Margarito camp apologizes to Roach for 'bad behavior' in video -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS—Come Fight Night at Cowboys Stadium Saturday, fighters Antonio Margarito and Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios may give blood in the ring.

On Thursday, they along with their mutually shared trainer, Robert Garcia, were only giving apologies.

The troubled trio profusely and believably apologized for being part of an AOL Fan House video interview in which they appeared to make fun of Manny Pacquiao trainer Coach Freddie Roach's Parkinson's condition.

Both Margarito and undercard boxer Rios came across as they they were mocking the boxing-related disease which often causes the 50 year old Roach to tremble like a leaf in high winds.

With two days to go before the previously disgraced with illegal handwraps Mexican Margarito matches ring skills with the Pinoy Idol, the li Seckback produced and reported video set off a media firestorm.

Having seen so much in his soon to be 79 years on the planet and knowing as a veteran promoter that almost any added controversy can help sell a PPV TV fight, Bob Arum took the long view.

Margarito seemed to begin to offer a Tricky Dick Nixon sort of weasel apology, saying the video has been maliciouly edited but offered no proof.

There was real substance to the rest of public statement and it seemed to be completely sincere.

Margarito came down to the undercard presser at host hotel Gaylord Texan and said he was apologizing to Roach and to anyone else offended by the video action.

"I want to tell the fans and everyone in Mexico that I was really bothered by this video, but I am calm and God knows I'm not making fun of anything. I did say that 'he was scared' and shook my hands, but I was not making making fun of him. I don't want people to be confused because it's not true," Margarito said.

"If he really wants an apology, I have no problem with that because I know I'm not laughing at his disease. I can look him straight in the eyes and tell him...'I'm not laughing at you, I respect you.'"

Rios, a 26 year old top prospect from Oxnard by way of Garden City, Kansas, who Top Rank is very high on, also took to the podium, noted that he as a four year old brother with a crippling ailment and said his intent was not to ridicule Roach.

Best of all, former world champion Garcia placed a call to Roach's room and told Pacman's tutor it was just a case of camp versus trash talking that crossed the line.

“It was bad behavior,” Arum said. “But now they have all apologized for their actions so I say let's turn the page, move on.”

"I think Freddie accepts the apology," Garcia said. "He said, 'I wish you good luck on Saturday' and I said the same to him. This was trash talking, it was not directed at Freddie's disability or any disease. We went a bit overboard on the trash talk, that is what happened here.

"It was all a big mistake, really. I contribute money every month to the children's hospital in Oxnard and I financially support their big radiothon every year. We're very supportive of Brandon's little brother, we call him 'Special Jay.'

As way of background on Rios, Garcia said boxing has been a personal salvation.

"If he was back in Garden City, he would be addicted to drugs and/or in the jail. Everytime he went back there, I was afraid he would wind up in jail."

Away from the hot TV lights microphones, Rios said he knew the camp was "looking bad" and that he had no problem making an apology.

"It was nothing personal to Freddie Roach, we got caught in the moment but it was not personal. I feel bad about it now.I heard about the (public) reaction and I'm like, what the bleep, dude? I got a four year old brother with a bad illness. This was just two months of back and forth hot words between our camps, that's all."

Roach said he accepted Garcia's apology but, in terms of what Rios and Margarito did or intended to do in the video, I'd say Coach Roach is forgiving but not forgetting.

"I was mad but now I am not," Roach said. "Robert seemed to be really sincere in what he said to me this morning on the phone, I accepted his apology."

Finally, the contretemps will have zero effect on the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito.

They were planning to brawl before this brouhaha popped up.

Michael Marley...reporting!

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Apologies everywhere at Pacquiao-Margarito undercard press conference -- 15Rounds

By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com

GRAPEVINE, Tex. – Antonio Margarito is sorry. Brandon Rios is sorry. Robert Garcia is sorry. And all three would now like to move on.

Thursday in a convention room of the expansive Gaylord Texan Resort, some 25 miles north of the stadium where Pacquiao-Margarito will happen, promoter Top Rank hosted a press conference for the fighters who will be featured on Saturday’s undercard. Each received warm introductions from Bob Arum, approached the podium, and then said he was ready, felt strong.

