MANILA, Philippines – The junior middleweight title clash between “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao and “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito will be officially announced in Beverly Hills, California on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

Pacquiao is expected to arrive in the US on Monday to sign the contract formalizing the deal.

The formal announcement of the fight is expected to take place the next day at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

The press tour will resume in New York City at the Chelsea Piers near the Hudson River on Wednesday before it wraps up at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Pacquiao will return to Manila after the tour to begin his training camp together with his team, led by his boxing coach Freddie Roach.

The clash, which will take place at a catch weight between 147 to 154 pounds, is said to be for the World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight title. The fight venue will be at the Cowboys Stadium.

Fight promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, said he expects greater interest in the Pacquiao-Margarito match compared with the Joshua Clottey fight.

“We have a lot of stuff that we didn't have for the Clottey fight. With Margarito being Hispanic, and this is North Texas, which has a huge Hispanic population, that will make this even bigger," Arum had said in a report posted on ESPN.com.

Pacquiao's World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title defense against Clottey drew 50,994 spectators, one of the largest in US history.

Aside from the Filipino champ’s popularity and the expected numbers from Margarito’s supporters, Arum said the on-going season of the National Football League (NFL) will also play a big part in the fight’s commercial successes.

"The last fight was not during football season. This one is, and we have all the Dallas Cowboys assets they use during the season to help this time,” said the veteran boxing promoter.

Aside from gate receipt earnings from the 50,994 spectators, the Pacquiao-Clottey fight generated 700,000 HBO pay-per-view buys and $35.3 million in US domestic television revenue.

Antonio Margarito, now licensed and ready to fight, has his game face on.

The former king of welterweights shared with boxingscene.com his happiness after Texas gave him the green light to fight pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao in the Lone Star State on Nov. 13.

Margarito, who turned 32 last March, welcomed the opportunity to go up against the giant-killer from the Philippines, and at the same time prove to everyone that he doesn’t need a loaded pair of hands to win.

Then he vowed to beat Pacquiao.

“I will beat Pacquiao,” said Margarito, at 5’11” more than four inches taller than Pacquiao.

Margarito was denied in his bid to regain his license in California last Aug. 18, and when he turned to Texas he was met with open arms. The decision to let him fight Pacquiao in Texas came the other day.

Margarito couldn’t hide his bitterness over the decision of the California State Athletic Commission to keep his hands frozen, following its revocation in February last year due to illegal hand wraps in a fight with Shane Mosley.

The Mexican warrior has only had one fight since then, a small one, and now he has the license to return to the big stage. In fact, no stage is bigger than when Pacquiao is on one corner, whoever he’s up against.

When he climbs the ring inside the $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium, Margarito will try to prove a lot of people wrong.

“It’s unfair what they (the commission of California) did to me. I had to appear before them when their minds were already been made up.

“But now I’m happy because I have the fight with Pacquiao in my hands and because I have the opportunity to show that I am a clean fighter,” said Margarito.

“I thank Texas for giving me the license, for believing in me. I am going to prove that I don’t need anything forbidden to win my battles or past fights, including Miguel Cotto. But again, I’ll tell them, that when the date arrives I’m going to show them that I have what it takes to win. It’s a hard fight but I’m going to win.”

by Abac Cordero

The Texas State Athletic commission has granted a license to former world champion Antonio Margarito, or "Margacheato" as he is so affectionately referred to by some. This is despite the fact that California denied him the right to fight in their state. Now a fight between Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao and Margarito is a certainty.

The matchup is being heavily criticized. Many feel that it's wrong on several different levels.

1. Margarito is an (attempted) cheater and doesn't deserve the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

Jose Silva of Lowell, Arkansas said, "They should really make an example of Margarito. He shouldn't be allowed to fight anymore. That would show boxers who are tempted to cheat what happens when you get caught."

Many boxing fans that I've spoken to agree with Silva on this point.

Dale Pippin of Seligman compared Margarito's attempted crime to the incident that occurred during the 1983 Louis Resto vs. Billy Collins Jr. fight. After Collins took a horrendous beating for 10 rounds, it was discovered that Resto's trainer Panama Lewis had removed some of the padding from his fighter's gloves. In 1986, Lewis and Resto were found guilty of assault, criminal possession of a weapon (Resto's hands) and conspiracy. Resto served 2 1/2 years in prison. He was never allowed to fight again.

