He Was Supposed to Win

When two of boxing's biggest names step in the ring later today all speculation will be laid to rest. The predictions of who will win, in what ring and by what method will either be validated or discarded. But at the end of the night when one man's hand is held high will there be a real winner?

 

Antonio Margarito is 5'11". With a reach of 73" he is 4.5" taller than his Phillippino opponent and has a half foot reach advantage. Margarito is a power puncher with only one gear: forward. When the two men stand in front of each other before the bell it will look like a man standing in front of a boy. Margarito should win.

 

Manny Pacquiao has had an almost unprecedented string of victories against elite fighters. A list of men set for induction in Canastota have fallen to Pacquiao. Names like Morales, Barrera, Cotto, and De La Hoya haven't even been able to finish fights against him. Manny is faster, very elusive and has thus far only gotten better with increased weight. Pacquiao should win.

 

The true question isn't who is going to win, but rather how is who is getting to fight Pacquiao getting to fight him? Margarito, who is still without his California boxing license after having illegal hand wraps before his January 2009 drubbing at the hands of Shane Mosley has only fought once since that KO loss against an opponent no one has ever heard of who has never beaten anyone anybody has ever heard of. Rather than rebuilding his reputation as 'boxing's most feared fighter' and rematching past opponents such as a Paul Williams or a Joshua Clottey, legitimate stepping stones to a deserved fight against Pacquiao, he has ridden the Bob Arum money train to Cowboys Stadium. If Arum didn't represent both fighters there is no question this fight wouldn't be happening.

 

There are more deserving fighters who could be fighting Pacquiao tonight at the light middleweight limit who are also not named Mayweather (because nobody wants to see that). Shane Mosley, even with a draw against Sergio Mora, deserves it more because he was the one who handed Margarito his humiliating defeat. Mosley lost to the other guy some say is the pound-for-pound best. Unlike Margarito, Paul Williams has a legitimate claim as an avoided fighter considering his monstrous height and reach for a guy who can fight under 150 pounds. Williams is currently moonlighting as a middleweight and deserves it more considering he took Margarito's welterweight title. Miguel Cotto could claim he had an off-night in his TKO loss to Pacquiao and has a title at 154 as opposed to the vacant title being fought for tonight.

 

There's even a guy by the name of Juan Manuel Marquez whom many believe has unfinished business with Pacquiao. He had been pursuing Pacquiao in climbing weight classes until being derailed by Mayweather (again, that other pound-for-pound best fighter). He deserves a fight with Pacquiao more.

 

So who's the real winner at the night's end? Depending on what set of circumstances you look at it could be both. It could be neighter. If Margarito loses he probably still gets the biggest payday of his life and moves on to a higher grade of opponent for the time being than he'd had in the past. If Pacquiao loses he could easily declare himself retired and pursue his new passion in the Philippine government. The real winner is the conductor on this crazy train and that is Bob Arum.