Pacquiao Dominates Margarito, Notches 8th Belt

Manny Pacquiao destroyed Antonio Margarito

Manny Pacquiao has it all. Speed, ring generalship, power, everything. Every tool he had, he used to success in defeating Antonio Margarito, who outweighed the Filipino sensation by 17 pounds and had a distinct advantage in reach (5 inches), along with height (5 inches).

In the early rounds these two warriors got to know each other. Margarito jabbed away while Pacquiao moved clockwise around the ring, throwing with both hands.

Through four rounds, it was clear who the dominant fighter was. Antonio's right eye started swelling early, and would only get worse with the routine punishment he took from the Filipino star.

In round 11, after using Margarito's face as a punching bag, Pacquiao gave a look to referee Laurence Cole, as if to say, "how many more times do you want me to hit him until you stop the fight?"

A few times during the fight, Cole, an experienced referee, would pause the action, hold up fingers from both hands, and ask Margarito how many he was holding up. Antonio passed the test, but lost the war. The final scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 all for Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao admitted he was hurt in the post-fight interview, but did not expose it one bit. Margarito continued to creep towards Manny, and only landed significant punches when pinning Pacquiao on the ropes. This was where Antonio's signature uppercut came into play. Pacquiao, who always matches fire with fire, got hit but countered beautifully with combinations and punched his way off the ropes and away from danger.

The storyline that was downplayed was an 8th belt for Manny Pacquiao in a record 8th division, breaking the former record of 7 belts in 7 divisions, set by Manny Pacquiao.

When asked about a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather, Manny stated "I'm not afraid of anybody."

Hopefully the promoters and Floyd aren't either.