Fast forward to January 24, 2009. Margarito was preparing to step into the ring with Shane Mosley. It was discovered that there was some hard, "Plaster of Paris" like strips in his handwraps. Hands were rewrapped, the fight went on, and Mosley preceded to beat Margarito half to death, stopping him in Rnd. 9. Margarito was suspended from boxing in the United States.

There is one clear difference in Resto and Margarito. Resto was caught after he cheated, while Margarito was caught before committing a crime. Margarito also maintains that he wasn't aware that anything was being placed in his handwraps by former trainer Javier Capetillo. Still, it is the opinion of many that Margarito should be banned from boxing for life. Instead, Margarito is being rewarded with a huge payday in a fight with the current king of boxing.

This is yet another black eye to the sport, and boxing afficianados ain't diggin' it. Yahoo boxing columnist, Kevin Iole recently penned "Margarito’s return should make fans nauseous". The respected scribe obviously isn't happy about the decision to give Margarito the opportunity to fight Pacquiao.

2. Manny Pacquiao is the "Catchweight King" and this is how he manages to beat bigger, stronger fighters.

At this point, Manny Pacquiao has only fought one fight at a catchweight. Did you get that? That's his grand total of catchweight fights. One. Uno. (1) He certainly doesn't deserve to be referred to as the "Catweight King".

Catchweights actually do serve a purpose. They sometimes allow fights to be made that otherwise wouldn't. Catchweights make it possible for a smaller fighter and a bigger fighter to compromise, and it should be noted that some great fights have been made as a result of this type of compromise.

Catchweights weren't invented by Manny Pacquiao or Bob Arum. They are nothing new.

In 1940, Henry Armstrong fought Law Jenkins at a catchweight of 140 for a welterweight fight. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Donny Lalond, Roy Jones Jr. vs Felix Trinidad, Jose Luis Castillo vs Diego Corrales and Julio Cesar Chavez vs Pernell Whitaker were all fought at catchweights.

Does Pacquiao actually need a catchweight for the Margarito fight? No.

Allowing Margarito to weigh in at 154 instead of 150 wouldn't change the outcome of the fight.

Tomasz Adamek weighed in a full 44 lbs lighter that Michael Grant last Saturday night. If Adamek wasn't worried about 44 lbs, Team Pacquiao doesn't need to be worried about 4.

The fact of the matter is that Pacquiao has never fought at light middleweight and even has to drastically increase his caloric intake during training just to keep from losing weight.

Margarito has fought at welterweight for most of his career, so making 150 lbs obviously won't be a problem for him.

3. How can this be a title fight for the vacant WBC light middleweight division when neither fighter has established himself in the weight class?

W.M. is a Pacquiao fan who asked not to be identified. He said, "I don't like it at all. I know for sure this is just a way to give Manny another title. I am 100% sure of this."

It is up to the sanctioning body to choose who deserves the honor of fighting for a vacant title, and while Pacquiao's acheivments are momentous, and Margarito is a former world champ, neither of them are actually light middleweights. There are plenty of fighters who have toiled in the light middleweight division who would love a chance to fight for that title.

Boxing fan Raye Santiago said, "To be honest, I want them to fight in 147 so there's no catch weight. They are both welterweights. it's just unfair to the other light middleweight contenders, but Manny just wants to fight who's being lined in front of him. We want Floyd but he doesn't seem interested as of now."

4. It is what it is, and fans will make the best of it.

Whether you agree or disagree about Margarito being Pacquiao's next opponent, the inclusion of a catchweight or the fight being a WBA title fight, the matchup itself is actually a pretty good one.

It's not Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but it's Pacquiao vs. a strong, resiliant, hard-punching opponent. It's sure to be a tough night for both pugilists.

The fight will take place at Cowboy's Stadium in Dallas, where 50, 994 fans showed up last March 13 to witness the lackluster Joshua Clottey serve as Pacquiao's mobile punching bag for the full 12 rounds.

Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones are confident that Pacquiao - Margarito will far exceed the numbers of the previous bout.

Right or wrong, the fight is going to happen, and it's going to give Pacquiao the opportunity to fight for an 8th world title.

