IT?S PACQUIAO VS MARGARITO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 24 Jul 2010
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has confirmed what we learned last Monday after a meeting between Arum and Manny Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz in Los Angeles that Antonio Margarito is the choice as the next opponent of the pound-for-pound king and ?Fighter of the Decade? Manny Pacquiao after undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr apparently paid no attention to a contract for a megabuck showdown against Pacquiao planned for November 13.
Arum and Koncz visited Monterrey which made a lucrative offer to stage the fight in competition with Abu Dhabi whose Royal Family representatives had met with Arum and Koncz and indicated they were very keen on staging the fight in the U.A.E on the eve of the Formula I Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.
Despite the reputation of Abu Dhabi and the oil-rich emirates penchant to stage major sports events, Arum indicated to us that he wanted a firm offer and was not inclined to bank on speculative numbers.
An overwhelming number of fight fans wanted a Pacquiao-Myweather fight and since that can?t be done this year at least, Pacquiao?s conditioning expert Alex Ariza told us he believes Margarito is a good choice since the fight will also be for the vacant WBC light middleweight title which would enable Pacquiao to reinforce his current record of seven titles in s even different weight divisions.
Margarito is the former WBA light middleweight champion who has a record of 38-6, with 27 knockouts and returned from a one year suspension slapped on him by the California State Athletic Commission after he was found to have used hand-wraps allegedly loaded with plaster-of-Paris prior to his 9th round TKO loss to Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009.
After serving his suspension Margarito fought and won a ten round unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in a battle for the vacant WBC International light middleweight title on May 8, 2010 in Mexico.
However when he applied for a license and personally appeared before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to present his case, executive director Keith Kizer told us the Commission voted 4-1 to table the request. Kizer indicated that what the Commission did was to basically ask Margarito to first get his license from the California State Athletic Commission before the NSAC could consider his application for a license to fight in the state indicating it was the right thing to do in terms of respect for other US boxing commissions and their decisions.
Margarito who was being lined up to fight Pacquiao at the MGM Grand on November 13 after the Mayweather negotiations failed to prosper, now has a lucrative offer from Monterey for a Pacquiao fight for Pacquiao and Arum to consider, while Abu Dhabi is still in the picture after having shown huge interest in staging the fight in that Middle-East?s large-scale sports and entertainment center backed by the Royal Family of the United Arab Emirates.
A representative as well as a lawyer of the Emirati Royal Family met with Arum and Koncz last week and had promised to get back to them with what would be a firm offer over the weekend.
It seems that besides a site fee of $30 million the Abu Dhabi bid may include a total package which would give them all revenues including pay-per-view and which would sweeten the pot substantially.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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