Bob Arum on Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather, Negotiations -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

In this Q&A, Top Rank Promotions' Bob Arum responded to a recent statement by HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg that supported Arum's own assertion that negotiations took place for a mega-bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.

Mayweather's camp -- Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya -- has stated there were no negotiations.

Arum also defended the right of Antonio Margarito to face Pacquiao for the WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title potentially outside of the United States even though Margarito is not licensed to fight in America stemming from a hand-wrapping scandal. Margarito served a year-long suspension handed down by the California State Athletic Commission.

In a new development, Arum said that he is "considering Nevada, Texas and New Jersey as well as Monterrey, Mex." for the Nov. 13 Pacquiao-Margarito fight, adding, "we're going to weigh everything by the end of the week and decide where we're going."

"In New Jersey, we would have it at Boardwalk Hall. In Texas, we would consider the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and in Las Vegas, it would be the MGM Grand Arena," said Arum. "I'm optimistic in all three states."

Abu Dhabi still is an outside consideration as well, although Arum said, "that doesn't appear to me at this point in time as being something reasonably that will happen."


What do you have to say about Ross Greenburg's statement?

Ross Greenburg's statement reflects exactly what I went through and what I talked about at the midnight conference call. That's exactly what I said. You remember that I said that I negotiated through Ross Greenburg, and Al Haymon was on the other side. We were negotiating through Greenburg and that's what Greenburg said.

Now, it's as simple as that. And for these people to deny anything ever took place is ludicrous. You don't see Haymon denying anything. Richard Schaefer, I think, has demonstrated that he is not to be trusted. He plays fast and loose with the truth.


What are your thoughts on Oscar De La Hoya initially saying that the deal was close to being done in one interview, and then, saying the negotiations never took place in another?

Oscar is an advertisement for this movie that's coming out this Friday night that's called, 'Dinner for Schmucks.' Oscar is not the brightest penny on the block. Anybody who pays any mind to what Oscar De La Hoya says is not very bright either.

So that's why you have Oscar De La Hoya once summarizing the negotiations for Mexican television like he did at first. And I thought that he did a pretty good job. That was my understanding of where the negotiations were.

And then for him to say, 'Well, I just said those things to get somebody off my back,' and 'there were no negotiations.' I mean, what are you saying? Why did you go through this situation where you had such an elaborate answer to describe the negotiations, and then you tossed it off and said there were no negotiations. I mean, that's a lie.


Do you think that after all of this that a Mayweather-Pacquiao matchup can ever be negotiated and that the fight will ever be made?

We'd have to find some other way. This way did not work. We'd have to find some other way which has a better opportunity to work. Right now, I don't know what that better way is. But between now and next year, maybe something will occur to me.


How much do you think that Floyd Mayweather's past with you as his former promoter has to do with the way the negotiations went?

I don't think that it has anything to do with it. I really don't. I think that Floyd didn't want to fight and the people around him wanted him to fight. You know, it didn't have anything to do with Bob Arum.

Switching to Pacquiao-Margarito, that fight, reportedly, would be at a catch weight of 150 pounds?

That's correct.



What do you tell people, including Oscar De La Hoya, who might be saying that Antonio Margarito should not be licensed and does not deserve this opportunity against Manny Pacquiao?

Let me tell you something, these are people who don't know any of the facts. They should read the record of the California State Athletic Commission, which shows clearly that Margarito didn't know what was happening, and that these pads that were inserted into his hand wraps were not something that he would naturally catch.

The idea that these pads were Plaster of Paris inserts is absolutely bull****. They're making that up, and that appears nowhere in the record. There is all of this misinformation out there that people like Oscar De La Hoya eagerly cling to because he's a man who has no discernment.

I mean, he doesn't read and he doesn't study. And anybody who has studied that record can not say that Antonio Margarito was complicit in what happened. You can not say that from the record. That being said, California applied the standard of 'he's the boxer, and he's the captain of his ship,' and therefore his license should be revoked.

That was the wrong standard in California, although it is the standard in Nevada. That's a technicality. But he served his time. This was never meant to be a life sentence.