Brandon Rios was an exception. He had a different statement to make.

“First of all, I want to get one thing off my chest,” began Rios, addressing the AOL Fanhouse footage of him, Margarito and Garcia making fun of Freddie Roach’s trembling hands and straining neck – symptoms of Roach’s Parkinson’s disease. “It was between camps and camps. It was a bad video from my behalf.”

Then Rios did what he and his camp probably should have done earlier.

“If Freddie Roach is out there, I’m sorry,” Rios said. “Things got heated up in the moment. And I’m sorry.”

Before the press conference could conclude, Arum ended with a surprise visitor. Margarito, who did not talk about the video at Wednesday’s main-event press conference, made an unplanned trip to Thursday’s undercard event. He took the podium and explained that the footage of him was contextually inaccurate.

“The video was edited,” Margarito said. “I never, never, would make fun of Freddie Roach with that disease.”

Then Margarito tried to recreate the scene that preceded the odd face and outstretched, trembling hands he showed a reporter’s camera.

“I was just arriving at the gym,” Margarito said. “Someone said to me, ‘Hey, Margarito, Freddie Roach says Manny Pacquiao is going to knock you out.’ I said, ‘Ooh, what fear!’ and shook my hands.

“I wish for the gentleman (Roach) to accept my apology if he was offended.”

Margarito then apologized to anyone else he might have offended.

“If they were offended, I ask for forgiveness from all of those who have that disease,” Margarito said. “Never, never, would I make fun of that disease.”

After the fighters left the podium, Brandon Rios stopped and spoke a bit more about the bad-faith that has accrued to him and the Margarito camp.

“Robert called me and said, ‘Hey, f–k, dude, this sh-t is getting big!’”Rios said about the way he found out from his trainer that the video had gone viral on the internet. “My wife is yelling at me. I feel bad for saying it. Nothing personal. I feel bad.”

Then his trainer appeared and added to the apologizing.

“I just got finished talking to Freddie Roach,” Robert Garcia said about a two-minute conversation he’d had with Pacquiao’s trainer during the press conference. “I told him, ‘Freddie Roach, I want to tell you that I’m very sorry for what happened. Now that I am talking to you, I feel much better.’”

When asked, Garcia confirmed that Roach had been receptive to Garcia’s call.

“I accept your apology,” Garcia said that Roach told him. “And best of luck this weekend.”

Fight week festivities will continue on Friday when all combatants take the scale. The weigh-in will be held at Cowboys Stadium at 5:00 PM local time and is open to the public.

Source: 15rounds.com

Strength coach Ariza is architect behind Pacquiao's historic ascent -- Sports Illustrated

By Ben Glicksman, SI.com

Sylvester Stallone's iconic training sequence in Rocky goes something like this: run, do one-handed push-ups, punch meat carcasses, repeat. By ceaselessly perfecting the same basic workouts, he primes himself for an upcoming fight. It's a microcosm of traditional boxing preparation.

It's also counter to the training of Manny Pacquiao, whose unorthodox method is a major reason for his unprecedented success. He's the first boxer to win world titles in seven different weight classes -- from 112 to 147 pounds -- and he'll challenge for his eighth in Saturday's highly anticipated bout with Antonio Margarito. He's ascended through weight divisions while maintaining his signature speed. The question begs to be asked: Just what is he doing so differently?

"[He's] never seeing the same thing twice," Alex Ariza said Wednesday. "He's not getting accustomed to doing any of the exercises."

Ariza is Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach, the man behind the Manny. He was brought in to treat Pacquiao's shoulder before his rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008, and was asked to overhaul his entire training regimen just a few weeks later.

"I told him, 'If you're going get to the next level, you have to change your whole program,' " Ariza said.

Pacquiao's problem was fatigue, a result of repetition. By doing the same drills over and over, his body was getting used to the movements. Muscle memory -- the process by which the human body learns to perform repeated tasks with less effort -- was making it increasingly tiresome to complete motions that were different from the ones he practiced. His body was conditioned to carry out only a handful of specific executions.

