Laurence Cole to Officiate Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito.-- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas-based referee Laurence Cole will be the third man in the ring for Saturday night's clash between WBO welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito for the WBC's vacant junior middleweight belt.

The nearly 5-foot-7 Pacquiao weighed in at 144.6 pounds compared to the 150 pounds for the 5-11 Margarito, who is expected to out-weigh the smaller fighter by as much as 15 pounds come fight night. According to BoxingScene.com's Michael Marley, Cole worked Pacquiao's 11th-round knockout of Marco Antonio Barrera, calling a Pacquiao slip a knockdown.

In this Q&A, Cole shed some light on what he expects not only of himself entering this, his 55th world championship bout since he first began in 1990, but also, what he expects out of the fighters.

FanHouse: The bigger man versus the smaller man is basically what this fight is about, so, how rough will you allow it to get in there between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito?

Laurence Cole: The bigger man is always going to be the one trying to press the action. The guy who is the smaller man who has got speed is going to try to elude it. And, of course, you let the action happen as long as the rules are being enforced.

In other words, there's no pushing, no elbows, no leaning, etc. If there are guys staying up, then they're staying up, they're using their hands, they're working, then there's not a problem.

What is your perception of what people believe that they're going to see in a Laurence Cole-officiated fight?

You have a background and referees have styles just like other guys.

How would you characterize your style?

Because I'm a little bit younger than most officials, I'm pretty physical. I'm very boisterous, I like making strong commands. I expect them to obey my commands. But probably the top thing is that I work the hands away.

In what way?

Well, instead of always breaking a fighter, you know, and constantly getting into the middle and breaking the rhythm of a fight, I will work the hands out. When a guy gets his hands pulled in there, and he gets it hung up or something, I will push it through.

But I will tell them at the same time, 'You keep fighting until you hear a command.' I do it in a strong enough voice. And I want them to fight.

As a former fighter, and not a very good one, I know that if you're paying too much attention to the referee, then you're not paying attention to the job that you're doing as a fighter.

So, if you're constantly being broken up, you lose the rhythm of the fight. It's just like when you're watching an NFL game and they're dropping that yellow flag all of the time.

It bogs the game down. A referee trying to be overactive bogs the fight down. I just want to be able to work, slide in and out, not get involved. If the hands get tied up, we'll work them out.

You have worked only one fight between the two of them, correct?

I've worked with both fighters camps, but not with both fighters. I worked Manny Pacquiao's fight years ago against [Marco Antonio] Barrera in San Antonio [11th-round knockout victory for Pacquiao.] It was a big upset at the time.

How will that experience help you for this fight?

Well you always have an interesting thing with a southpaw fighter like Manny Pacquiao, and that is the way that their heads line up and their jabs line up and you have to be very cautious of their heads clashing.

Because they slide in and out with the punching. So you've got to be cautious that they don't butt heads. And then, you've got a smaller fighter in Manny Pacquiao who is going to come in underneath.

So, you know, that's where you worry that he could be lunging forward sometimes and you worry about the heads coming together.

What is your ultimate goal in this fight?

I was just telling somebody earlier that my goal is to walk out of that ring and to have no one know that I was there working.

How do you mean?

I mean that I didn't have an impact on the fight, and that I let the fighters take center stage, I don't want to be a part of it.

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

24/7 Pacquiao - Margarito Episode 4

Pacquiao hoping to punch his way into history -- San Antonio Express

By John Whisler, Express-News

ARLINGTON — Manny Pacquiao returns to Cowboys Stadium, hoping to win in the same fashion as he did in his first trip here. In March, he pummeled a strangely passive Joshua Clottey en route to a one-sided victory.

Many experts predict he will, citing superior hand speed as simply too great an obstacle for Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs), his opponent tonight in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC super welterweight title.

A crowd that could reach 60,000 or more is expected as Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) tries to make history by becoming the first fighter to win titles in eight different weight classes.

