Roach sees Pacquiao's knockout win over Margarito -- GMA News

GMANews.TV

As in the case in the past, Freddie Roach sees Manny Pacquiao sending Antonio Margarito into dreamland once their paths cross in the ring four months from now.

“Manny will knock him out. We will knock him out," said Roach when reached for comment a day after Margarito emerged as Top Rank Promotions’ anointed one to face Pacquiao in a November 13 fight originally a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I have no problem with the fight. Margarito is a tough guy, but his ring generalship is poor," Roach added.

The failure of Mayweather Jr. to respond to the deadline given by Bob Arum, the big boss of Top Rank, and sign a contract to face Pacquiao in a mega-fight paved the way for the 78-year old promoter to look somewhere else. He found the right man keen enough to face the world’s pound-for-pound best fighter – Margarito.

The 32-year old warrior from Tijuana, Mexico, is a two-time world champion.

While Margarito has yet to secure a license to fight in the U.S. following the one-year suspension slapped on him by the California State Athletic Commission in the aftermath of the illegal hand-wrap controversy he got involved with, Arum believes the Mexican’s fighting style makes for an explosive title bout against a fighter as exciting as Pacquiao.

Margarito was personally handpicked by Arum over Miguel Cotto, the legendary Puerto Rican and reigning World Boxing Association(WBA) 154-pound title holder whom Pacquiao demolished in 12 rounds during their World Boxing Organzation (WBO) welterweight championship showdown last year in Las Vegas.

Roach also sees a competitive fight with Margarito, who was turned down by the 51-year old trainer two years ago as a possible Pacquiao opponent as he believes the Mexican was too big for the Filipino ring icon.

“It’s like the good guy versus the bad guy. It’s probably a marketable fight, with Manny beating up another Mexican," said Roach, obviously referring to Pacquiao’s long record of defeated Mexican fighters, from Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Ironically, Margarito also fought Cotto and brutally beat him inside 11 rounds for the WBA welterweight title. The loss was the first in Cotto’s colorful career.

Unfortunately, the impressive win had been tarnished when Margarito was caught loading his knuckle pad with a hardened substance in his next fight opposite Sugar Shane Mosley.

After re-wrapping his hands, Margarito yielded his WBA title to Mosley, who administered him a 9th round technical knockout loss.

In the aftermath of the controversy, Margarito found his license revoked and was suspended from fighting for a year.

Even Roach himself is puzzled whether Margarito is loaded or not during the Cotto fight.

“Well, the issue is when he fought Cotto, was he loaded or not? We can assume that he was, but it can’t be proved.

Source: gmanews.tv

Pacquiao-Floyd fight in tatters with Margarito deal close -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

The proposed super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao continues to look a distant prospect, with the Filipino on the brink of agreeing a deal to face off against Antonio Margarito.

The fight is expected to take place at light-middleweight, presenting Pacquiao with the opportunity to rewrite the history books by becoming the first man to have held titles in eight different divisions.

Any bout would, as things stand, be forced to take place outside of American soil - Margarito is not licenced to fight in the US at present after being banned for the use of illegal hand wraps during a contest against Shane Mosley.

"We'll finalise everything this week," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who deals for both fighters, said. "Antonio is so much bigger than he is [that] it's a very attractive fight."

Elsewhere, Ricky Hatton has continued to defy speculation that he will not make a return to the ring by renewing his boxing licence. "I haven't announced my retirement," he said. "Floyd Mayweather Jnr was retired for nearly two years not long ago and he made a successful comeback.

"It is only 14 months for me. I have renewed my boxing licence again with the British Boxing Board of Control in case I decide to box on."

Source: espn.co.uk

Can sport of boxing be taken seriously? -- ESPN

By Jerry Greene, ESPN.com

Does anybody out there understand boxing anymore? And does boxing understand how the world works?

Don't those guys read comic books?

Floyd "Pretty Boy" Mayweather and Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao are considered superheroes by many. Each considers the other to be his nemesis. And nothing is more cool than having a nemesis.

The Hulk has Abomination. Professor X has Magneto. Superman has Lex Luthor. And, of course, Batman has the Joker.

In every case, the nemesis is always ready for a fight. It's what nemesis do.

Pac-Man is ready -- but Pretty Boy has taken a powder. How wrong is that?

