiao is mentioned to him, and he got Shane Mosley to go along with it in May to "prove" that it wasn't just Pacquiao. Shane Mosley wanted that payday and that opportunity so bad he'd have fought with his feet tied together. But anyway, without going into the whole big thing, just count Mayweather out for now. Aside from any reservations, he also has legal troubles right now, as does his uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather. If that fight happens in 2011, consider it a minor miracle, and be thrilled. But don't count on it. So Floyd's out. So, then. Now what?

The Cruelest Sport - The Harrowing: Manny Pacquiao W 12 Antonio Margarito

That Margarito went the distance is a testament to his heart and to the bravery of his trainer, Robert Garcia, who might have been motivated by some of the smack talk and bad blood leading up to the fight. Personal pride should not be the determining factor in allowing a hopelessly outclassed fighter to continue into the danger zone, but Garcia, who was a shot boxer by the time he was 25, decided that bragging rights for going the distance were more important than the safety of his fighter.

The Queenbury Rules - Manny Pacquiao, The Most Accomplished, Exciting Athlete In Professional Sports Today

Pacquiao intends to keep fighting, and I couldn't be any happier. Top Rank's Bob Arum says the first target is Floyd Mayweather, but Mayweather is a mess right now -- legal trouble, disinterest in boxing, etc. Mainly, I believe Mayweather doesn't think he can beat Pacquiao, and I agree with him. If you're Mayweather and you watch last night, do you think you have a better chance of beating him than before? You shouldn't. I don't think this fight will ever happen, and it's all Mayweather's fault, shamefully. Shane Mosley is another option, and it wouldn't be my first choice. Honestly, I don't think Pacquiao should fight above welterweight -- he probably should stick to junior welterweight. That makes Juan Manuel Marquez an option, or the winner of the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander/Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana round robin, albeit probably later in the year for that. Outside of Mayweather, there's just nobody all that compelling at 147 for Pacquiao. There's good news in Arum's declaration that Pacquiao's next opponent probably won't be from Top Rank, which rules out a Cotto rematch or the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., thankfully. But don't expect anyone to compete with Pacquiao. Not at this rate.

The Boxing Tribune - What did you expect?

Margarito was an already limited fighter, exposed and battered in his last big bout with Shane Mosley, and possibly missing the cheat that put him up on the main stage in the first place. The "Tijuana Tornado" that we saw climb into the ring against Manny Pacquiao was merely a competent, physically big, well-conditioned fighter with a big name, thanks to the efforts of his promotional company. There was nothing to suggest that he would be at all competitive with the Filipino superstar.

Bob Arum and Top Rank, with the help of the media and a surprisingly bigger-than-anticipated group of willing fans, made Margarito into something that he wasn’t. And you simply can’t put a pretender in the ring against someone like Pacquiao without expecting something bad to happen.

Boxing Scene - Same As It Ever Was: Pacquiao is Brutal, Shatters Records

The win caps a crazy journey into the year’s biggest event, with too much of the pre-fight conversation centered around the negative aspects and not enough on what each fighter brought to the table.

Concerns were aired over Margarito not deserving the fight in the wake of last year’s hand wrap scandal, and whether or not Pacquiao was properly focused now that his time is split between boxing and serving as Congressman in his native Philippines.

In the end, it all proved to be nonsense as the sport was once again treated to the best fighter of this generation – and continuing to creep up on the very best of all time.