Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito have public workouts in Texas, but Jerry Jones doesn't show -- New York Daily News

BY Tim Smith, New York Daily News

GRAPEVINE, Tex. - Cowboys owner Jerry Jones usually doesn't shy away from media. But Jones, who fired Dallas coach Wade Phillips and replaced him with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on Monday, was a no-show at the public workouts of Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito at the Gaylord Hotel Convention Center Tuesday.

Pacquiao and Margarito will headline a boxing card at Cowboys Stadium on HBO Pay-Per-View on Saturday night. It is the second time this year that Pacquiao will headline at Jones' $1.6 billion palace.

"He said he didn't want to come out, answer 30 questions about the Cowboys and one question about the fight," said promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank.

Jones is supposed to appear at the final press conference Wednesday, but there is no guarantee that he will take questions about midseason coaching changes at a function to promote the mega-card. The weigh-in is at the stadium on Friday and Jones is also expected there.

Margarito and Pacquiao hardly seemed to notice Jones' absence.

Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) worked out first, doing a few rounds of hitting the mitts of trainer Robert Garcia, took on the speed bag, jumped rope for about 90 minutes and then spent nearly as much time signing autographs for a large crowd that chanted his name.

Judging from the response, Margarito has overcome the stigma of having his license revoked by the California State Athletic Commission for trying to enter the ring with loaded hand wraps in a fight against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center on Jan. 21, 2009. Margarito was denied a license by both California and Nevada, but was licensed by Texas without a hearing in order to fight Pacquiao.

Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) defeated Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium on March 13 in a lopsided 12-round decision. Clottey hardly threw a punch the entire fight.

Pacquiao, who is giving away weight and height to Margarito, knows it will be different this time.

"Margarito is coming to fight, not like the last fight," Pacquiao said. "He will throw a lot of punches. It should be a very good fight."

When told that he could have more victories at Cowboys Stadium than the Cowboys (1-7) in the last eight months, Pacquiao, who was elected to congress in the Philippines in May, was very diplomatic. He simply smiled.

Source: nydailynews.com