That's where Ariza came in. He's placed Pacquiao on a program where the boxer rotates through various pools of exercises, mixing and matching from up to four different workout plans at once. The system doesn't afford Pacquiao's body the time to adjust to any one movement, so he's able to guarantee each training session is effective. By avoiding falling into a routine, Pacquiao can keep his muscles energized as he continues to put on weight.

The key is ballistic training, a series of short, explosive movements that replicate what goes on in a boxing ring. It's a dynamic lifting that focuses on building speed in muscles, Pacquiao's means for upending bigger opponents.

"You're focusing on fast-twitch muscle fibers and doing quick movements so the body will adjust to having that extra weight," Ariza said. "I simulate their footwork, their side-to-side movements, their lateral movements and, of course, their hand speed."

Before that process can begin, he relies on trainer Freddie Roach to provide him with strategy. Roach consults with Pacquiao to decide his approach for each opponent -- most recently full-bodied welterweights like Miguel Cotto, Josh Clottey and Margarito -- months before the match, and the two decide whether he's willing to sacrifice speed for power or vice versa. Ariza then uses that blueprint to craft his entire workout program.

"You just don't grab your fighter and start training," Ariza said. "You have to have a game plan."

The final element is nutrition. Ariza has completely altered Pacquiao's eating habits, implementing a heavy diet of proteins such as fish, poultry and beef. He's also introduced pre- and post-workout supplements to aid muscle recovery, something that was lacking before 2008.

"I think he was taking a Centrum," Ariza said. "You're probably better off taking a chewable Flintstones [vitamin]."

If the process sounds at all complicated, that's because it is. It's a gradual, almost scientific method for molding Pacquiao's body into an ideal shape based on his opponent. It's undoubtedly working: He's 5-0 with four knockouts since Ariza's addition.

That type of track record would seem to lend itself to widespread adoption of Ariza's techniques. In the tradition-rich world of boxing, however, that's not been the case. Trainers refuse to rework their methods, continually sending boxers to put on plastics or sit in the sauna to make weight. Their collective reluctance baffles Ariza.

"In a sport that has millions and millions of dollars, you still don't have the basic nutritionists to help them take their fighters to the next level," he said. "I don't know how to explain it."

He's not dwelling on the issue, as his attention is focused on Saturday's fight. At 5-foot-11, Margarito possesses a much longer wingspan than the 5-foot-6 Pacquiao, and the fight's catch weight of 150 pounds is much better suited to Margarito's larger frame. It should be Pacquiao's toughest test to date.

If anyone is up to the challenge, it's Pacquiao, though, who continues to defy traditional logic as he conquers each weight class. Ariza certainly believes he's ready.

"I train my guys like soldiers," he said. "Physically and mentally, I put you through the worst thing I can possibly do. That way, there's nothing that's going to happen inside that ring that I have not already put you through."

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Manny Pacquiao Gets Ready for the Ring -- Wall Street Journal

By Nando Di Fino, The Wall Street Journal

It’s not the fight the world was hoping for, but this Saturday’s contest between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito still has enough storylines and potential to make the sporting world salivate.

Outside-the-ring spats over drug testing earlier this year killed a potential Floyd Mayweather-Pacquiao bout—a figurative super-fight that had been the talk of the boxing world for almost two years—but Margarito has proven to be more than an able replacement, helping to author some of the fight’s plotlines himself.

This is Pacquiao’s first fight since being elected Congressman in his native Philippines.

It’s Margarito’s first fight in America since being banned in 2009 for using plaster to harden up his hand wraps before a fight against Shane Mosely.

The fight is taking place in Texas partly because Margarito was denied a license in both California and Nevada.

A couple guys weighing about 150 pounds are even taking the lion’s share of Saturday’s attention away from what used to be a marquee draw in boxing: a heavyweight championship match (in Manchester, England, between David Haye and Audley Harrison).

And as if there weren’t enough drama leading up to the fight, Margarito took things to a new low this week, mocking Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, who has Parkinson’s, in a video on FanHouse. The video actually became a controversy-within-a-controversy all by itself, as FanHouse first edited the video to make it look like they weren’t mocking Roach’s disease, then pulled the video altogether, even yanking it off YouTube and embeds across the Internet.