I understand that what could delay a California hearing and potentially keep Antonio Margarito from being licensed there is his lawsuit claiming lack of due process. Is there any chance that he'll drop his lawsuit against California?

I talked to the lawyers about that. That's not a decision that I would make. And the lawyers are not advising him to drop it because when you read the appellate papers, he is the favorite to win and reverse that case.

In other words, I can see the judge throwing out the fact that his license was revoked and showing that there is no blemish on his record. They shouldn't be able to deprive him of that [hearing]. He's not suing anybody for monetary damages.

I mean, this is America, and you have a right to be heard.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Naked Floyd Mayweather: Tide's gone out on Manny Pacquiao fight -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

It would be appropriate if the vacationing Floyd Mayweather was splashing in the aquamarine waters off Puerto Rico right now because the bombshell revelation from HBO Tuesday made me think of a beachy quote.

I think it was business genius/billionaire Warren Buffet who said it best when he said:

“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”

The email HBO chieftain Ross Greenburg sent to The Los Angeles Times has brought us to the low tide situation which reveals, beyond all doubt, that Mayweather and his acolytes have been swimming without their trunks.

I've taken my foot off the pedal in slamming Mayweather in recent weeks but now my hand is forced. And my feet also.

Time to put the pedal to the metal.

Mayweather, who portrays himself as boxing's Emperor, has no clothes.

There can be no excuses now that veteran broadcasting exeuctive Greenburg has backed up Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum's persistent stance that those representing the Pinoy Idol made every effort to make the Super Bout for Nov. 13.

In his terse but telling statement, Greenburg concedes there will be no Manny-Floyd fight at least in this calendar year.

So now it is, to switch to tennis parlance, game, set and match in Pacman's favor.

We still don't know, although Greenburg implies that he began trying to bring the two parties together on May 2, the day after L'il Floyd scored his little victory over old man Sugar Shane Mosley, whether there was any sort of meaningful response to the Pacquiao demands.

But, know this and know it well, Greenburg would have loved to have delivered the blockbuster for his employer.

The flimsy excuses, such as the one about Mayweather fearing that his uncle-trainer Roger might be serving prison time at fight time, don't wash, either.

A fighter who calls himself “Money” wouldn't let his crazy uncle's absence stand between him and a $40 million cash bonanza.

So what are we left with?

Pacquiao now cannot be blamed for moving on to Antonio Margarito and neither can Arum.

HBO is off the hook on the basis on having made more than a good faith effort to bring the parties to contract.

Golden Boy still can't explain why Oscar de la Hoya said on national TV the fight was “very close” to being made into a reality or why Richard Schaefer was like a broken record refusing all public comment and making reference to a gag order.

Maybe Oscar should be bound and Richard should be gagged. But I don't want to get either hinky or kinky here.

There will be no comment from Mayweather puppet master Al Haymon and, by now, you can bet that Floyd's sidekick Leonard Ellerbe has had duct tape placed over his mouth.

It was Ellerbe who prodded Greenburg into public comment by questioning the prime cable network sports president's veracity in the first place.

Bad move, Laughing Lenny, bad move.

Where will Mayweather go next?

I might suggest a nudist colony where trunks are verboten and not optional.

Mayweather could not be any more exposed now if he strolled nude through Times Square at high noon.

He's the self-styled Emperor of Boxing, all right. And he's got no clothes.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao v Margarito. Please Don't Reward a Scoundrel! -- Huffington Post

By Johnny Benjamin, Huffington Post

Manny Pacquiao is without a doubt one of the greatest fighters in the history of professional boxing. His talent in the ring may only be surpassed by his enormous generosity and love of the people of his native Philippine Islands. Many people can learn something very valuable from Manny Pacquiao

He fights all comers and always without question gives the fans their monies worth. To this I say -- Thank you and much respect, Sir.

But his team's decision to fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13th has me scratching my head.

A fight with Manny Pacquiao is a gift from heaven. The opportunity, media exposure and financial win-fall are life altering and truly the chance of a lifetime. With rare exception win, lose or draw the guaranteed pay day is usually more than most fighters will make in their entire career... not to mention a single fight.