The fight headlines an HBO Pay-Per-View card promoters think could surpass 1 million buys.

Pacquiao is being cast as the hero this time, a role that appears to fit him well.

Considered the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, he's become a phenomenon in his homeland of the Philippines, where he has risen from the ashes of poverty to unimagined wealth.

Once a virtual unknown, he's now the newly elected congressman from the Sarangani Province who has dedicated his life to helping his people.

“I've slept in the street,” he says. “That was my life before. So hard. That's why I feel what they're feeling.”

Pacquiao also is wildly popular in America, recently appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” with Will Ferrell. He was profiled last week on “60 Minutes.”

Margarito, 32, is playing the villain, and seems well-suited for the part.

The Mexican fighter had his license revoked — and his reputation destroyed — in California in 2009 after attempting to get into the ring against Shane Mosley with illegal hand wraps.

He maintains he knew nothing of any of it, blaming his trainer.

Earlier this week, Margarito was the central figure in a controversy over an Internet video that appeared to show him and members of his camp mocking Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach's Parkinson's disease.

Margarito apologized, but the incident has only boosted his bad-boy image.

In the ring, there's plenty of intrigue, too. Not everyone is predicting a short night for Pacquiao.

At 5-11, Margarito is nearly 5 inches taller than his opponent and could outweigh him in the ring by as much as 15 pounds.

Pacquiao raised a few eyebrows Friday by weighing in at 144.6 pounds. Margarito tipped the scales at 150, the contracted weight.

“With our strategy, we are not worried about size,” Pacquiao said.

As for Margarito, Roach still doesn't trust him. He plans to be in Margarito's dressing room to oversee the process and make sure there's no funny business.

Roach also has expressed concern over Pacquiao's training, at one point calling it “the worst camp we've ever had.”

While still in the Philippines, Pacquiao missed several days in the gym while tending to politics.

San Antonio's Rick Crocker was chosen as one of the three judges for the fight.

Source: mysanantonio.com

Fans expect Pacquiao to KO Margarito despite size difference -- Examiner

By Lorne Scoggins, Examiner.com

On Friday afternoon, just a few hours prior to the official weigh-in, a member of Team Pacquiao told this reporter that he sincerely believed that Margarito was having trouble making weight. It came as no surprise that by the time that the Tijuana Tornado stepped on the scales, his official weight was 150 lbs on the button, which was the exact catch weight for the WBC light middleweight title bout.

On the other hand, many were surprised when Pacquiao tipped the scales far below the limit at 144.6 lbs.

Most pundits assume that Pacquiao chose to stay light in order to keep his advantage of explosive power and speed, just as he did in his December, 2008 fight with a much larger Oscar De La Hoya, when the Pacman weighed in a full 5 lbs below the welterweight limit of 147.

A lot has been said, and some uncertainty has arisen about Pacquiao’s ability to handle the 5’11”, Mexican power-slugger, especially since the airing of 24/7, which successfully portrayed Margarito’s determination to topple Pacquiao from his long-held seat on the pound-for-pound throne.

For Margarito, this is his best (and perhaps his last) chance at some semblance of redemption following the controversy surrounding the discovery of his illegal handwraps immediately prior to his fight with Shane Mosley.

I spoke to light middleweight prospect, and Pacquiao sparring partner Glen Tapia following the weigh-in at Cowboys Stadium on Friday. When I inquired as to how he felt the bout would play out, he was quite unconcerned about the difference in size between Pacquiao and Margarito.

Tapia, who suffered a broken jaw during his October, 30th UD victory over Quinton Whitaker, still managed to express his opinion, despite the fact that his jaw is currently wired shut.

“I think Pacquiao will stop him somewhere around Rnd. 6,” Tapia said. “Margarito’s a slow starter. By the time he gets warmed up, Pacquiao will already have him broken down.”

Likewise, Arkansans I’ve spoken to have expressed their beliefs that Pacquiao’s superior speed and power will be too much for the much slower Margarito.

