Margarito vs. Pacquiao: The Aftermath!

By Michael Lopez

You know you had one heck of a fight if the press is still talking about it five days later. Yes the Saturday (November 13) boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito was phenomenal, but it’s the aftermath that’s keeping the sports blogs jumping.

Image : Getty Images

First, some details on the fight itself. Going the full twelve rounds, Manny pummeled the much larger Margarito, landing a total of 474 punches throughout the night (vs. Antonio’s 229). Over 4,000 screaming fans packed Cowboys Stadium, watching Pacquiao dominate round after round after round!

When it was all over, Manny spoke to the crowd, “I can’t believe that I beat someone this big and this strong. It’s hard. I really do my best to win the fight.”

And win he did, even sending Margarito to the hospital for facial surgery following the main event. Just this past Tuesday (November 16), Antonio underwent a complicated procedure in which doctors repaired his broken eye socket (ouch!) and stuck six stitches in his right cheek.

Throughout it all, Antonio maintained his Latino pride and even gave a nice little shout out to Manny,

“There was no way I was going to quit. I’m a Mexican; we fight until the end. [But] I would like to congratulate Manny Pacquiao for his win on Saturday night.”

Of course, the question on everyone’s mind is who will Manny fight next? Boxing fans everywhere are holding out hope for that dream bout with Floyd Mayweather, but it still looks like a longshot. That leaves 39-year-old "Sugar" Shane Mosley, who’s spoken very publicly about his desire to take on Pacquiao.

While Manny’s promoter says a Mosley fight is “a real possibility,” Pacquiao’s got plenty of other important things on his mind. Namely, his big 32nd birthday bash in the Philippines. There’s also that much-hyped appearance in the Fight Night Champion video game from EA Sports and a potential role in the next Sylvester Stallone movie.

As for Margarito, he’s back home in Tijuana, Mexico and under strict orders to take it easy for the next 60 days. And even though he probably won’t be winning any beauty contests in the near future, he’s now got an extra $3 million in his pocket to help soften the blows.

Source: [ESPN]

Who would like to see Manny fight next? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Antonio Margarito, boxing, Manny Pacquiao, Sports