“Is there even a shred of class in that training camp?” asks Bad Left Hook’s Scott Christ. “If they wanted to seal Margarito as the villain of the fight, I guess this was one way to do it, but realistically it just showcases him as a first-rate moron to go along with being a fighter a lot of people already have reservations about paying to see.”

Our friends at Deadspin, naturally, have a copy of the original cut. Robert Garcia, Margarito’s trainer, has already apologized for the comments, saying his camp didn’t know Roach had Parkinson’s and thought his condition was from taking so many shots to the head as a boxer years ago. Roach told the Associated Press he wasn’t buying it, while adding that he’ll have an observer in Margarito’s dressing room to watch the entire hand-wrapping process. “I don’t trust those guys,” Roach told the AP. “He’ll do anything to win. He’s done it before. He’s a cheater.”

Manny Pacquiao, in the meantime, has done his best to remind folks that, as the best boxer on earth, he should be the centerpiece of this fight. He even sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” with Will Ferrell on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” But does he need to do this? Or is it just something to spice up a fight that already has him as the heavy, heavy favorite?

Maybe it’s because he’s not actually as ready to go as he’d like us to believe. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated profiles a distracted Pacquiao, who has flown to Nevada to campaign for Harry Reid, back to the Philippines to meet with the President, and has been admittedly sloppy in training camp.

This is especially annoying for his handlers, because Pacquiao is yielding plenty of height and weight to Margarito, who is his biggest opponent to date. “When Pacquiao is in camp, [his trainer] Roach has had to compete for his attention,” Mannix writes. “Several times during camp Pacquiao has mentioned to Roach that he missed working in his Congressional office.”

But this all may be calculated. “I think he generates his own chaos,” Michael Koncz told the Journal’s Ted Lerner. “I honestly believe that without some kind of chaos, he can’t function properly.”

Through it all—the hand wraps, the distractions, the campaigning—there’s no denying that this Saturday’s fight is not only the most anticipated of the day (sorry, heavyweight division), but also the biggest we may see for some time. And it’s all thanks to the star power of Manny Pacquiao, who pulled himself out of poverty to become the sport’s biggest draw. “Boxing, perhaps more than any other sport, needs superstars,” Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times writes. “Anybody collecting a paycheck in the sport, from Bob Arum to the guys sweeping the floors after the fights, should be lighting candles under his picture. Boxing can’t live on the die-hards and geeks alone, and Pacquiao delivers the rest of the sporting world.”

* * *
Every year around this time, fans of the richer baseball teams play a fun guessing game that can only be dubbed, “Where in the World is my General Manager?” Boston GM Theo Epstein brought the game to a new level in 2003 after sharing Thanksgiving dinner with Curt Schilling in Arizona. A few days later, Schilling agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a move to Boston.

This was, of course, a year after the Red Sox allegedly bought up all the hotel rooms in a Nicaraguan hotel where Jose Contreras was staying in order to keep the Yankees away. With that in mind, it came as no surprise that Brian Cashman was in Arkansas on Wednesday, selling the merits of pinstripes to free agent pitcher Cliff Lee. At 32 years old, Lee isn’t exactly young, but he is coming off a masterful showing in the playoffs and won the 2009 American League Cy Young Award. He is good friends with CC Sabathia from their playing days in Cleveland, and his agent is convinced that Lee’s near-perfect mechanics will keep him relatively injury-free throughout the duration of any long contract.

ESPN Stats & Information, though, throws a little cold water on Yankees fans by studying all of the free agent signings since 1990-91. Of the 52 pitchers who signed a contract of four or more years, only 14 of them averaged 20 starts a season and had an ERA that was 10 percent better than the league average. Even loosening up the standards proved disappointing. “How many times did a pitcher average 20 starts a season, and pitch to a league average or better ERA+?” The Info group asks. “Twenty-two. That’s 42 percent. That means that there are a lot of bad results from a lot of formerly good pitchers.”

