By Chris Robinson

The second episode of Pacquiao-Margarito 24/7 premiered on Saturday night on HBO and the acclaimed series continued to give us a detailed look inside the lives of the two pugilists and their respective teams. Manny Pacquiao faces off with Antonio Margarito on November 13th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in one of the year’s most anticipated fights.

There were several telling moments that stood out from the second episode but perhaps the most striking came from Team Margarito. As trainer Robert Garcia was busy wrapping the hands of his Tijuana pupil, one of the members of the team brought in a cement block and placed it directly on Margarito’s hand. Instantly afterwards Garcia pretended to wrap the block up as the entire team erupted in laughter.

The block was an obvious reference to Margarito’s infamous hand wrap scandal that took place prior to his loss to Shane Mosley in January of 2009. In that bout Margarito was caught with elements of plaster of paris in his wraps and subsequently suspended for a year by the California State Athletic Commission. He has been fighting to rebuild his credibility ever since.

Margarito has professed his innocence in regards to the whole ordeal, claiming that his trainer at the time, Javier Capetillo, had tampered with his mitts without his knowledge. Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach have been on the record numerous times saying that they fully believe Margarito had to have known exactly what was taking place during the wrapping sessions, further adding fuel to the ever building rivalry between both camps.

The antics from Team Margarito show that they obviously aren’t affected by the whole incident and it speaks on the care free nature that takes place in camp. Still, seeing as though it is obviously a sensitive topic to some people, as illegal wraps could cause serious harm to any opponent inside of the ring, you have to wonder what Pacquiao and Roach thought of Team Margarito’s joking nature.

Later in the episode Margarito could be heard saying 'That bitch Pacquiao' and it is obvious that their is some serious tension brewing at this point.

Also in the episode

Pacquiao was seen sparring in Baguio City in the Philippines with WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, who was brought in by Roach because of his tremendous speed and quickness. A few days later Pacquiao and his team would exit the Philippines and make their way to the LAX airport in Los Angeles, California to officially embark on the last leg of camp.

Garcia and Margarito study Pacquiao on tape

Garcia and Margarito, along with his wife Michelle, were all show watching Pacquiao’s March victory over Joshua Clottey. In that fight Pacquiao threw over 1200 punches against the reluctant Accra, Ghana native, who seemed more content on covering up than actually fighting.

Garcia noted that while Pacquiao was fast, that he didn’t see any way that the Filipino star could outmuscle Margarito on the inside. Margarito noted that he was different than past Pacquiao victims such as Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya and that he would be moving forward and throwing punches all night long.

Margarito camp atmosphere

There seems to be an almost euphoric atmosphere in Margarito’s camp. Teaming up with Garcia has seemed to put his mind at ease and much of the time in camp the entire crew can be seen smiling, joking and simply enjoying the moment at hand.

Lightweight charge Brandon Rios is a fixture in the Oxnard Boxing Academy and his youthful energy and bombastic nature are welcomed by Margarito, who has developed a friendship with the 24-year old. Rios is coming off of a September victory over Anthony Peterson at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas and should be in line for a title shot in the near future. Rios insists that Margarito is too strong for Pacquiao and said that he feels Pacquiao will seriously consider pulling out of the contest as the fight nears.

Distractions with Pacquiao

Freddie Roach has said repeatedly that this has been the worst camp that he has experienced with Pacquiao, but you have to wonder how much weight his words really hold. Roach and Ariza were seen standing inside of the Wild Card Boxing Club discusses Pacquiao’s upcoming schedule in camp and both men were disturbed by the fact that Pacquiao would be leaving for Las Vegas [this past Friday] at the request of promoter Bob Arum to participate in an electoral rally in town.

Sitting on the steps outside of the gym, Ariza pointed out that Pacquiao has taken far too many ‘quick trips’ for his liking and he seemed seriously concerned about Pacquiao’s focus and mental state with the fight so close. The fight is now less than two weeks away and both teams will be heading out for Texas in roughly a week’s time.

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here, and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com