Cliff Garrigus of Rogers is a long time boxing enthusiast. He believes it will be a short night for Margarito.

“I predict Pacquiao catching Margarito with a hard, left hook and knocking him out before the fourth Rnd.” Garrigus said.

Professional middleweight Delray Raines of Paris anticipates an eventual TKO by Pacquiao, and stated that his smaller height could actually be an advantage.

“I’d say Pacman wins this fight just by outdoing Antonio,” Raines stated. “Manny is much shorter than him, and it’s much easier to punch up than it is to punch down. I think Manny will get a TKO win by the 10th Rnd.”

mailto:scrimmer1@hotmail.com

Source: examiner.com

Pacquiao not concerned about size disadvantage vs. Margarito -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

ARLINGTON, Texas — By the time they step into the ring Saturday night for their super welterweight title showdown at Cowboys Stadium, Antonio Margarito could outweigh Manny Pacquiao by as much as 15-to-20 pounds.

At Friday's weigh-in, Margarito tipped the scales at 150 pounds, which is the catch weight the fighters agreed to. Pacquiao came in at 144.6 pounds, well under the limit, which caused a buzz among the news media covering the fight because of how low his weight was.

Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) is expected to re-hydrate to about 162-165 pounds by the start of the fight, which will be televised on HBO pay-per-view starting at 9 p.m. ET. Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) doesn't figure to come in at more than 147 pounds.

Pacquiao has said he does not need the extra weight, and feels better when he's lighter.

Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach don't appear to be too concerned about the weight and size difference. They are counting on Pacquiao's speed to negate Margarito's size and punching power, and they expect Pacquiao to prevail and win a world title in his eighth weight division. Nobody else has ever won in more than six weight divisions.

"I think we will overwhelm him with the punches (Manny) will land on him with the fast hands and combinations," says Roach. "In eight or nine rounds I think we will break him down.

"Margarito throws a lot of punches and he makes too many mistakes to beat us. He has bad habits and we are going to take advantage of all of them."

Margarito says he can't remember being in such good shape for a fight.

"I'm the best I ever trained and I'm the best I ever been for a fight," he said on Thursday.

Roach expects a physical battle in the ring because both fighters are or have been champions and they both have exciting styles.

"I think this is going to be a real action-packed fight," said Roach. "You have a guy (Margarito) that's been world champion, he knows what it's like to be a world champion, he knows what it takes to win fights, he throws punches, it should be a very exciting fight, yes."

Roach says this is a fight Pacquiao has wanted for a long time.

"He's always wanted this fight," Roach said. "After he fought Oscar (De La Hoya), we said, 'who do you want to fight next?' He said Margarito.

Roach predicts a stoppage.

"We will knock this guy out," Roach said. "We're confident he will not last. The amount of punches he's going to take in this fight is going to be enormous. The volume of punches, he won't be able to handle. He will quit."

Pacquiao, who is favored to win by about 5-1, is guaranteed $15 million for the fight, and according to Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum, could make another $10 million depending on gate and PPV revenues. Margarito is guaranteed $3 million but could make as much as $6 million.

The televised undercard features three undefeated fighters.

Former Cuban Olumpic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux (6-0, 5 KOs) faces Ricardo Cordoba (37-2-2, 23 KOs) for the WBA interim Super Bantamweight title at 12 rounds; Philadelphian Mike Jones (22-0, 18 KOs) meets Jesus Soto-Karass in a 10-round welterweight fight; and Brandon Rios (25-0-1, 17 KOs), the WBA's No.1 contender at lightweight, takes on Omri Lowther (14-2, 10 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

Source: usatoday.com

Margarito makes weight; Pacquiao makes less -- 15Rounds

By Bart Barry, 15Rounds.com

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Boxing history is littered with great fighters going one weight class too high. The oddsmakers still say Filipino Manny Pacquiao has not made that mistake. But if Saturday’s fight brings an unexpected loss for Pacquiao, no forensic team will be needed to uncover a cause. The evidence will be found on the scale.