* * *
Fantasy football players, make sure your lineups are set: the NFL begins its run of Thursday night games with a doozy—the AFC North-leading Ravens (6-2) travel to Atlanta to take on the NFC South-leading Falcons, with the Falcons currently a one-point favorite. AccuScore likes Baltimore in this one, as does my fellow Fixer, David Roth. But I am going with Atlanta. And, since the game is as close as any to predict, I’m letting the tiebreaker come from a stat I heard on WFAN last week during their NFL game updates: the Falcons are 17-1 at home with Matt Ryan as the quarterback. “And truth be told,” Dawson Devitt of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes, “the only loss could have easily been a victory if Roddy White catches the touchdown pass against the Broncos or our defensive back stops a 3rd and long bomb to Brandon Marshall at the end of the game.”

Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Nando at nandodifino@yahoo.com

Source: blogs.wsj.com

Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito: The Pride of Nations -- Ringside Report

By Hermilando “Ingming” Duque Aberia, Ringside Report

There was a time in the history of nations when disputes were settled not by a full-scale war among opposing armies but by duels among select warriors. The Palestinians, for example, built their dominion over races in what was then considered as hub of human civilization—The East—behind the exploits of a behemoth warrior in Goliath.

Ages later, ranged against the Spartans and neighboring kingdoms, Agammemnon (circa 1200 BC) would call out Achilles, the finest among Greek warriors at the time, to engage his counterpart of the opposing side in a man-to-man combat. The fate of a nation depended on the outcome of such a duel. Not a few international geopolitical disputes were settled in this manner, and the Greeks were quite successful in devouring hostile principalities with the might of one man.

Both Goliath and Achilles eventually found their match. One fell from a magical slingshot; the other from a freakish arrow. Goliath bowed to a relatively small-sized David (who would eventually become King of Israel). Achilles, for all his fighting flair, perished at the hands of Paris (Prince of Troy—aka kidnapper and eventual wife of Helen—not the powder that one day would be associated with Antonio Margarito’s fists).
Boxing itself emerged neither as a sporting event nor a commercially-charged entertainment that it is today.

Boxing started out—and came in quite handy—as a means by which men could settle their disputes. In fact boxing was known by another name—pugilism—in the days of old. It was only sometime in the middle of the 18th century when the Pugilistic Society of England had invented a spectator sport out of fisticuffs. The rules of street fighting eventually gained broad acceptance (at least in England) where, for example, bare knuckle fistfights gave way to one where fighters wore gloves—not to keep the face of the opponent from being deformed, but to protect one’s knuckles (well, fights could continue even with the fighter’s teeth all gone, but they could not when their knuckles were stripped of their skin).

Seconds before Manny Pacquiao, 51-3-2, 38 KO’s, of the Philippines and Ricky Hatton of England were unleashed in the middle of a Las Vegas, Nevada, USA boxing ring during their May 2, 2009 IBO World Light Welterweight championship duel, TV viewers heard Larry Merchant of HBO say: “They are warrior-kings, with armies and fans who follow them to the battle. Now, they will be alone.”

While the armies of old had their bugles and battle hymns (the better to raise the morale of soldiers), the Las Vegas crowd had its own raucous mix of musical bands (the better to stimulate the adrenalin glands of fighters). Minutes earlier, Sir Tom Jones had just sung “God Save The Queen”; Martin Nievera belted out his own rendition of the “Lupang Hinirang” and, back home, got pilloried right away for taking too much creative liberties with the march-to-battle beat of the Philippine national anthem.

Close to 10,000 Britons followed Hatton to watch him fight and defend the honor of The Queen. Equally in full force were the Pacquiao fans, waving blue-red striped flags in an orgasmic display of patriotism.

In about 5 days from now, two countries (Philippines and Mexico) will figure in what is yet again shaping up to be a similarly dramatic bout. The warriors: Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito. The battlefield: Arlington, Texas, USA. The spectator: The world. On the HBO coverage of the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, Merchant also said: “Champions from nations at the end of great oceans coming to fight in America mainland, boxing in the US now is officially a global affair.”