Boxing fans might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

It should be a good one.

by Lorne Scoggins

From the deck of a cruise ship docked in the South of France, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said that a ringside ticket to the Nov. 13 world super-welterweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will be retailed at a reasonable $700 a pop. Arum told Manila Bulletin and Fightnews that other tickets will be sold at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 for the fight to be held at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. These were the same prices when Pacquiao fought the last time in March against Joshua Clottey when he drew almost 51,000 spectators. Arum believes this fight will lure more than 70,000 fans since Margarito has a fan-base in Texas being Mexican and that the event will take place right smack in the (National Football League) season. “This is going to be a lot bigger than the March fight,” said Arum, who is in the final phase of his two-week European vacation. Arum will be back in the US in time for a three-city press tour that kicks off in Los Angeles on Tuesday. From Hollywood, the traveling circus’ succeeding stops would be New York and Dallas, where Texas billionaire Jerry Jones is rolling out the red carpet.

By Nick Giongco

LAS VEGAS, NEV (August 27, 2010) – Congressman MANNY PACQUIAO and the “Tijuana Tornado” ANTONIO MARGARITO, boasting 10 world titles between them, along with Hall of Fame promoter BOB ARUM, will embark on a coast-to-coast media tour to launch the promotion of PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO, World Super Welterweight Championship, Next Tuesday! August 31.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cowboys Stadium and MP Promotions, Pacquiao vs. Margarito will take place, Saturday, November 13, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. and will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

The media tour is as follows:

Tuesday, August 31 at 11 a.m. PT: The Beverly Hills Hotel – Rodeo Room, (9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210)

Wednesday, September 1 at 11:30 a.m. ET: Chelsea Piers – Pier 60 (23rd St. & The Hudson River, New York, NY 10011). OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Friday, September 3 at 11:30 a.m. CT: Cowboys Stadium – East End Zone Platform (900 East Randol Mill Rd., Arlington, TX 76011). OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Top Rank Promotions has announced next week's press tour schedule for the Nov. 13, HBO pay per view televised clash between WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao and ex-champ Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

On Tuesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time, the fighters will be at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Rodeo Room. On Wednesday, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the conference will be at Chelsea Piers' Pier 60 in New York. On Friday, at 11:30 a.m. Central Time, the venue will be the Cowboys Stadium on its East end zone platform.

All three events are free and open to the public.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) will be after his eighth crown in as many different weight classes against the 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts).

Watch the most awaited and the most exciting boxing event, Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout live at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA. The said Pacquiao vs Margarito bout will be the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at the super welterweight catch-weight match. The Pacquiao-Margarito fight will take place on November 13, 2010 for the HBO pay-per-view main event presented by TOP Rank and HBO sports.

Watch Manny Pacquiao Vs Antonio Margarito Live Stream Online Free. Manny Pacquiao was all that excitement to fight Antonio Margarito on November 13 and first tentatively held at Las Vegas or Mexico but Margarito is still banned to fight in United States. It was then moved to Arlington, Texas after the Margarito got license to fight Pacquiao in Texas. It was all set and on. Now, lets the fight begin. Who do you think will win the Pacquiao-Margarito fight? Lets find out and watch Pacquiao vs Margarito live.

Mexican boxer Antonio "Tijuana Tornado" Margarito (38-6) was granted a boxing license in the state of Texas on Thursday, August 26, 2010. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation approved Margarito's application a week after the California State Athletic Commission voted 5-1 to revoke Margarito's license after illegal substance was found in the boxer's gloves prior to a January 2009 loss to Shane Mosley (46-6).

Margarito will now face pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao (51-3-2) on November 13 at billionaire Jerry Jones' $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight could break the largest indoor crowd in boxing history, currently at 63,315 fans that attended Muhammad Ali vs Leon Spinks in 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey (35-4) drew over 50,000 at Cowboys Stadium on March 13 earlier this year. The Filipino icon is a -525 betting favorite. However, Margarito owns the record of having thrown the most number of punches in a 12 round bout in the history of boxing: 1,675. The Mexican hurled this many blows, 1,675 punches estimated by CompuBox, in a unanimous decision victory against Joshua Clottey in 2006.

_________________

Media Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, August 31 at 11 a.m. PT: The Beverly Hills Hotel - Rodeo Room, (9641 Sunset Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210)

Wednesday, September 1 at 11:30 a.m. ET: Chelsea Piers - Pier 60 (23rd St. & The Hudson River, New York, NY 10011).

Friday, September 3 at 11:30 a.m. CT: Cowboys Stadium - East Plaza (900 East Randol Mill Rd., Arlington, TX 76011).