So Pacquiao now plans to fight Antonio Margarito, who is apparently pretty good but hardly nemesis class. Back in January of 2009, Margarito lost his California fighting license when plastic-covered inserts were found in his hand wraps right before his fight with Shane Mosley. Granted, he must have needed them as Mosley cleaned his clock.

As a nemesis, Margarito isn't even the Penguin.

A few more thoughts about boxing:

• Numerous commentators are calling the unbeaten Mayweather a "loser" for "ducking" the Pac-Man. However, we have yet to hear of a critic saying that to Mayweather's face.

• Boxing promoter Bob Arum commenting on the UFC 116 bout between former boxer James Toney and Randy Couture: "If this was a boxing match, I'd be watching it, but this is cockamamie martial arts, guys rolling around on the floor. It's not even a sport." -- Somewhere Mr. Kettle and Mr. Pot are having a laugh.

• "The visceral energy at a boxing match is insane. I love it. We go a lot." -- Actress Anna Paquin, talking about going to matches with her fiance and "True Blood" vampire lover Stephen Moyer. Yeah, "visceral energy" -- and all that blood. Yum.

And now let's try to stop the bleeding with a few tid bits before moving on to the main courses in this Sunday Brunch:

• Does this sound right? A former Redskins player -- Antwaan Randle El -- said that the former Redskins head coach -- Jim Zorn -- "had great potential." Another clue that everything has been butt-backward with the 'Skins for years.

• In another attempt to impress the NCAA, USC has removed all the rose bushes on campus.

• Yankees GM Brian Cashman said the Yanks are not looking for another starting pitcher. That's like Larry King saying he's not looking for another wife.

• Two words you never want to see on your hospital chart: "Testicular contusion." Right, Carl Carlford?

• Before the Red Sox 600th consecutive sellout, players tossed commemorative baseballs to the fans. If Oprah owned the team, everybody would have gotten a car.

• The Ganesvoort Hotel in Miami Beach offers a "Heat Suite" to live life like an NBA star. For $2,500 a night, you get "a one-bedroom suite with ocean view, use of a Ferrari F430 and VIP cabana." -- A posse is optional.

• This from Golfweek magazine: Nine is the number of golfers with the letter "z" in their last name to have won a major championship after Louis Oosthuizan won the British Open.

• And winner of the 2010 Most Pointless Trivia Award -- Golfweek.

Onward and upward to the main courses in this Sunday Brunch:

• Great start with Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle asking whether the Miami Heat can take the heat and become one of the most hated teams of all time. And that, our friends, is a great list. Scott gives us a top nine.

• We're staying on the Left Coast to sneak a peak at the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke's open letter to Frank and Jamie McCourt. He's asking them to do the right thing and sell the Dodgers now before the team becomes completely trashed during the divorce settlement.

• We'll jump back East to Paul Domowitch's Eagletarian blog for the Philadelphia Inquirer in which he has good news for the Chargers and Cowboys, bad news for the Patriots and Cardinals plus good and bad news for the Texans. Yes, he's talking pro football and it feels so sweet.

• Charles P. Pierce of the Boston Globe wonders if the Patriot organization considers itself "the hammer," while quarterback Tom Brady is just another nail waiting to be pounded. Charley P. is not happy about this.

• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald wonders if parties bankrolled by agents are proof South Beach has become the center of the sporting universe. We think Cote is rubbing it in.

• The Brunch closes with Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel who writes of many things, including if Tennessee would have been better off if it had never fired football coach Phil Fulmer. What? And miss that special season with Lane Kiffin?

Jerry Greene is a retired columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. He can be reached at osogreene@aol.com.

Source: sports.espn.go.com

Pacman wants Margarito at 150 pounds -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

Manny Pacquiao will demand that a planned Nov. 13 fight versus Antonio Margarito of Mexico be fought at a catch weight of 150 pounds.

“One-hundred fifty pounds,” Pacquiao’s lawyer Franklin Gacal said Sunday when asked about the Pacquiao-Margarito bout for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super-welterweight crown.

The super-welter division has a limit of 154 lbs and Pacquiao’s camp believes it is fair that Margarito agree to such a unique weight setup being a naturally bigger fighter.

Although the 5’11” Margarito has fought mostly at welterweight (147 lbs.), he has campaigned seven times at super-welter.

The Mexican has a 38-6-0 win-loss-draw record with 27 knockouts.

The 5’6” Pacquiao, who started out at light-fly (108 lbs.) before racking up world titles up to welter, has never fought at super-welter, having only seen action at welter three times.