Margarito, 38-6, 27 KO’s, will not be coming in as a champion of a nation across great oceans, literally speaking. But he will represent a nation that, since 2003, had scanned the depths and vastness of its pool of warriors, all in an effort to search for the one fighter who could beat the “Mexecutioner.” Ever since Pacquiao—debuting as a 126 pounder—mauled Marco Antonio Barrera, one of Mexico’s boxing legends, in that year, Mexico has pushed its Achilleses to the battlefield in a string of attempts to defend its honor, but always ended up unsuccessful and humiliated. Gabriel Mira, Jorge Julio, Emmanuel Lucero, Hector Velasquez, Oscar Larios, Jorge Solis, Juan Manual Marquez, Erik Morales, David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya—these fighters with Mexican bloodlines came in all weights and sizes. But they hardly measured up against The Pacman.

Mexico had its moment of euphoria when Erik Morales gored Pacquiao in 2005. The glee lasted only 10 months, however, as Pacquiao exacted revenge in a rematch, stopping Morales in the 10th of a scheduled 12-round bout. Stopped once more in the third round of their third face-off another 10 months later, Morales dashed any notion he had something pleasing for Mexico against the Filipino.

Perhaps the only one who came close to finding redemption for a country’s fistic pride was Marquez. Aided by an elementary error of one judge (Burt Clements), he escaped with a draw the first time they met in 2004. He lost in a 2008 rematch—by split decision—although some people (most vocal of whom being Marquez himself) contend that he might have won that fight. Thus, by official accounts, Pacquiao had already beaten Marquez twice in as many fiercely-contested ring battles.

And now Mexico sends in its Goliath. Margarito, standing at 5’11”, towers over Pacquiao (5’6½”) physically. In 1996, Margarito was already fighting as a welterweight (147 pounds), at which time Pacquiao was competing as a flyweight (112 pounds). Three years later, at age 21, Margarito climbed the ring as a middleweight (157 pounds) against Efrain Munoz, also of Mexico. By contrast, Pacquiao did not campaign beyond the super bantamweight class (122 pounds) at age 21.

As in some of his previous match-ups with bigger opponents, Pacquiao tries to make things even against Margarito by forcing the latter to give up poundage. On the day before the fight, both combatants have agreed to weigh not more than 151 pounds.
As the Dallas, Texas, USA battlefield is cleared for the November 13, 2010 duel between the king-warriors of the Philippines and Mexico, and as their legion of armies and fans stand behind them, bands and bugles set to drum up the beat, questions—like Larry Merchant says—need to be answered and answers need to be questioned: Will Margarito rebuild the tarnished Mexican—and his own—pride in the world of beak busting? Or will Pacquiao, once more, rise with his magical slingshots?

We’ll see you with the answers this Saturday.

Source: ringsidereport.com

Manny Pacquiao Tells Media, Margarito Will Not Be His Last Fight; Arum Lines Up Some Names For 2011 -- Eastside Boxing

By James Slater, Eastside Boxing

As fans know, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, along with their respective trainers, held a press conference in Texas yesterday to discuss/hype their fight on Saturday evening. Lots of the usual stuff got said, with both men and their teams predicting a victory on Saturday, but some interesting things also were said.

Espn.com’s Dan Rafael was there, and he has written on his Twitter page that Pac-Man told those members of the media who were gathered that the Margarito fight will not be his last fight. Trainer Freddie Roach recently said that boxing will “lose” Pacquiao to politics in the not too distant future, and Roach even suggested that Saturday’s light-middleweight title fight might be his star pupil’s last ring appearance..

However, Pacquiao says it won’t be, and promoter Bob Arum gave Rafael a list of just who it might be that the pound-for-pound king gets it on with next year. Of course, Arum, like the rest of the world, wants to see Pac-Man face the legally-troubled Floyd Mayweather after he’s taken care of Margarito. Arum would like this mega-match to go ahead next May, but if Floyd is unavailable for one reason or another (he is due back in court for the assault charge in January, and it is beginning to look like “Money” wants no part of Pac-Man anyway), Arum has three other fighters in mind for Pacquiao to face.

According to Rafael, the three fighters the Top Rank boss mentioned were “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez.

