FIGHT NIGHT PREDICTION PAGE: Who Ya Like, Pacquiao Or Margarito?

Its all over now but the fight. Well, as long as Manny and Margarito dont break curfew, go out and get themselves in some sort of a humdinger brouhaha, and find themselves a guest of the Dallas PD, or something, we are a scant 29 hours away from another edition of MannyMania.

Pacman, whos on the hunt for a title in a record eighth weight class, this time the junior middleweight* class, and Margarito, whos hoping to achieve a monumental redemption, as he attempts to get it done in the ring without the usage of a foreign object, or the suggestion that he has to cheat to win, hopped on the scale and weighed in for their Saturday clash at Cowboys Stadium.

The soon to be 32-year-old Manny (58-3; turns 32 on Dec. 17) registered 144.6 pounds, well under the 150 pound max catchweight limit. Some will wonder if hes too light, if he would not have been wiser to up the caloric intake to 8,000 or so calories a day, so he wont give away so much weight to Margarito, who one figures will gain almost 15 pounds overnight. I say speed is his main edge, so maximize it, by being light on your feat.

Margarito (38-6) hit 150 on the nose. To my eye, he looked like he didnt have much flesh or fluid to scrape off when HBOs 24/7 show showed him on the scale in the second edition of the show, and some have whispered that at 32, hes finding it much harder to stay in the 150 pound range. As a fan, Im hoping he didnt find the cut too draining, so hes all systems go for Saturday, and there are no excuses no matter what goes down. Im guessing he, for one, might well go down, but I foresee Margarito being too stubborn to be counted out, or to quit, as Freddie Roach has predicted. Going the distance might well be victory enough for the Mexican, who I think knows darn well that Mannys agility and hand speed are in another league entirely.

SPEEDBAG The WBC head honcho Jose Sulaiman gave Cowboys owner Jerry Jones an award as Man of the Year. Jones said it was a privilege to be there with Sulaiman, the fighters and promoter Bob Arum, and all the fight fans. Jones was booed.Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Margarito are priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium ticket office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

The finale of HBO®’s all-access reality series “24/7 Pacquiao/Margarito debuts Friday, November 12 at 9:30 p.m. Episodes one thru three are available on HBO ON DEMAND®. The entire four-part series can be watched on HBO starting Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. All times are ET/PT.