Friday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao and Mexican Antonio Margarito took the indoor stage of the East Side Plaza before a roaring crowd of perhaps 1,000 fight fans – moved inside by the possibility of rain. Both fighters were bundled up in multiple layers, as the Texas temperature had dropped 20 degrees in a few hours.

Margarito weighed the fight’s contracted maximum of 150 pounds. Pacquiao weighed 144.6. If Margarito’s weight was expected, Pacquiao’s was another thing entirely.

Throughout the promotion of Pacquiao-Margarito, questions have arisen about Pacquiao’s commitment to his training regimen. The naturally smaller man, by a significant margin, Pacquiao was expected to add muscle enough to weigh at least the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. He wasn’t close.

More intrigue happened when the two men stood beside one another.

After Margarito approached the scale in an all-black track suit, gold chain and gold earrings, and made weight, with a loud and mixed reception from Mexican and Filipino fans, he waited for Pacquiao to disrobe and mount the scale. And then came the customary stare-down. It held a surprise.

Margarito wore the more defined of the two bodies on Friday’s stage.

Pacquiao’s physique was muscular, not shredded. Margarito, meanwhile, was taller, wider, and closer to “ripped.”

Friday’s weight, though, may be only the beginning of the story. Pacquiao is believed to have eaten freely this week, as he has regularly during fight weeks since his move to welterweight in 2008, and if that is the case, he may not even weigh as much on Saturday as he did Friday afternoon. Margarito, on the other hand, is fully expected to be above the middleweight limit of 160 pounds, and maybe quite a bit above it.

Pacquiao remains the favorite, because of speed and class. But a fight that was already more interesting than initially expected grew more interesting, still, Friday.

Saturday’s Pacquiao-Margarito card is scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM local time, with Cowboys Stadium doors opening at 4:00 PM. The pay-per-view portion of the card will begin at 8:00, with the main event scheduled to start at 10:00. 15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage.

Source: 15rounds.com

Pacquiao staring down another larger foe -- Yahoo Sports

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

GRAPEVINE, Texas – Only minutes after the greatest performance of Manny Pacquiao’s career to date, after he drubbed Oscar De La Hoya and stopped him following eight one-sided rounds, trainer Freddie Roach was asked about a potential match with Antonio Margarito.

Roach laughed, shook his head and insisted the fight would never happen.

“Too big,” Roach said. “Far too big.”

But in the nearly two years since that night, Pacquiao has plowed through Ricky Hatton (second-round knockout), Miguel Cotto (12th-round technical knockout) and Joshua Clottey (one-sided unanimous decision), on the way earning wide recognition as the finest boxer in the world.

His promoter, Bob Arum, calls Pacquiao the greatest fighter he’s ever seen, including the legendary former heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali.

So, earlier this year, when Arum called Roach and proposed Margarito as Pacquiao’s next opponent, Roach never hesitated in accepting. On Saturday at Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao will meet Margarito for the World Boxing Council super welterweight championship in a bout that will attract perhaps 70,000 fans and which has created a worldwide media frenzy.

And Roach, who once worried that the one-time flyweight champion was too small to compete with a big, physical welterweight like Margarito, is now so confident in Pacquiao that he is predicting an eighth-round knockout.

“Manny’s grown so much as a fighter, even since the Oscar fight,” Roach said. “The guy amazes me sometimes, and I see him all the time.”

Pacquiao is a better than 5-1 favorite in Las Vegas sports books to win his 12th consecutive fight and capture a world championship in his eighth weight class. He will concede 4½ inches in height, 6½ inches in reach and perhaps as many as 15 pounds when the bell rings.

And yet, the newly installed congressman from the Sarangani province in the Philippines is completely unfazed by the challenge in front of him. He’ll concede nothing else.

“With our strategy, we are not worried about the size,” Pacquiao said. “I believe I can fight the bigger guys even though I am small compared to them. We always believe in our talent.”

