Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito: The Definition of a Warrior
By Edgar Solorzano
People often don’t know the definition of a warrior when it comes to the sport of Boxing. It is one of the oldest Olympic sports known to man. You can ask any fight fan for the meaning of a warrior and they will give you 1/4th of the answer.
A warrior is not just a person that will fight till the end, but a person who knows his strength and weaknesses as well. A warrior always tries to improve and learn from his failures, for later to conquer whatever is to take.
There are two types of warriors, those who are mentally and physically strong, and those who rely on their physical strength.
You might not know the difference, but a warrior who’s mentally strong will most likely make better choices than the warrior that relies on his physical strength. A true warrior could make a decision that would make him look foolish and weak, just so he can learn from that failure, and later comeback stronger, and punish those who laughed and doubted him.
If you really think about it, warriors aren’t perfect; they aren’t superman or have super powers. They are people fighting for something important. It could be: Pride, respect, money and many other things.
A warrior can be another word for an ancient soldier.
As we all know is nearly impossible for a soldier (warrior) to be successful without a good general.
We all saw the Antonio Margarito vs. Manny Pacquiao fight, and witnessed the huge mistake trainer Robert Garcia made on not stopping the fight. Garcia didn’t want to stop the fight because Margarito is a “warrior” and was willing to fight till the end. It’s been bothering me lately how Boxing fans and even trainers use the word “warrior.”
Remember that no one remembers those warriors that have failed by making the wrong choices. But we do remember and respect those that admit and accept when they are wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being defeated by someone better than you, that’s nature.
A general shouldn’t let their soldier fight knowing that they have 0% chance of winning. The right general would wait and come up with a better plan, so they can later have more success defeating the enemy. I’m not taking anything from Margarito, he is a true warrior and he showed it. But he’s the type of warrior that relies on his physical strength to defeat his opponent. And obviously his trainer relied on his strength as well. It was a big mistake made by both: Margarito and Garcia.
There’s nothing they can do about it, but learn from it. (Hopefully)
As I was watching the last two rounds, I kept asking myself why Robert Garcia didn’t stop the fight. Margarito was obviously hurt and had one eye completely shut, while the other one was halfway there.
How can a trainer let his fighter fight a war he couldn’t win?
I understand that it was all about pride and bravery. But was it really worth it? I think Garcia should’ve stopped the fight in the 9th round. Why let a fighter get his confidence taken away, when he could have just stopped the fight for the fighter’s future?
A beating like that does not help a fighter in any way. I don’t see how continuing in a brutal fight like the one we all witnessed could help a fighter. We all saw how Miguel Cotto was destroyed mentally by Margarito, and how he lost part of his confidence.
If I were in Robert Garcia’s shoes, I would have stopped the fight and take the Margarito with a broken face, then the Margarito that finished the fight with a broken soul.
I’m disappointed at the way Robert Garcia defined the word “warrior.”
Before the fight, Team Margarito was discussing how they were going to beat Pacquiao and make it to the top. But after the fight when the “Tijuana Tornado” lost the war against Manny Pacquiao, Margarito’s team was questioning whether their fighter will continue to fight, and they were not sure.
Is that a true warrior?
I don’t care what people say about Margarito, I’m not a big fan of him. But I sure respect him and hope that he continues to fight. A real warrior like Margarito can’t quit after finishing a bloody war he had no chance of winning.
Antonio Margarito needs to know his weaknesses and improve them. I believe that he should find a new trainer, because a soldier can’t rely on a general that doesn’t know the real definition of a warrior.
Like Napoleon Bonaparte once stated, “Soldiers usually win the battles and generals get the credit for them” and I believe most of us can agree that Robert Garcia got all the credit for the beating that Margarito took.