Pacquiao, armed with a 51-3-2 slate with 38 knockouts, beat Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey in his welterweight fights.

“Margarito is big and tall even at super-welter,” Gacal noed.

Arum is still in the process of finalizing the Pacquiao-Margarito deal and while it appears it is a go for November, the venue remains a mystery.

Arum wants it to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where his company is based. But there are other cities bidding to host it: Abu Dhabi, Dallas and Monterrey (Mexico).

Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, is still in the US, trying to get the best deal for his boss.
“I’ll get what’s the best deal that I could get for Manny,” Koncz said.

Source: mb.com.ph

Fans the big loser in Pacquiao-Margarito -- FOX Sports

By Paul Magno, FOX Sports

So, it’s pretty much official.

Manny Pacquiao will square off against the still-U.S. suspended Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at a site to be determined.

The last time we saw Margarito, it was May. He was mugging to the camera and mocking his suspension every chance he got in a lackluster pay-per-view performance against club fighter Robert Garcia in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Every time the camera was on him, he felt the need to grin, hold his fists up to the camera and twirl them as if to say, “Look, no plaster.” It was a good time for him and for his ever-diminishing group of fans, but it did not endear him to the vast majority of fight fanatics who refused to purchase the event (the buyrate was a pitiful 12,000-15,000) and it certainly didn’t win over the hearts of the California commission which suspended him.

Now, the man who seemingly would have fought Shane Mosley with loaded hand wraps, is in line for a major payday, major exposure and a major title to boot.

Margarito has yet to receive his license to fight again in the United States and has already had one reinstatement effort put off by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That being said, it’s hard to see a recession-stricken Las Vegas being able to turn down such a high-profile bout that will generate millions in revenue via Asian high-rollers and Mexican nationals. And even if Margarito isn’t reinstated, the fight will be held in Monterrey, Mexico.

So, there. It’s all set.

In a weight range full of quality talents much more deserving of the shot than Margarito, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum has decided to match his star attraction against a promotional stablemate in yet another in-house fight.

It’s not like there aren’t credible opponents left for the Filipino champ. Despite the falling apart of a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., quality names like Timothy Bradley, Paul Williams, Andre Berto and at least a half dozen more would all have been better choices than an overmatched pariah who was beaten from pillar to post the last time he fought a pound-for-pound talent.

Welcome to the world of boxing politics where one day you’re suspended for having altered hand wraps and the next, someone is writing you a seven-figure paycheck and trying to sell the world on the fact that you’re a swell guy.

Let’s not also forget that Pacquiao-Margarito will be for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title despite the fact that Pacquiao has never even fought at 154 pounds and Margarito has only one bout in that division over the last six years. More perverse is the fact that the WBC forced a legitimate, quality champ — Sergio Martinez — to vacate the title just weeks prior to this announcement. If one were inclined to believe in conspiracy theories, this would certainly raise a lot of red flags.

And while it’s easy to blame Arum, the sanctioning bodies and boxing in general for this craziness, at what point do we hold Pacquiao responsible for the things done by his people and done in his name?

After all, he’s agreeing to fight Margarito, agreeing to pay the high six-figure “sanctioning fee” to the WBC and more than willing to take a title shot he hasn’t earned for a belt that he won’t likely defend.

All the insanity stops if Pacquiao puts his foot down, but don’t hold your breath. Because Pacquiao, the media darling and near religious figure to some, is more than willing to take the road of least resistance while letting Arum and trainer Freddie Roach come off like the bad guys.

If Pacquiao wins this bout, it will be his eighth title in eight divisions; truly an impressive fact to read on the back of a baseball card or cereal box. But, in all fairness, his last four titles have come against guys who were not the consensus No. 1 fighters in their respective divisions. Good fighters, yes, but not the best.

Pacquiao moved up to 135 pounds in 2008 and captured the lightweight title by beating paper champion David Diaz, when Nate Campbell was the recognized best fighter in the division. He moved up to 140 pounds in 2009 and flattened Ricky Hatton (who had already been knocked out by Mayweather) when Bradley was already starting to be recognized as the best in that division. Then, he moved on to capture the welterweight title later in 2009 by beating Miguel Cotto despite the fact that Mosley was considered the best fighter in the division after having beaten Margarito (Cotto’s vanquisher) to a pulp.

This latest WBC 154-pound trinket will be the fourth straight division where Pacquiao will stroll in, beat a hand-picked opponent, and claim divisional dominance despite not facing the best fighter in the division. Then he’ll vacate the title, leave the division in chaos and then the WBC will hand its belt to the next chump.

