Antonio Margarito Has Broken Orbital Bone

A report at ESPN Dallas quoting Top Rank's Carl Moretti says that last night against Manny Pacquiao, the badly thrashed Antonio Margarito suffered a broken orbital bone, which will come as no surprise to those who saw the fight or are just seeing the photos from today.

There has been some discussion today that Margarito should have been pulled out of the fight by his corner or referee Laurence Cole, but Margarito, as you might expect, says he's glad he got to finish the fight. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, however, fears that Margarito's remaining career has been impacted:

"He's a very tough guy," Roach said of Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs). "I was surprised how tough he was. He has the worst corner. They probably ruined his career by not stopping the fight."

I think Freddie might well be right that this has stunted whatever remained of Margarito's career, but as nasty a beating as this was, we've seen worse, and it shouldn't be surprising that Margarito wanted to finish the fight. At 32, he was fighting to put himself back at the top of the food chain. Realistically, someone with Margarito's skill set (or lack thereof, if you prefer) doesn't have a long time left as a big player. And I thought Margarito, warts and all, did show plenty of guts and plenty of resolve and a lot of determination. He wasn't good enough, but he never, ever stopped trying to knock Pacquiao out.

Margarito's own comments on it were brief:

"There was no way I was gong to quit. I'm a Mexican, we fight until the end," Margarito said.

I'm still no fan of Antonio Margarito, and I'm sure many feel the same way. But he left it in the ring last night. That much I can say.