This list, or one very similar to it, has surfaced before, and most people agreed then, as they surely do now, how Mexico’s Marquez is at the top of the list when it comes to who they’d like to see Manny fight in 2011. Pac-Man’s next fight, Arum said a while back, will definitely be at welterweight, so it’s tough to see how Marquez will make the fight. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer must first get past the tough and ferociously determined Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27th, which is no sure thing, and would “Dinamita” then agree to go up to 147 (or thereabouts) to engage in a third clash with Pacquiao?

A catch-weight fight could happen, but we all saw last September how Marquez cannot fight effectively above light-welterweight - or at least he couldn’t do a thing against Mayweather at 142-pounds. Pac-Man can and has fought brilliantly at 147, though, so if the two did meet again at anywhere significantly above 140-pounds, Pac-Man would likely be too strong for the Mexican.

As for Cotto and Mosley; well, we’ve already seen Pacquiao take care of Cotto, and Mosley looked close to the end in his last fight, the draw with Sergio Mora. Would the fans relish the idea of Pacquiao against either guy?

In the past, Arum has also mentioned Tim Bradley and Andre Berto as possible 2011 foes for Pac-Man. Both of these potential match-ups do intrigue. It does seem as though the biggest boxing star on the planet will fight again, at least one more time, in 2011 (barring a shocker of a loss to “Tony.”) For this we can be pleased. And whoever it’s against that Pac-Man next rumbles, all of boxing will be watching!

Source: eastsideboxing.com

Pacquiao vs Margarito: Texas, Please Don’t Screw this Up -- 8CountNews

By Peter Czymbor, 8CountNews.com

When Manny Pacquiao vies for his 8th world title in his 8th weight division this weekend against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito, he’ll be doing it in Arlington, Texas and that states commission will be in charge. The WBC’s junior middleweight title will be on the line.

First off, the Texas commission and their appointment of officials for this bout.The referee will be Laurence Cole and the judges will be Gale Van Hoy, Juergen Langos and Glen Rick Crocker.

Two names standout on that list: referee Laurence Cole and Gale Van Hoy. A referee and judge respectively with absolutely terrible reputations.

Laurence Cole infamously told Mexican fighter Juan Manuel Marquez, during a fight against Filipino Jimrex Jaca, that he was ahead on the scorecards during a break in which a doctor was looking at a cut on Marquez caused by a head butt. This is despite it being against the rules for a fighter or anyone onhis team knowing the score during a fight during the bout. What Cole was saying to Marquez was that, if he wanted to, he could quit the fight at that point citing the cut caused by a head butt (not a punch) and go to the scorecards and win a technical decision.

Cole unfairly giving a Mexican fighter an advantage over a Filipino fighter in Texas. Please don’t do that this weekend Laurence.

Source: 8countnews.com

Hatton's father not ruling out ring return for Ricky -- ESPN

ESPN

Ricky Hatton has revealed that son Ricky is "getting back to his old self" and he is refusing to rule out the possibility of the former two-weight champion making a ring comeback.

After a video allegedly showing Ricky snorting cocaine was brought to light in the News of the World in September, the fighter checked into rehab with severe depression before having his boxing licence stripped by the British Boxing Board of Control.

Memories of Ricky's last fight are not fond ones - he was savagely knocked out inside two rounds in a devastating defeat at the hands of Filipino Manny Pacquiao in May 2009. But Hatton Snr believes his son is getting back on track, both mentally and physically.

"He's fine at the moment, he's working out in his home gym and he's actually coming into the gym and working out every day alongside the other boxers," he told Sky Sports.

"As of today he's lost well over two stones, he's looking really good and very relaxed. He's getting back to his old self, his sense of humour's there and he's got that little spring in his step. I think working with some of the lads here and giving them a bit of advice and obviously he's feeling a bit fitter."

When asked whether he expects Ricky to return to the ring, he said: "I don't know. Ricky will be the one that makes his mind up. At the moment we're just happy we're seeing Ricky Hatton back and there's a buzz in the gym and just having his presence here and the little bit of advice he's doing."