For all but one fighter on the planet Manny is doing a great favor to any fighter by presenting them with a contract to fight him. He is truly blessing them... and the entire boxing world (including that fighter) knows it.

Why... Why... Why would Manny Pacquiao bless a fighter like Antonio Margarito?

Margarito was exposed, before the Mosley fight, loading his hand wraps with plaster of Paris, the white stuff that orthopedic surgeons (like me) have traditionally used to make those heavy casts. This was not merely a violation of the rules but potentially placed his opponent in a life-threatening or altering situation.

Can you imagine a professionally trained fighter beating someone with two plaster casts?

He was suspended from boxing in the US for one-year but continued to fight internationally as if he did nothing wrong.

This is the same man (and I use that word begrudgingly) that pummeled Miguel Cotto into bloody submission with what many now suspect were similarly tainted hand wraps.

Why Team Pacquiao would now bless such a scoundrel can only be reasonably explained by greed and should be considered an embarrassment to his proud family name.

Manny Pacquiao you are a better man than that! Please don't let your honorable legacy be tainted by rewarding Antonio Margarito.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Like Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao bullies foes before fight -- Examiner.com

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Is Manny Pacquiao a boxing bully with his demands, both quickly acquiesced to by first Miguel Cotto and now Antonio Margarito, for a catch weight requirement to fight the Pinoy Idol?

Now that he's fully installed and acting as the Congressmanny from poverty stricken but scenic Sarangani, you might say that it is legislative privilege for Pacman to extra such weight concessions from opponents.

Or you might analyze it as yet another example of the rich and powerful lording it over the relatively weak and economically deprived.

I see all viewpoints, really, and there is no denying that, as the world's most popular fighter (Floyd Mayweather being the most notorious), Pacquiao and his cohorts are simply exercising the Golden Rule in getting the disgraced Mexican fighter to agree to a 150 pound weight limit.

I should add that is four pounds less than the limit for the vacant WBC super welterweight crown they will be contesting in Las Vegas or Monterrey, Mexico.

It should not be overlooked that, with a weigh in at 4 pm on a Friday and then a bout Saturday night at about 8 pm, “Margocheato” will have ample opportunity to bulk up and figures to enter the ring massively outsizing Pacquiao.

Margarito enjoys a nearly six inch height advantage and has a five inch reach edge over the betting favorite from General Santos City. I figure the Robert Garcia-trained Margarito to go into the ring weighing close to 160 pounds, thus making him a middleweight and a tall, muscular middleweight to boot.

If anyone can smile at Pacy's demands, it would be my old friend Sugar Ray Leonard.

Born Ray Charles Leonard, this American ring hero has already predicted that Pacman will win this bout and added that he like, the rest of us, is savoring a Manny-Floyd confrontation.

But it was Leonard and his cagey lawyer/de facto manager Mike Trainer who wrote the book on using the Golden Rule—meaning he who brings the gold makes the rules—to put foes at various disadvantages.

Classic example of that was when wrestling impresario Vince McMahon Jr. tried his hand at boxing promotion.

“Mr. McMahon” cut a deal with the Leonard camp for a PPV bout at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in one of the many Leonard comeback bouts.

The handpicked opponent was, quite literally, a fair-haired Canadian boy named Donny Lalonde.

Adroitly managed by author-boxing guy Dave Wolf, Lalonde's record was built on bums of all descriptions.

In fact, back when ESPN voice Teddy Atlas trained him, a no hoper foe did not show up for a bout off TV in Kentucky.

Thinking quickly, the wily Wolf substituted a Lalonde pal, who had never had a single amateur or pro bout, as the new opponent. Needless to say, Lalonde was compassionate, stopping his bosom buddy in one round.

It really happened and the proof is in Lalonde's record on Boxrec.

This was Aug. 12, 1986, at the Ashland Armory and Frank "Candy Man" Walters, with zero ring time on his resume, was also outweighed 10 pounds by Lalonde.

Lalonde's pal ring career began and ended with that single round or portion thereof. This was the emergency beginning and end of the Minot, South Dakota, guy's career.

