Manny Pacquiao demolishes Antonio Margarito; wins 8th world crown

Manny Pacquiao proved beyond a doubt Saturday night what most people believed coming into his super welterweight championship fight against Antonio Margarito – that size doesn't matter as much as speed and quickness. And heart.

Pacquiao, 17 pounds lighter than Margarito at the opening bell, had too much of everything for Margarito and won going away at Cowboys Stadium before a raucous crowd of 41,734 and extended his record to world championships in eight different weight divisions. Nobody else has more than six.

Pacquiao (59-3, 39 KOs) put on a boxing clinic, dominating the fight from start to finish, landing combinations at will as Margarito could not protect his face. By the end of the fight, Margarito's face was a bloody, swollen pulp. But he never gave up.

"I was looking for a chance to stop the fight in the 10th round," said Pacquiao. "But Margarito kept fighting back."

In the 11th round, Pacquiao said he asked the referee to stop the fight. "My opponent looked bad, I wanted him to stop it," Pacquiao said. " I said, 'look at his face. ' I didn't want to damage him permanently. That's not what boxing's all about."

Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) said he kept on fighting because "I'm a Mexican and there's no way I was going to quit. I fight until the end."

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said he thought Pacquiao won all 12 rounds. "I wished we'd knocked him out, but he's a very tough guy," Roach said.

Pacquiao won all 12 rounds on one judge's scorecard, 11 of 12 on another and 10 of 12 on the third card. He threw 1,069 punches and landed 474 (44%), good for eighth all time in title fights.

Margarito connected on 229 of 817 (28%).

Pacquiao's edge in power punches was hard to overcome. He landed 411 of 713 (58%), while Margarito hit on 135 of 312 (43%).

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Round by Round Summary