Source: espn.co.uk

Latest Margarito misstep brings racial tone to discussions -- Examiner

By Stephen Johnson, Examiner.com

Both Michael Marley (Boxing examiner) and Kevin Iole (Yahoo! Sports) have made valid (in part) commentary regarding a recently released short video where Antonio Margarito, Robert Garcia, and Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios, are apparently mocking Manny Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach and the associated Parkinsons Disease tremors he suffers.

I've had several Spanish speaking friends listen to the audio and all agree the correct interpretation reveals the three alleged culprits were saying they were afraid of Roach and were "shaking in their boots" as a sign of that fear.

Further clouding the stances of both Marley and Iole is the apologies of all three men, with Margarito trainer Robert Garcia saying neither Margarito nor Rios knew Roach suffered from the disease.

Whether you believe any, none, or all as to what their intentions REALLY were, the subject has again ridiculously allowed race to become a part of the conversation.

Iole allows his better judgement to incorporate his (and many others') own dislike for the WBC and the way it conducts business, specifically targeting WBC president Jose Sulaiman for his seeming preference to have Mexican Champions represent his organization.

Most everyone with an ounce of boxing knowledge has little sympathy for the struggles of the WBC and president Sulaiman, but to enter that scenario into the issue of Freddie Roach and his own disrespect (along with many others) for Antonio Margarito, can leave one with the opinion no one involved in this "lead up" to Saturday night's fight can be considered a role model for the sport.

Freddie Roach has continually needled Antonio Margarito with his opinion Margaito should be banned for life from boxing with that view being shared by millions of fight fans, but the fact remains Margarito served his California State Athletic Commission imposed one-year suspension and has been approved to fight in Texas.

What seems forgotten is that without Margarito vs Pacquiao, what other fight would garner as much attention from the boxing public?

The same attacks on the WBC for it's support of Mexican fighters is the same support offered by Mexican fight fans for "one of their own" in Margarito.

Many of the other supposed "deserving opponents" Pacquiao could have selected would have in no way offered up the support of the same Mexican group Iole is critical of when mentioning both the WBC, Jose Sulaiman, and Antonio Margarito.

First the "guy from Las Vegas" comes out with a video mocking Manny Pacquiao and Fillipino people in general, with a "free pass" given by Marley for what he termed "inexcusable" antics.

Could the disdain Marley and Iole share for Antonio Margarito have been a bit tempered by their often desperate appeals to the "guy from Las Vegas" to sign the contract to fight Manny Pacquiao?

The fight between the "guy from Las Vegas" and Pacquiao was the one most everyone associated with boxing wanted to see, but that fight isn't the one scheduled for this Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.

Should the day come when the "guy from Las Vegas" signs to fight Manny Pacquiao, are we to prepare for Kevin Iole to go after the predominantly black leaders of the IBF and it's predominantly black leadership, as he has the Mexican organization the WBC and it's embattled president Jose Sulaiman?

There is absolutely NO QUESTION the "guy from Vegas" and his team will make defamatory, derogatory, and slanderous comments about Pacquiao, his family, and even Iole and Marley themselves, should they be critical of what the "guy from Vegas" and his team are into.

Michael Marley is (allegedly) a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao, so as long as the Pac Man doesn't fight the "guy from Vegas" (who for some odd reason Marley backs away from ruffling his feathers) expect the Pacquiao opponent to be lambasted at some point for negative comments.

Boxers, promotors, trainers, and managers all make negative and derogatory remarks about each others upbringing, backgrounds, and abilities at some point leading up to a big fight.

The ONLY problem is when a member of the media references the nationality of an organization and it's leader as a point of reference when applying his/her opinion to the discussion.

SHAME ON BOTH MICHAEL MARLEY AND KEVIN IOLE, for adding more fuel to an already sensitive subject that does nothing for the sport of boxing other than give detractors another piece of ammunition.

If these two men are that disgusted, why not publicly state their displeasure and refuse to write anything more regarding this fight Saturday night, whether it be commentary or the final outcome?

Because they already understand boxing has it's own value system in place, and compassion is not usually part of the equation.


Stephen Johnson feature writes for INSIDE BOXING.com, UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND.com, and co-hosts INSIDE BOXING LIVE!

Source: examiner.com