Let's not say this "fight" was fixed, let's be nice and say it was "prearranged."

It wasn't Atlas' idea, he didn't like it but he went along with the program.

Atlas would later split with Wolf and Lalonde and was not in the Winnipeg Bomber's corner or in his pocket (Lalonde earned $5 millon) when he fought superstar Leonard.

A disgruntled Atlas told me, and I quoted him in The New York Post, that manager and fighter phonies and cited their respective coiffures.

At the time, Wolf wore an awful hairpiece while Lalonde was a shimmering blond.

Only Donny's hairdresser knew for sure but you didn't have to be a carpet expert to see that Wolf was wearing a rug.

“One dyes it and the other one buys it,” Atlas chortled.

But I digress as is so customary in this column.

Lalonde seemed to be a perfect patsy for Leonard especially after he won the WBA light heavyweight title by knocking out New Yorker Eddie Davis in Trinidad.

The stage was set for Leonard to add not one but two weight class crowns to his collection.

But Lalonde may not have read the script because he almost ruined the party.

One thing the Leonard camp glossed over was that Lalonde, a fitness and nutrition freak, packed a hure punch which could make you lose your lunch.

I know, I was there at ringisde.

Next: Blond Bomber Lalonde Shocks The World.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. camp responds to HBO, Arum comments -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Hours after the president of HBO Sports said he had negotiated with both sides in an effort to make a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega-fight on Nov. 13, Mayweather's lead adviser again denied the claim.

"Floyd is his own boss, calling his own shots," Leonard Ellerbe told The Times on Monday night.

HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg said in a prepared statement earlier Monday that he indeed had discussed the fight with representatives of both Pacquiao and Mayweather in an effort to make a bout that would match the repeat fighter of the year from the Philippines with unbeaten Mayweather.

The mediation failed, and Pacquiao proceeded to a replacement fight against Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at a site to be determined. The bout will be for the vacant WBS super-welterweight title, possibly Pacquiao's record eighth weight-division world title.

Ellerbe has said someone, either Arum or Greenburg, is "lying" if they believe Mayweather has participated in negotiations to fight. That point was effectively repeated Monday by Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions executive who had been called upon in the past to assist Mayweather in fight negotiations.

Ellerbe said neither Mayweather nor his representatives ever entered into anything beyond cursory conversation with Greenburg. Ellerbe said Mayweather was doing what he had been since defeating Shane Mosley on May 1: taking time off to enjoy his life, his family and participate in other personal functions, as he said in this independent video June 2.

"This whole thing is getting blown out of proportion," Ellerbe said. "Floyd made it clear what his intentions were, after the fight ... and again in an interview last week. He's on vacation.

"Obviously, the parties making these statements need to understand what the term 'negotiation' really means. Calling to ask Floyd what he's thinking about doing is not a negotiation. How ... can you have a negotiation when the principal has made it clear he's not interested in doing anything at this time."

That certainly doesn't sit well with the boxing public, which has clamored for Mayweather-Pacquiao, but it should be noted "Money" earned about $65 million in two fights, in the September 2009 bout against Juan Manuel Marquez and the Mosley bout.

Ellerbe said he wasn't worried about Arum's claims that it's "unpardonable" to "lie to the press," as he said Ellerbe had done in previously insisting there were no negotiations. There's no love lost between Mayweather and his former promoter.

"I pay absolutely no attention to what Arum says," Ellerbe said. "He's just bitter because Floyd left him to become his own boss and has gone on to make $125 million since."

So when will Mayweather fight again? Apparently, whenever he wakes up one day and decides to. "When the time is right, it'll be right," Ellerbe said. "It'll be very simple."

That'll be something to see, after one prior collapsed negotiation in January and now this month's failed whatever-you-want-to-call-it.

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

HBO's Greenburg says there WERE negotiations -- The Ring

By Michael Rosenthal, The Ring

Bob Arum, the promoter of Manny Pacquiao, said last week that he negotiated with Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a proposed Nov. 13 fight through HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg.

Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisors, then issued a bizarre statement claiming no negotiations ever took place. That was corroborated by Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions, with which Mayweather is affiliated.

