By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
There are a lot of people utterly disgusted by the likelihood of Antonio Margarito being granted a boxing license by Texas regulators, a situation I outlined in a blog last week.
Carson Jones isn't one of them.
If Margarito, who was punished last year by the California State Athletic Commission for attempting to wear loaded gloves for his fight with Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, gets his license, Top Rank will match him with Jones in a 10-rounder at 155 pounds. It will be a high-profile fight co-featured on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey HBO PPV card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
I think that most who read my work regularly know I'm one of the people appalled by the idea of Margarito getting a Texas license without even having to go before the California commission, which rightfully revoked his license at a disciplinary hearing last February.
However, there are two sides to every story, and Jones is one of the few people who wholeheartedly endorses the idea of Margarito being allowed to fight.
Can you blame him?
It would be the biggest fight and payday of his career. Jones (24-7-1, 15 KOs) is a 23-year-old from Oklahoma City trying to make a living in a tough, tough sport. Nobody looks at Jones and sees a future world champion -- just a hard-working fighter trying to do the best he can and looking to take advantage of a big opportunity against Margarito.
In his last fight, Jones did open a few eyes. In December, he scored a third-round knockout against previously unbeaten and wholly untested Tyrone Brunson in the main event of a "ShoBox" card on Showtime.
A fight against Margarito would dwarf that bout.
"If Margarito is not allowed to fight, that takes food off of my table and robs me of a chance to show the world that I am the real deal and hurts me far more than it does Antonio Margarito. I wish people would stop trying to prevent this fight from happening. This is a dream fight for me and something I have worked all my life for to have an opportunity to do," said Jones, who is going to go through with an already scheduled rematch against Eloy Suarez on Thursday night to prepare for the Margarito fight.
"The public needs to let me handle the punishing of Antonio Margarito, because that is exactly what I will do if he is allowed to fight me on March 13. I ask all the people who want this fight stopped to just support me on March 13 when I pull off my second upset in a row."
Jones, who has already signed a contract for the fight in anticipation of Margarito being licensed, said he has no concern about him trying to cheat again. Besides, you can bet the house that the wrapping of Margarito's hands for that fight will be the most scrutinized in history.
"I think he has learned his lesson, and I am not concerned at all about him trying to do any of the things that he has been accused of doing in the past," Jones said. "This is supposed to be his comeback fight. It will be his retirement fight also. Trust me."
Source: sports.espn.go.com
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