The simple equation in the fight is Pacquiao’s overwhelming advantage in speed compared to Margarito’s massive size advantage. Margarito is a volume puncher who loves to go to the body and a hard body attack is one of the best ways to combat speed. Hit a guy in the rib cage enough and it’s not long before he slows appreciably.

But Clottey, who along with Cotto fought each man, said Margarito should be wary of Pacquiao’s punching power.

“If Margarito uses his head, and if he respects Pacquiao’s power, he has a chance,” Clottey said. “But if he believes he’s so much bigger and stronger than Manny Pacquiao, he could wind up on the floor.”

Cotto, who was knocked down twice by Pacquiao, concurred with Clottey, noting “Manny is a very strong fighter.”

Margarito is notorious for having a strong chin and relentlessly stalking his opponent, but he is extraordinarily slow and throws wide punches. He’ll be vulnerable to Pacquiao’s lightning fast hands unless he doubles his jab, uses it frequently and shortens his other punches.

Margarito is eager to return to the limelight and, more significantly, start collecting paychecks after a long period of inactivity. Other than a May fight against journeyman Roberto Garcia, who is no relation to his trainer, Robert Garcia, Margarito hasn’t fought since Jan. 24, 2009, when an illegal knuckle pad was discovered in his hand wraps before a loss to Shane Mosley.

Arum said Margarito has been through “torture” and “hell” in the last 21 months, as he’s battled to save his boxing career and fought allegations that he’s a cheater.

His former trainer, Javier Capetillo, took blame for the illegal pad in Margarito’s wraps. In an interview with Ringtv.com, Capetillo said he put the illegal pad into Margarito’s wraps because he worried about his fighter’s condition. Arum said Margarito had to lose 35 pounds in the final month before the fight to make the 147-pound welterweight limit.

“I started panicking the week of the fight,” Capetillo told Ring. “I knew we were in deep [expletive], and we couldn’t tell anyone. It was too late to pull out of the fight. But I want to make it clear that I did not plan what happened. Maybe I was feeling the pressure of the fight and not paying attention to what I was doing when I reached into my bag and grabbed the training gauze, but I didn’t do it on purpose.

“I made a mistake. I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I just screwed up, and I did it in front of Mosley’s trainer and the commissioners. I was just under a lot of pressure because I knew we shouldn’t have taken the fight, I knew Tony was in trouble and I knew that I had put him in that position. I wrapped Tony’s hands four times in front of Mosley’s trainer and the commissioners and two representatives from Golden Boy [Promotions] after they found the gauze. I admitted then that I made a mistake. I confessed to the commission after the fight. I took responsibility for my actions and I think I’ve been punished as if Tony had fought with the gauze.”

Margarito has been under enormous pressure and faced near-constant scrutiny since the fight was signed earlier this year. Pacquiao, by contrast, has been relaxed and loose. On Wednesday, after a late-night workout, he went into a hotel ballroom and practiced his singing with his band.

He’s so worried about Margarito’s size and power that he’s planning to do a concert on Tuesday for some customers of a Lake Tahoe, Nev., casino.

“Manny had a slow start to his [training] camp, but he’s exactly where he needs to be right now,” Roach said. “He’s going to knock this guy out.”

Source: sports.yahoo.com

Manny Pacquiao shares his blessings with poor, not foes -- USA Today

By Bob Velin, USA TODAY

ARLINGTON, Texas — He came from the poorest of the poor in a poverty-stricken area of Sarangani Province on the Philippine island of Mindanao, scrounging daily for food for his family.
Eating was not a given for Manny Pacquiao, who quit school at the age of 10. Some days, he recalled Wednesday, he only drank water. His family of seven lived in a cardboard shack.

But Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao loved to fight. And it became apparent that he was gifted. He saw boxing as his ticket out of the slums and left home at 15, living in the streets of Manila for a time.