Now Greenburg releases a short statement on Monday evening saying he did in fact act as a go-between in negotiations with the two sides.

The statement:

“Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010. I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

You be the judge.

Source: ringtv.com

Time for Pacquiao to stop cheating history by inventing weight classes -- Sports Illustrated

By Jake Donovan, BoxingScene.com

Another event, another catch ... weight, that is.

Nothing but disappointment and grumbling has been expressed in the wake of yet another failed attempt to match Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Manny Pacquiao, universally regarded as the two best fighters in the world today.

In a perfect world, a worthy alternative would be offered with at least the promise of something greater waiting in the wings. Instead, we get whatever promoters and networks elect to feed us.

Rather than a matchup to determine who's the best active fighter (and welterweight) in the world, we get a repeat of what we were already asked to pay for last year: Team Pacquiao inventing another weight class for the sake of chasing history.

From the moment promoter Bob Arum revealed in his after-hours conference call more than a week ago that the options for Pacquiao's next opponent were limited to two of his own fighters, it was clear that the final choice would come down to the one more willing to bend over and take it however the Vegas-based promotional company wanted to give it to them.

Arum stated on the call that he was confident that a deal could be reached within 10 days, though also claiming that negotiations had never yet begun with either Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito -- the two finalists in this year's Pacquiao opposition sweepstakes.

The comment was peculiar considering that Pacquiao -- for all of his charm, humility and in-ring greatness -- has proven in recent years to be a bear to deal with at the negotiating table. Deals to face Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar De La Hoya all dragged on until the last possible minute, with all three fights in limbo at one point or another before being finalized.

At the heart of most negotiating complications is money, but the deal struck with Cotto went well beyond that. The sales pitch for their November 2009 showdown was Pacquiao pursuing a title in a record seventh weight class, just months after having become the only fighter in boxing history to capture lineal world championships in four separate divisions.

The biggest hang-up most had with the manner in which he was gunning for Cotto's title was his unwillingness to honor the actual welterweight limit. Cotto held his ground for as long as he could, demanding that the fight either takes place at 147 pounds for his title -- or at Pacquiao's suggested catchweight of 145 but without the alphabet hardware at stake.

With nobody looking out for his best interests -- Arum promotes both sides but was never going to tell Pacquiao to back down -- Cotto eventually gave in, agreeing to the catchweight and accepting the payday that came with title fight.

We are now at the same exact point, only the circumstances are far more suspect.

Without a deal in place, Arum has already claimed on the record that Margarito -- who has now emerged as the frontrunner to face Pacquiao on Nov. 13 -- is willing to concede to Team Pacquiao's demand for a catchweight of 150 pounds. That's a full four pounds beneath the junior welterweight limit.

If it were for any given fight, it wouldn't be much of an issue -- the weight or the fight itself. More than a few fans and media members have voiced their displeasure over Margarito being rewarded with a big payday while still being without a license to box in the United States. Those same outspoken critics have called for his banishment after being caught with loaded hand wraps prior to the eventual beatdown he would catch from Shane Mosley in their January 2009 fight. More so than the act itself, what doesn't sit right with most is Mararito's tendency to stop just short of accepting full responsibility for what took place that night whenever pressed.

But all of that stuff merely casts Margarito as the villain when the deal to face Pacquiao in November is finalized.

A villain is precisely what has been missing from Pacquiao's last several promotions. That's all the more reason why a showdown with Mayweather -- who has perfected the role of Public Enemy No. 1 for any given event in recent years -- would've resulted in the most lucrative prizefight ever.

You can argue that De La Hoya wore the black hat when he faced Pacquiao in December 2008, simply from the perspective of his having spent the past 11 years at 147 or higher while calling out a fighter who at the time had never fought heavier than 135. It was the first time in years that Pacquiao entered the fight as a considerable underdog, making it that much easier to root for him and only adding to the promotion.

Since then, the choice of opponents have hardly been the type of cats that you love to hate -- Ricky Hatton, of whom there's only one; Cotto, whom most either love or are simply indifferent two; and Joshua Clottey, who -- even if you dislike him -- never carried with the fans that level of interest to significantly add to any promotion.