Margarito, who stands at 5'11" with a 73" reach, represents a dangerous fight for the southpaw, recently observed Pacquiao's conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Both boxers will vie for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) light middleweight title belt at a catchweight of 150 lbs, representing Pacman's eight title attempt in as many weight classes.

by Marv Dumon

How Manny Pacquiao became World Champion having a 7 world titles in different weight division? It's so simple. Manny Pacquiao had a hard training and very tactical training for the preparation of his fight. All of his fights are just the game to be show his hard-working and results of his training. Now, as you can see him in his fame in the world. Being a clean and honest fighter, Manny Pacquiao conquers all of his dreams. He became a fighter of the decade, pound for pound king, people's favorite fighter, a hall of famer, and most of all, the only fighter earned 7 world titles in different weight division.

As you can see the Manny Pacquiao best training video, you can learn how Manny Pacquiao is the best among the other boxers. He has the skills, the speed, the power and most of all, the faith in good and to those who supported and loved him. In his training, Manny Pacquiao is so very dedicated fighter. He just saying that he only fight for his country and for all people who loves boxing and believed in him. That's why Manny Pacquiao loves by all people around the world.

Watch Manny Pacquiao best training video and take a look at his papapaPACMAN punch. Count it if you can in a second. How many punches can Manny Pacquiao thrown in 1 second? I guess, 1,2, 3 punches or maybe 4.

Exclusive from Filipino Celebrity Headlines Examiner, HOLLYWOOD, California - He's not among the richest forty of the Philippines, he's ranked No. 55 lesser than Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who has captured No. 31 among the world's most powerful celebrities, all these at least according to Forbes.com.

Still more, he's rated second to the same formidable foe, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., in the welterweight division of boxing, according to Boxrec.com as of this writing.

But, just like a fire in his bones, Sarangani Congressman Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao's passion for success is rather exemplary and proverbial. He has penetrated ever increasingly the diverse segments of the world public of boxing. Despite odds, everything seems to go right with him. Even though his characters are not flawless, Philippines looks particularly bright each time he fights. For the oppressed, the suppressed and the repressed, his thoughts and aura bring new life to the best of their inspiration. In fact, "Manny Pacquiao" and "inspiration", though distinguishable, have become seemingly inseparable in the hearts of the "less inspired many" and the "less informed" of the Maharlikan nation.

Not to be outdone, the same tenor of distinction sums up his top ten principles of success in life:

1. Submission to the will of God Almighty and maximization of gift He has given: "One journalist asked Manny, “Meron ka bang agimat?” (Do you have an amulet?) And Manny said, “Wala akong agimat. Ang alam ko, Nagbibigay ng Diyos ng mga regalo sa tao. At ang binigay Niya sa akin, malakas akong sumuntok. Kaya ginagamit ko ito sa pagbigay ng kaluwalhatian sa Kanya…” (I don’t have an amulet. What I know is that God gives gifts to people. And He gave me the gift of a strong punch. I will use it to give glory to Him.”) This is a loose quotation, but it captures the essence of what Pacquiao said." - Excerpt from the writings of Bo Sanchez.

Sanchez in his writing is reminded of another athlete who spoke about this same powerful principle. He cited Eric Liddell, the Olympic champion sprinter, who said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure…” (You can watch this inspiring story in the true-to-life movie, Chariots of Fire.)

2. Health is wealth: Pacquiao says "Alaga-an natin ang ating sarili; isa lang ang buhay natin" (Let's take care of ourselves; we only have one life).

3. Focus and determination: Despite juggling different tasks and facing competing inroads, Pacquiao's mind is set on one goal at a moment's notice. He said: "Pag naa nako na diha sa maong situasyon, akong himoon ang tanan nakong makaya hangtud sa katapusan." (Once I am in that situation, I do everything I can to the end).

4. Play the crowd: While in the ring for a fight, Pacquiao sees to it not to disappoint what the crowd expects: an action-packed match. For him, being in the ring with another gladiator is "like lyrics in a melody of two spirited fighters". In his fight against Miguel Cotto and even Eric Morales, he showed his playfulness when he felt he needed to thrill the crowd at the expense of himself getting hurt. He allowed them to box him freely and to get hit at nerve-racking and even exasperating moments.

5. Sportsmanship: In an era where athletes are so self-centered, it's refreshing to see a story like Pacquiao's. His conduct and attitude are considered befitting in sports.

6. Power of forgiveness: Pacquiao believes in the healing power of forgiveness. He has shown unconditional forgiveness to his detractors and even to those who have pocketed some of his hard-earned money.