Today, Pacquiao, who turns 32 next month, runs the Sarangani Province as its elected congressman. (He won in a landslide in May). He's wealthy beyond anything he could have imagined. He's the world's top pound-for-pound boxer, has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine Asia and currently American Airlines' magazine, was profiled last week on 60 Minutes and has starred in movies.

Last year the former dropout, who passed his high school GED in 2007, was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities by Southwestern University in the Philippines.

Saturday night, in the glittering $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, Pacquiao will seek to extend an amazing record. If he defeats Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC super welterweight title (HBO pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET), it will be the eighth weight class in which he has won titles. Nobody else has won in more than six. His first title was at 112 pounds. Today, he will tip the scales at 150.

Pacquiao has never forgotten where he came from. He has dedicated his life to helping his people. Bob Arum, chairman of Top Rank who has visited the Philippines several times — says it's genuine.

"It starts with the fact that he's a very spiritual man," says Arum. "When I've talked to him, he's expressed his belief that God has put him where he is for a reason — to benefit mankind, to do good.

"He believes that whatever he does in life, whatever happens, is the will of God. Therefore when he goes into a ring, there's a big smile on his face because in his mind, he will do his best. But if he loses, it's God's will. That's his whole philosophy of life. "God has given him all this for being a poor kid living in a cardboard shack in order that he benefits mankind. He believes it, and it runs his life."

Pacquiao says he wants to help those in greatest need because he's been there.

"I feel what they're feeling because I've been there," he says. "I've slept in the street. That was my life before. So hard. That's why I feel what they're feeling right now."

Some of those around Pacquiao fear he will give away his fortune, but Arum says it's part of the plan.

"He sits in front of his house giving money away to people; they go for blocks," says Arum. "I've seen it. Food and money. Food and money. He believes that's part of the higher purpose, because once he gives it away, he believes God will replenish it."

Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) is guaranteed $15 million for his fight with Margarito. And the way this fight is going, he says, Pacquiao can make another $10-12 million based on pay per view. Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) is guaranteed $3 million, but could make up to $6 million or more, says Arum.

There were rumblings from Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, and Arum, that perhaps Pacquiao's mind was not 100% into his training during the first five weeks in the Philippines.

"It was never physical; it was all mental," says Roach. "The focus wasn't there in the Philippines. Politics was too close. He missed his job; he kept thinking about Congress and missing role call.

"He wants to be perfect in everything he does. The thing is, he couldn't be two places at once. We did miss one day of training because the president wanted to see Manny. I said, 'Can't the president see him on his own time, not on my time?' "

Roach says Pacquiao's greatest asset is not his speed, or ferociousness in the ring, but his heart.

"He's a smart fighter, he's learned a lot along the way, but his passion is to fight," says Roach. "He loves to fight. He gets a whole country behind him, and he doesn't want to disappoint us (or) his countrymen. He'll die for them."

If he beats Margarito, Pacquiao says he's got about three more fights or so in him, whether or not he fights Floyd Mayweather. Arum believes it's not that simple.

"When he has enough money and is ready to be a leader in Congress, he'll definitely hang up the gloves," Arum says. "It has nothing to do with accomplishing his goals in boxing, fighting Mayweather, that's all irrelevant. When he feels he's significantly ready for the next step, he'll give up boxing."

How boxing media sees it


How boxing media see Manny Pacquiao's super welterweight title fight Saturday night against Antonio Margarito:

Bill Dwyre Los Angeles Times Pacquiao, KO 9

Kevin Iole Yahoo.com Pacquiao, decision

Kieran Mulvaney ESPN.com Pacquiao, decision

Lance Pugmire Los Angeles Times Pacquiao, KO 5

Dan Rafael ESPN.com Pacquiao, decision

Mike Rosenthal ringtv.com Pacquiao, KO 8

Lem Satterfield AOLfanhouse.com Pacquiao, decision

Tim Smith New York Daily News Pacquiao, TKO 10

Bert Randolph Sugar Boxing historian Pacquiao, KO 8

Bob Velin USA TODAY Pacquiao, TKO 11

Source: usatoday.com

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