From that perspective alone, Margarito serves a purpose -- one more reason to root for Pacquiao, one more reason to hate Margarito, one more reason to buy the pay-per-view event.

That was never going to happen with a Cotto rematch; if anything, it would detract from Pacquiao's popularity. Arum's sales pitch that Cotto brings enough to the table to make a second fight enticing never went very far; the lopsided beating is still far too fresh in everyone's memory -- as is the lousy undercard that preceded the main event.

Even worse, any record books that would recognize Pacquiao as an eight-division world champion -- had he won -- would've shown two wins over Cotto at two separate weight classes, neither of which would've come at the true divisional limit.

Sadly, part of that statement will still read true after Nov. 13, should he get by Margarito.

At stake for this event will be a belt that was vacated by Sergio Martinez -- to be contended by two fighters who between them account for zero notable wins at the 154-pound limit.

Margarito's most recent fight came at the junior middleweight limit, taking a 10-round decision over fringe contender Roberto Garcia. Prior to that fight, it was six years since he fought at the weight -- dropping a decision to Daniel Santos in their September 2004 rematch -- and even longer since he won a fight above welterweight.

In other words, nothing to earn the right to challenge for a title of any kind.

While Pacquiao arguably earns the right to fight for the belt of his choosing on social status alone, it's been more than two years since he's fought for any title sanctioned by the alphabet group who will recognize the winner of this fight as their junior middleweight champion. That fight for Pacquiao came three weight classes south, against David Diaz for a lightweight belt.

Pacquiao won that fight with ease, but never defended the belt or even returned to 135. That win came on the heels of his rematch win over Juan Manuel Marquez for the lineal junior lightweight championship, only to bolt from that division immediately after the fight.

His two-round blowout over Hatton for the lineal junior welterweight crown remains his only fight to date at the 140-pound weight limit. Several publications (including BoxingScene.com) continue to recognize him as the champion, even though he hasn't fought at the weight in more than a year, nor is it likely that he ever drops back down below the welterweight division.

In fact, for all of his belt-collecting in recent years, his 12-round whitewash over Clottey earlier this year marked the first successful title defense at any weight since he campaigned as the world featherweight champion more than six years ago.

Now, one fight into his welterweight reign, he eyes a belt in yet another division.

He doesn't want to pursue it the old-fashioned way -- by earning it -- or even by pursuing one of its many other beltholders, but instead by cherry-picking his way towards a vacant title ... in a fight where the participants could potentially weigh no heavier than four pounds below the actual divisional limit.

The demands for last year's Cotto fight -- while not universally embraced -- were at least somewhat forgiven, considering the fact that Pacquiao was at least facing a recognized beltholder.

But there are only so many times that a fighter and his team can keep dipping into the same well and expect his paying audience to come along for the ride.

Pacquiao's history-making run in recent years has proven that he's capable of sustaining his greatness even as he adds pounds to his frame and challenges himself in the ring against top-notch fighters.

But in the wake of failing to make a fight happen with Mayweather, and considering that there are plenty of other fighters in and around the welterweight division against whom the fans would much rather see him, the time has come for Manny Pacquiao and his handlers to stop cheating history.

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Trainer: Antonio Margarito 'Stops' Manny Pacquiao Late -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

It appears that seven-division champion and present WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao will pursue his eighth crown in as many different weight divisions on Nov. 13, either in Las Vegas or Mexico, against ex-world champion Antonio Margarito (pictured above, at right), doing battle for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown.

Margarito is coming off of May's 10-round, unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in Mexico, which helped him to rebound from a ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009. Prior to the bout, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, discovered that the Mexican's fist wrappings included a plaster-like substance that was subsequently removed and confiscated.

Although Margarito has claimed no knowledge of how his hands were taped, blaming former trainer Javier Capetillo, he still is not legal to fight in America -- this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following the illegal hand-wrapping scandal that was the result of the Mosley fight.

In this Q&A, FanHouse spoke to Margarito's new trainer, Robert Garcia, regarding his fighter's past, and his potential to defeat Pacquiao. Margarito is promoted by Top Rank Promotions.