Like it or not, this is big-time boxing in 2010.

If the fans want a change and want some sort of return to common decency in the sport, they will boycott this circus sideshow and save their pay-per-view money for the real bouts and for the fighters who actually care about the sport enough to not insult our intelligence.

Source: msn.foxsports.com

Nevada Commission Director Keith Kizer Talks Antonio Margarito -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum, has indicated that Antonio Margarito is the front runner to face Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title either in Las Vegas, if Margarito's license is renewed there, or Monterrey, Mex.

If it happens, Pacquiao would be pursuing a record eighth crown in as many different weight classes against the 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts), who was in the running with WBA king Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 knockouts), a man Pacquiao dethroned by 12th-round knockout in November, for his current WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt.

Margarito still is not licensed to fight in America, this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following an illegal hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009. Margarito, whose suspension officially ended on Feb. 11, unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada, whose state athletic commission ruled that he must re-apply in California and have his case re-tried there before attempting to fight in Las Vegas.

But Nevada State Athletic Commission director Keith Kizer, told FanHouse that Margarito, through his attorney, David Marroso, has applied for a "conditional," one-fight license to meet Pacquiao in Las Vegas, a situation Kizer addresses in this Q&A.


FanHouse: Can you explain the situation with Antonio Margarito and the status for a request for a temporary license in Las Vegas?

Keith Kizer: Well, I can tell you this. I received a phone call from Bob Arum on this past Wednesday evening telling me that Mr. Margarito's attorney, David Marroso, was going to be sending the commission another letter.

We had received one earlier in the week regarding his alleged inability to get a hearing in California. I just told him to send it to me, and that all five commissioners would get it.

I explained that it would be completely up to the five commissioners what action, if any, would be taken at this time. It's my understanding that Mr. Margarito has yet to actually file an application to be licensed again in California.

So, obviously, if he doesn't file an application in California, then they can't hear an application in California. I'm not sure if that has changed or not since I last talked to Mr. Margarito's attorney, which I did last Monday.

So it's been about a week since I talked to him. So I'm not sure if anything has changed there.


What were the letters asking for on behalf of Antonio Margarito?

What Mr. Arum told me was that what he had heard happened at the most recent Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) meeting in New Orleans is that a representative of the California State Athletic Commission told a representative of the New Jersey Commission that Margarito could not get a hearing in California before the end of September.

Unless he dismissed his appeal [lawsuit against California] of his license revocation. I have no idea what the case is there, however, because it's third-hand information.

Mr. Marroso wrote an initial letter asking for a one-fight license. Instead of asking for a full license, period, they're asking for a license just for Nov. 13 at the MGM. That was sent on a Monday. They were going to send a second letter as a follow up to the first letter.


What would it take for Antonio Margarito to get a hearing for a temporary license in Nevada?

Well, he would have to get on our agenda for the next meeting of the commission. Our next hearing is on Aug. 9 for the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That's a Monday afternoon. So that's two weeks from this Monday coming up.

That agenda won't be set for another week. I don't know what, if anything, is on the agenda yet. So that's the extent of my knowledge. Again, our hearing is not until Aug. 9, and we don't set the agenda until the first week of August -- like Aug. 2 or Aug. 3.

So, really, for the next week, I'll have no idea what our five commissioners will want to do with the matter. It's going to be up to the five of them.


Can you speculate on the likelihood that your commission would amend your decision in regard to Antonio Margarito?

I have no idea. Obviously that was a 4-to-1 vote by the five-member commissioners. So for anything to be voted on and put into motion, you have to get at least three votes in favor of it by the commission.

So in Margarito's case, there were four votes in favor of tabling the decision. So, unless at least two of those commissioners changes their minds, nothing would change.

I have no idea whether or not the new circumstances would have an effect one way or another with any of the commissioners, let alone, the majority of them.


Is this an unprecedented situation with Antonio Margarito where someone had a license revoked by one commission and came to you for a license?

I don't recall. I've been with the commission for 13 years now, and I don't remember anything anywhere analogous to this. On the flip side, though, you know, Mike Tyson had the ear-biting situation against Evander Holyfield here in Las Vegas.

Mike Tyson's license was revoked here in Las Vegas, and he went to New Jersey first and then came back to Nevada. So we were sort of, back then, in the shoes of the California commission. That was the only thing I can say that was close.

