Manny Pacquiao To Fight Antonio Margarito — Not Mayweather — On Nov 13

By Sharmaine Jones

Manny Pacquiao holds a record 7 championship belts and is on a quest for an 8th. The intended target: Antonio Margarito. The two are set to battle it out for the WBC super welterweight title (vacated by Sergio Martinez earlier this year) on November 13.

Pacquiao initially wanted to fight undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. but Mayweather's camp claims that negotiations never took place. Huh? According to Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, they had concluded talks and were awaiting a decision from the Mayweather camp.

Pacman took the liberty of clearing up the whole mishap via Twitter:

Iole (@KevinI): "Welcome to Mayweather in Wonderland, where they try to convince you that up is down, the grass is blue & the sky is green."

Now it all makes sense!

Pacquiao settled for the bout with Margarito after an agreement could not be reached with Mayweather's camp. For those of you unfamiliar with the notorious Antonio Margarito, he's the guy that was caught putting an illegal hard “plaster-like” insert in his hand wraps before his welterweight title fight against Shane Mosley last year.

“Margacheato” and his former trainer were suspended for at least one year by the California State Athletic Commission, a decision still in effect and being upheld by other state commissions.

So where does this leave them? Convince Nevada to grant Margarito a boxing license so that the fight can be held in the MGM Grand Garden – Pacquiao's preference – or it will be held at a 22,000 seat facility in Monterey, Mexico. Either way, we're tuning in! The controversy before the fight just makes the bout that much more intriguing.

Margarito is a move forward, high punch output boxer but will be noticeably slower than the Filipino two-fisted buzz saw. Margarito (5'11'' with a 73'' reach) is much bigger than Pacquiao (5'6'' with a 67'' reach) and although Pacman has never fought above the welterweight limit, he looks better with each division he tries. Despite the size advantage, Pacquiao is still the favored to win.

Be prepared for an explosive all-out brawl that is sure to entertain (sorry Manny Marquez, you'll just have to wait your turn).

Will Margarito be a worthy opponent for Ring Magazine's “Number 1 pound-for-pound best boxer of the world”? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Antonio Margarito, boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, MGM Grand, Shane Mosley