FanHouse: So when will you begin training Antonio Margarito for Manny Pacquiao?

Robert Garcia: The first week of September. Right. That will give us about 10 weeks of training before the fight. But Antonio is always in the gym anyway. He runs every day as part of his regular workout. But our boxing regimen will begin officially 10 weeks before the fight.


FH: What has Antonio said to you about the entire hand-wrapping scandal?

RG: Honestly, like I've told everybody and I'll tell you the same thing, when a trainer is wrapping hands, the fighter is normally listening to music, listening to their iPod or something. They don't pay attention to what's going on with the wrapping.

You know, they give us all of the trust. I've wrapped fighters from Nonito Donaire to Joan Guzman to Steven Luevano. I've done it for a number of world title fights.

Of all of the fighters that I have, not one single time have they asked, 'Can I see what's on the wraps?" or "can I see what's on the padding?'

They trust me and they believe that I'm doing a good job, and I want them to believe that I'm doing a good job. Every fighter, even when I was fighting, whoever wrapped my hands, I wasn't questioning it. It wasn't like, 'What's there?' or 'what are you putting in there?'

I just stuck my hands out there, listened to music and let my trainer do the job. That's the way that it's supposed to be, and that's the way that it's always been. Antonio and I talk about it a little bit. We tried to kid around about it. We try anyway. But he's always said the same thing.

He's like, 'just like you're doing right now. I'm not asking you what you're putting in the wraps. I'm letting you do your job.' He said, 'that's what I always did with my former trainer.'


FH: Have you ever met Javier Capetillo, and what do you think of what he did?

RG: I've known him for years. Since I was a fighter, I've always known Capetillo. He's a very nice person outside of the ring. Always helped us out if we needed sparring. He would let us come out to Los Angeles. Myself, my dad, Fernando Vargas. He would always give us sparring and everything.

He's a good person, but I don't know what he was thinking or why he would do something like that or what his intentions were. It's something that, you know, I wasn't there to tell you how things went. All that I've heard is what Antonio has said to me and what I've read.

That's how I know what happened. I don't ask him questions about, 'Why did Capetillo do this?' or 'why did he do that?' That's none of my business. Now, he's with me, and I'm doing my best, and I've always done a good job with my fighters.

Antonio is happy with the way that I wrap his hands. He's actually surprised. He's happy and everybody that I work with and that I wrap is happy.


FH: What do you believe that the public perception is of this fight?

RG: What I hear is what I read. But everybody who has talked to me says that Antonio has done his year and served his time and his suspension. So he's paid his dues. They should give him an opportunity to fight again.

He's got a new team and new people behind him. Nobody's ever heard any controversy around myself or my team, so they've got nothing bad to say about the new team that he's with. Like I said, the fighters put their hands out there and the trainer does the job.

I'm pretty sure that Margarito is going to do well in this fight and give us good results.


FH: How do you believe that Antonio will do against Manny Pacquiao?

RG: Well, I'm on top of that. I've been watching Manny's fights. I've been watching Freddie Roach also. Freddie Roach is a great trainer, and I respect him. But I've learned some things about the way that they train and the way that Manny Pacquiao fights.

I think that I've got a good idea about how they're going to try to fight against us. I think that we have a great chance. Antonio's last fight with Roberto Garcia, he'll be much better than that. That was his first fight with me and he did what I asked him to do.

He fought smart, moved around, boxed. I honestly thought that he looked really good. He was different from the Margarito that the world had come to know, and that we all knew. He was not the guy that came straight forward and get hit and just wore down his opponent.

With me, I just told him that he's not just a guy that goes out and gets hit and gets into wars. I said, 'show these people that you can also box.' He came out, knocked Roberto down in the first round, and wound up winning a unanimous decision.

He played around with Garcia and showed the world that he's got skills. He's got skills and good footwork. We worked about three months before his last fight, so, this next time, he'll be even better. I think that we have a good chance.


FH: I understand that there is a catch weight of 150 pounds for this fight?

