Margarito braces for mega bout

If his training and choice of sparring partners is any indication, Antonio Margarito is preparing for his fight November 13 showdown with Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao like never before in his career—hoping his hard work would lead to a big upset win over the Filipino pound-for-pound king.

Margarito, who trains very hard like Pacquiao, is “already in great shape” having started his preparations for Pacquiao in the second week of September, according to his chief trainer Robert Garcia.

Garcia said the Oxnard, California-based Margarito would have no problem making the 151-pound catch weight for his Pacquiao fight since he stays fit in between fights plus the fact that he always trains very hard.

“Good thing about Margarito, the first thing I did was weigh him Monday after training and he’s weighing 159,” Garcia told veteran boxing writer Chris Robinson of examiner.com.

“So he’s only got 9lbs to lose for his fight. That’s very good. It’s like a pound a week and that’s a great advantage for Margarito.”

What really excites Team Margarito is the confirmation that reigning world middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 25 by knockouts) has agreed to help prepare the three-time Mexican welter champ for the biggest fight in his boxing career.

Martinez—35 and a power-punching southpaw like Pacquiao—holds the World Boxing Council and World
Boxing Organization middleweight titles. The Argentine slugger is rated seventh in the Ring magazine’s elite Top 10 best boxers, pound-for-pound.

“I’m very close to Sergio Martinez’s camp and he is such a great person and they offered to help us out with whatever we need,” said Garcia, a highly respected ring tactician.

He added that Team Margarito is lining up four other sparring partners for the Mexican-American brawler, a former three-time world welterweight titlist and the first fighter to beat Martinez in their February 2000 encounter.

Garcia said Team Margarito hopes their fighter would be able to trade leather with the Argentine champ at least twice a week to boost both fighters’ preparations for their coming fights.

He said Margarito has been taking regular morning mountain runs for two weeks followed by visits to the gym to build up his stamina and in preparation for formal training camp next week in Oxnard, where Garcia runs a gym.

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