But in that situation, we were on the other side. Las Vegas had suspended him, and he went to New Jersey, and then, came back to Las Vegas' commission.

If I recall correctly, I don't know if it was the Nevada Commission who was saying that Tyson should come back and apply in Las Vegas, but more, people like you and reporters, etc., saying, "hey, you really should go back to Nevada and apply before going to New Jersey."

There was no legal obligation to do so, and the Nevada Commission didn't really take a stand either way. It was just the general public outrage and media outrage that he didn't go to Nevada first.

Tyson then went to New Jersey, had a hearing, and at the end of that hearing, he withdrew so that he could go to Nevada first. And then he came back before our Nevada commission and there was a two-day hearing over a 30-day period.

After that, they gave him back his license and he fought Francois Botha.


Can you remind us of the ruling made by the Nevada Commission in regard to Antonio Margarito?

Well, if you remember, the motion had two parts. First, he had to go back and file an application with the California commission, and California had to consider that application.

Obviously, Mr. Margarito can't control the results of the second part. But he can control the first part, which is, to file an application with the California commission. Like I said, the last I had heard, he had not done that yet.

But that was almost a week ago. That was last Monday. Regardless of whether he files or not, whatever letter is sent to me in regard to Mr. Margarito, I will send it out to the five Nevada commissioners, and they control their agenda, not me.

They'll decide what to put on the August agenda.


Nevada commission chairwoman, Pat Lundvall, went on the record saying that the NSAC "kicked the can down the road" by not making a decision, up or down, on Margarito. Do you have a personal opinion about whether or not Antonio Margarito has served his time or not?

I really have no personal feeling on that. My job is to get the information to the commissioners. I've done that. It's really up to them. It's not my role to express my opinions on that. I'm doing what I need to do.

It's always been a goal of the athletic commission to be fair and to comply with the statutes and the regulations. I think that we had a very good hearing with the commissioners.

I think that Mr. Margarito did a good job as well to the extent that he answered the questions that were asked of him. I think that it was a very fruitful hearing. We were able to get a lot of the information that was needed.

Again, what I have heard from the members who voted is that if Mr. Margarito is truly as regretful and contrite as he says that he is, then he should go back to California, where the incident happened, and let them weigh in on the situation.

They haven't looked at it for 18 months. They're the ones who have most of the knowledge. I think all five of the commission members explained where they were as of July 9 [the date of Margarito's hearing with the NSAC.] Whether it's going to be different on Aug. 9, it's too early to tell.

But, basically, Marroso wants Margarito to be put back on the commission's next agenda for a hearing. Instead of asking for a full license, which would be good now until the end of December, they want to be licensed for a specific date, for a specific venue, and for a specific opponent.

They want to fight on Nov. 13 at the MGM Grand Arena against Manny Pacquiao. Their second letter is in response to the alleged decision by California not to hear Margarito's request to be relicensed until the end of September.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Reports: Promoter wants Manny Pacquiao to fight Antonio Margarito -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Even if he's not licensed to fight in the U.S. yet, Antonio Margarito has earned the coveted shot to fight Manny Pacquiao, the promoter for both fighters has said.

Promoter Bob Arum told The Times on Thursday that he wanted to wait until next week to weigh site offers from Las Vegas; Monterrey, Mexico; Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas and Abu Dhabi before announcing Pacquiao's next foe, but on Friday he told Yahoo! Sports and Sports Illustrated that Pacquaio would do what had been expected and fight Margarito on Nov. 13 for a record eighth weight-division title.

The bout is expected to be for the vacant WBC super-welterweight title after Sergio Martinez vacated the 154-pound belt by claiming a middleweight title earlier this year.

Margarito, the former world welterweight champion, had his boxing license revoked in 2009 after the California State Athletic Commission learned of an attempt to have Margarito fight Shane Mosley with plaster-caked inserts inside his gloves.The hand wraps were confiscated before the January 2009 fight at Staples Center, and Mosley won by a ninth-round TKO.

As reported by The Times on Thursday, Margarito is pursuing a long-shot bid to have Nevada officials grant him a one-fight exemption for the Nov. 13 bout because California's commission can't meet to weigh his request for reinstatement until next month at the earliest.

Margarito fought in May in Mexico, claiming an unimpressive decision.

The decision to proceed with Margarito clinches another fact that was a mere formality since last week: that a Pacquiao super-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. won't happen at least until next year.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com