RG: I believe that the fight will be at a catch weight of 150 pounds, and 150 is no problem for Antonio. The last time he came in to camp, he was 12 pounds over where he had to fight, which was 154. Two weeks before the fight, he was already on weight.

So he had no problem making that weight. So he will be a very strong fighter in there against Manny Pacquiao.


FH: Do you have a prediction?

RG: Obviously, I've never called fights or ever predicted anything. I just know that Antonio will have the heart and the power and the conditioning to be a great champion and to beat anybody out there.

But I think that we can get him in the later rounds. So I'm going to say that maybe Antonio stops him in the later rounds.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Sugar Ray sees Pacquiao victory -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard predicts an easy win by Manny Pacquiao over Antonio Margarito in their planned November 13 showdown.

“He’ll just overwhelm Margarito,” Leonard told Fanhouse, noting that Pacquiao’s speed and power will be too much for the Mexican to handle. “It’s not a mismatch, but Pacquiao dominates (this fight).”

Leonard is also a multi-division titleholder like the seven-division champion Filipino, having been world champion at welterweight, super-welter, middle, super-middle and light-heavy.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is in the process of finalizing all the details in connection with the fight that will be for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super-welterweight crown.

Not even Pacquiao’s demand that they clash at a catch weight of 150 lbs is an issue, according to Arum, who said Margarito will not oppose it. The super-welter division has a limit of 154 lbs.

The venue remains the only thing that is keeping Arum and Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Mike Koncz busy these days.

Arum continues to bat for Las Vegas as site, but oil-rich Abu Dhabi is very keen as well. The wealthy Mexican city of Monterrey and Dallas are also in the running to play host to Pacquao’s much-awaited ring return.

Still, Leonard said it is a showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather that tickles his fancy.

“I want to see and the world wants to see Pacquiao-Mayweather, without question,” said the 54-year-old Leonard, who wound up his sterling career with a 36-3-1 card with 25 knockouts.

“Even me, as a fight fan now, would love to see the fight take place and hopefully it comes into fruition pretty soon,” added Leonard, best known for his memorable battles with Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

Source: mb.com.ph

If Pacquiao is baddest man on planet, why four pound weight crutch? -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Maybe Manny Pacquiao attorney Franklin Jeng "The Jackal" Gacal did not get the memo.

But, if Manny Pacquiao really is the baddest man on the boxing planet, he would not be using training wheels.

Gacal has been quoted as saying that Pacman will demand a 150 pound weight limit, FOUR POUNDS shy of the traditional junior middleweight limit (154 pounds) for a Nov. 13 bout against the digraced and humilated handwrap cheater Antonio Margarito.

I doubt that Gacal, who is no showboat, would be flapping his gums without some substance to his assertion.

Certainly, being the "A side" of the ledger and totally dominant over the Mexican in terms of bargaining power, Pacman can give a weight limit ultimatum.

But, and we've been through this before, if Pacquiao really wants to be known as "the Eighth Wonder of the World" for copping a record eighth weight class crown, he needs to throw away his crutches.
Sign the bout contract for the standard 154 pound limit.

Or else give Manny the WBC 154 pound belt, if he beats Margarito, and slap a giant asterisk or it because, really he would be the new Halfway Between Welter and Junior Middleweight Champion.

Margocheato, age 32, figures to heavily outweight Manny anyway when they climb into the ring but so what?

AM is slightly older but a lot slower than the now sure and fleet footed Megamanny.

Not to mention how Shane Mosley, six or so years older, spinned, folded and easily mutilated Margarito.
Anything Sugar Shanester can do, Pacquiao should do in an even more dazzling fashion.

This whining demand for a weight "handicap" by the Pacman camp is beyond irritating, even demeaning for the world's top pound for pound fighter.

It's come up before and it may be an old habit Pacman acolytes can't abandon.

Maybe they could start 12 stepping at Weight Limit Crutches Anonymous.

Congressmanny must veto this babyish weight demand personally.

His "electorate" is standing by and expecting no less.

Lobster claws are fine, if you eschew the needless melted butter.

But weight clauses make Pacquiao look like an insecure bully.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com