Pacqauio-Margarito 24/7

I just love HBO's 24/7 series.  They do such a great job and I wish they could have done this for boxing a decade ago.  Boxing is a dying sport short on superstars (especially when they avoid each other like Floyd Mayweather has been doing) that is losing its fan base to MMA.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of Manny Pacquaio and I'm glad he steps up to take on all comers but I think this fight he picked with Antonio Margarito is the wrong fight.  Margarito regardless of his illegal hand wraps is still a dangerous fighter.  He's the naturally bigger fighter and he's also trying to prove something after his controversial hand wrap incident along with the demolishing ass-whooping that Sugar Shane Mosley gave him back in January 2009.  Trust me, Margarito is hungry and is more than ready to redeem himself.  Pacqauio on the other hand has been on a roll the past few years looking unstoppable and in the process has been elected a congressional seat in the Philippines.  He seems very into his new gig and that's great but boxing is still what got him out of poverty and made him into a multi-millionaire.  Even his long-time trainer Freddy Roach is concerned about the distractions that this new job is bringing to the camp.  I'm starting to smell an upset in the process.  I still want to see Pacqauio destroy Margarito but let's face it, his chances of a victory are starting to fade with new found responsibilities outside of his current occupation.  I hope Pacqauio can rise to the occasion and focus on this big fight.  Career wise if he wins, he beats a washed up Margarito but if he loses it looks bad and he drops his stock as a fighter.  This situation is a win-win for Margarito because if he loses, he lost to the best guy in the game and gets paid millions in the process and can secure another big fight if he looks good in this situation regardless of losing but obviously if he wins, it's a long road to the big time paved in gold.

Thanks to HBO for providing fights a weekly glimpse into the training camps of top-notch fighters.