Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Pacquiao To Fight Margarito In November, Kevin Iole, Yahoo Sports

[Glax0r]

Pacquiao to fight Margarito in November
Kevin Iole

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports 3 hours, 41 minutes ago


Manny Pacquiao will fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 for a vacant super welterweight championship, either in Las Vegas if Margarito can get licensed or in Monterrey, Mexico, if he can’t, promoter Bob Arum said.

That ends any possibility of a match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the top two boxers in the world, for 2010.

Arum said he decided to choose Margarito instead of Miguel Cotto, whom Pacquiao stopped in the 12th round in November, because it would be perceived as a more competitive bout. The bout will be offered on HBO Pay-Per-View.

“Cotto was beaten and even with [Hall of Fame trainer] Emanuel Steward now with him, I don’t think people believe that it’s enough to make a difference and I’m not sure they would buy it as competitive,” Arum said by telephone from his vacation home in Los Angeles. “But putting aside the controversy about the wraps, the one thing you know for sure with a Margarito fight is that it will be a hell of a fight for however long it lasts.

“Margarito knows only one way to fight and that’s coming forward. They’re going to get in there and fight. That’s what people want to see.”

Margarito’s hand-wrap controversy is no minor matter, however. He was caught with a hardened substance in his knuckle pad prior to a Jan. 24, 2009, fight in California against Shane Mosley.

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He was forced to re-wrap his hands and was knocked out in the ninth round by Mosley. In February 2009, he was suspended for a year by the California State Athletic Commission.

He fought once since the Mosley fight, winning a lackluster unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia.

He applied for a license in Nevada on July 9, but by a 4-1 vote, the Nevada Athletic Commission tabled the matter and told Margarito to return to California. Arum said Margarito will file paperwork with California on Monday.

If Nevada grants Margarito a license, Arum said the fight would be in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. If not, it is all but certain to wind up at a 22,000-seat arena in Monterrey, Mexico, though a group from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is also bidding for the fight.

Skip Avansino, a member of the Nevada commission, said he thinks California regulators should consider it first, even though Margarito doesn’t plan to fight there. The California commission knows the matter best, Avansino said.

Avansino wasn’t willing to speculate what would occur if California were to decline taking up his request, given he doesn’t have a fight planned in the state.

“He certainly deserves a decision,” Avansino said. “I don’t know what procedures California will consider in connection with his reapplication. I would think that they would consider his application appropriately, just as we would, but I would want to wait until I see what California decides.”

Avansino said he wouldn’t be swayed by the huge economic impact the fight would have upon the depressed Las Vegas economy.

Pacquiao is a huge draw in Las Vegas and is one of the few boxers who attracts high-rolling Asian gamblers, who play $25,000-a-hand blackjack as well as baccarat. Las Vegas casinos had their best night in two years Nov. 14, 2009, when Pacquiao fought Cotto, because of the large influx of high-rollers who flooded Las Vegas, according to analysis by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

“I’m mindful of the economic conditions in the state of Nevada and I understand them well,” Avansino said. “I have every interest to improve and help improve the economy in this state. But as a commission, my responsibility is to protect the health and safety of those who compete in our state and to uphold the integrity of the sport. That’s my primary responsibility.”

The match would be for the World Boxing Council super welterweight championship. If Pacquiao wins it, it would be either the seventh or eighth division in which he has held a title, depending upon how it is calculated.

He has won sanctioning body titles at 112, 122, 130, 135, 140 and 147 pounds. At 126 pounds, he beat Marco Antonio Barrera, who was the linear champion. But Barrera had surrendered all of his sanctioning body titles by the time he fought Pacquiao, though he had not been beaten.

[Ali]

i could have told you this last week when bob had his press conference,what a farce this is marg gets a title shot and millions of dollars after what he did and how he lost,i don't think he should ever be allowed to fight again let alone the chance to make millions more.

[Glax0r]

i could have told you this last week when bob had his press conference,what a farce this is marg gets a title shot and millions of dollars after what he did and how he lost,i don't think he should ever be allowed to fight again let alone the chance to make millions more.

Pacquiao fights Top Rank fighters... would Arum really have it any other way?

[Tdog987]

[brutualbk]

Pacquiao fights Top Rank fighters... would Arum really have it any other way?

More importantly he gets spoonfed another bum who had to cheat his way to victory in all his fights prior to SSM.

Margo has no defense and I declare that this will be even easier and worse of a beating than Clottey because unlike Joshua, the dumb ass MargoCHEATO actually believes he can fight and will come forward walking in straight lines with his slow footwork, wide telegraphed punches making the easiest Pac has had since RH and then everyone and their momma (especially PacTARDS) will be screaming how great Pac is and how he destroyed the man that Floyd was scared to face and all the other praises they can sing about Pac.

This is no more than Bob greedy Jew Arum making another paycheck by cashing in on one of his fighter's (that he knew was a cheater) that he knows is downhill from here on.

Amazing that they're gonna sell this Pac Hero crap on this the easiest of fights since RH.

[mike_0325]

Doens anyone need more reason in understanding why Boxing is dying and UFC is growing. This is terrible. AND how exactly do you decide that this is deserving a HBO PPV spot, I know PAC is the draw but Antonio Margarito is no opponent. If this was the UFC he would be fighting a TOP 147 or 154. It would have been Paul WIlliams, TIm Bradley or Shane Mosely. YES Shane, Even with the loss to Floyd the arguement is still stronger for that fight. UFC will be having a card on 11/20, save your money for that one.