MANILA, Philippines — The four sparring partners of Antonio Margarito have a message to Manny Pacquiao: Margarito can be hazardous to Pacquiao’s health.
A month before Pacquiao and Margarito get it on at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Cleotis Pendarvis, Ricardo Williams, Austin Tour and KC Martinez intimated to the on-line edition of The Ring magazine that Margarito poses serious risks to the Filipino pound-for-pound king.
“He’s definitely not (a) shot (fighter),” said Pendarvis, who has a 10-3-2 record with four KOs, after sparring with Margarito
in Oxnard, California, site of Margarito’s training camp.
“If he was shot, he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did today. He did 10 rounds with four talented young sparring partners. We’re not old journeymen that he can beat up on. We can fight,” said Pendarvis, who also once helped Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in their own preparation for Pacquiao.
Williams, a 2000 Sydney Olympics silver medalist, was awed by Margarito’s ability to take a shot.
“He takes a good shot,” said Williams, who has a 16-2 card with nine KOs.
Even the fast-rising Trout, who packs a 21-0 mark with 13 KOs, has seen tremendous inroads in Margarito’s skills.
Having spared with Margarito two years ago, Trout said Margarito has learned how to pick his punches, a trait that is likely to work wonders against somebody as accomplished and gifted like Pacquiao.
But just about everyone sang the same tune when asked about the vaunted pressure that Margarito applies during a fight.
“You start to feel it by the second round. It’s real,” said Trout.
Pendarvis was blunt in his assessment.
“With Margarito you feel the pressure from the first round because he throws eight shots in one combination.”
Williams felt it the moment “he gets you with a good body shot.”
But Pendarvis, who claimed they were told to take it east against De La Hoya and Hatton during training camp, summed it all up.
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