Manny Pacquiao's Speed Destroys Heavier Antonio Margarito
Manny Pacquiao didn't need a lawsuit to defeat Antonio Margarito Saturday. The Filipino boxing sensation only needed his lightning-fast fists. Pacquiao annihilated Margarito in a lopsided, unanimous decision that sent Margarito to the hospital for surgery on his right eye socket.
But before the fight, when word that Margarito had gained 15 pounds overnight to come into the ring at 165, people worried for the smaller Pacquiao's safety, who was giving away 17 total pounds. Boxing followers recalled a famous lawsuit stemming from when Arturo Gatti gained 19 pounds overnight and brutally knocked out Joey Gamache in 2000.
Gatti originally weighed in at 141 and entered the ring the next day at 160. Gamache had only gone from 141 to 144. That 19-pound weight gain and 16-pound difference, which became somewhat infamous in the lawsuits, was one less than the reported difference Saturday between Pacquiao and Margarito.
That night, Gatti (the bigger man) knocked out Gamache with a series of brutal punches. When Gamache finally went down in the second round, he stayed out for several minutes before he came to. Gamache later sued (and lost) claiming that he had suffered brain damage in the match.
Of course, Manny Pacquiao (the lighter man) was the one who administered the brutal beating on Saturday. Pacquiao's speed left Margarito's face badly swollen and disfigured by the 5th round. Many wondered why Margarito's corner let the Mexican take such a sustained, unnecessary beating.
In fact, during the 11th round, Pacquiao turned to the referee and implored him to stop the beating before buckling Margarito's knees with a combination, the Boston Herald reports.
"My opponent looked bad," an unmarked Pacquiao said to the Herald. "I wanted the referee to stop it. I told the referee, 'Look at his eyes! Look at the cuts!' I didn't want to damage him permanently. That is not what boxing is about."
Related Resources:
- Pacquiao cements his place among pantheon of all-time boxing greats (Sports Illustrated)
- Football's 'Big Hits': A Lawsuit in the Making? (FindLaw)
- Floyd Mayweather Jr Arrested for Larceny, Domestic Violence (FindLaw)