The match went the distance but it could have been stopped at a much earlier round. It was actually one of the more lopsided victories I’ve seen from Pacquiao. From the get go, “Pacman” was just relentless and took the assault to Margarito. He was truly on a league of his own. The hand speed of Manny was just amazing as the height and reach advantage of Margarito was not evident by any means.
But aside from his immense talent and the level of athleticism he has shown, one thing was evident. He is a complete gentleman, a great sport and a very kind person. On the 11th round when he was doing a barrage of punches to Margarito and when it seemed his opponent was all out of sorts, he could have easily beaten the hell out of Antonio. But he paused and actually looked at the referee as if he is asking him why not stop the fight. That showed that he has due respect to his opponent and while he want to amaze his fans by doing a knockout, he knows he has already sealed the deal. He obviously knows the sport by heart, and he knows that a single bad punch on a badly bruised opponent could change his foe’s life. He showed his human side because he knows boxing is not just a sport but a life.
On the 12th when they were about to start the round, he showed more of his sportsmanship by going towards Margarito as if he’s asking if he’s okay. And it is evident that he backed it down a little as he knows his opponent is already hurting and does not want to deal more damage physically and even mentally. With this show of emotions, I now admire Manny by much. For me he is not a legend in the making but already a legend – a living one. For sure, he has etched his mark in the history books and for me he is already the greatest. Congratulations Manny!
Photo Credits: Yahoo