7. Power of giving: Pacquiao believes in the power of giving. He has retained less wealth than ever and gave more to charities, friends and even to the less fortunate.

8. Expecting the unexpected: Even being so confident a person that he is, Pacquiao readies to face the worst event(s) life can offer: "Hindi talaga malaman kong anong mangyayari;Tanggapin natin lahat at ating pasalamatan ang Dios" (We really do not know what will happen; We'll accept everything and let's give thanks to God).

9. "Let's move on..." perspective: Pacquiao's three losses based on his boxing record from the hands of Rustico Torrecampo (KO 3 in 1996), Medgoen Singsurat (KO 3 in 1999) and Erik Morales (UD in 2005) never stop him from pursuing his aim to move on.

10. Humility: Pacquiao's humility is one such character that resonates with his people. He would never assume he knows it all: " I am just a fighter and only God knows what will happen in the ring."

Manny Pacquiao is his first defeat to Rustico Torrecampo triggered him to harden his stomach muscles for his defense for the next fight. After the defeat, he learned much things to improve his defense and also his skills. Manny Pacquiao trained hard to improve his defense and skills. Now, he is super star in the world of boxing. Just take a look on a video, Manny Pacquiao vs Rustico Torrecampo bout.

Video: Manny Pacquiao First Defeat To Rustico Torrecampo. Pacquiao lose to Torrecampo by 1 punch on his stomach at round 3.

On November 13, 2010, Manny Pacquiao will takes on Antonio Margarito for the vacant super welterweight title. Don't forget to watch Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito live on November 13 at Arlington, Texas.

Bubbly Bob Arum, jetting Thursday from the Italian Riviera back to Las Vegas, said Wednesday the Antonio Margarito-Manny Pacquiao fight to be held Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tx., will draw more than 70,000 paying fans.

Some cynics might think that the North Texas area might not be as receptive as it turned out to be on March 13, when 51,000 showed up at the sparkling football playpen which houses Jerry Jones' NFL Cowboys team to watch Pacman trying to entice Johsua Clottey into an actual fight.

And some may think that genial host Jones might not have the same enthusiasm as he did when he forked over $7 million for Clottey-Pacman, especially since the November date is in the middle of football season.

Nay, nay, sayeth Arum, who is hoping for the official OK on Margarito's boxing license application on Friday.

“If anything, Jerry is even more enthusiastic. Look, we got a huge crowd with Clottey, a fighter nobody in North Texas knew anything about. Now we've got a Mexican fighter in an area with a big Mexican population. I think we can get north of 70,000 fans.

“Having this fight during football season also opens up all the marketing and other channels Jerry uses for the Cowboys, they will all be helping us with the promotion.”

Las Vegan Arum said he feels “bad” that the gambling city will not host a Pacqiauo bout this calendar year, mainly due to the Margarito licensing issues.

“I do feel bad, that is where I live. Las Vegas lives off gaming and a big Manny fight would have been a good financial injection for everyone. There's nothing like a big fight in Vegas but, at the same, I couldn't be more excited about going back to Jerry and to his stadium.”

While the 2010 calendar year hasn’t played out the way welterweight hopeful Rashad Holloway may have hoped it has still been full of learning lessons and crazy twists. Despite not having fought professionally in nearly a year Holloway still has immense hope for his future and understands that everything happens for a reason.

Holloway seemed to realize that some revisions were in order after his disappointing November draw to Frankie ‘Gato’ Figueroa and relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada from Los Angeles, California to work under the guidance of trainer and friend Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. The relocation was short-lived, however, as Holloway's time with Muhammad wasn't what he fully expected while also realizing how much he missed L.A. He would later link up with Freddie Roach and the two came to a common understanding and began working with one another.

Upon returning to California, Holloway has spent much time training at the Wild Card Gym and recently has been putting in work with former champion Sergio Mora at the fighter’s Montebello facility. The latest revelation with Holloway is that he will be making a trip to the Philippines with Roach and the trainer’s star fighter Manny Pacquiao next month to help the WBO champion prepare for his November 13th bout with Antonio Margarito.

“Freddie told me a week ago,” Holloway confirmed. “I was all for it. I can’t wait to go.”

Coming along with Holloway will be Jr. Middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan as well as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. All three men will serve as the core group of Pacquiao’s sparring partners and the Filipino star should be able to get all the work he needs during the first portion of his camp in his native land.

Holloway has already sparred countless rounds with Pacquiao dating back to their time together for the champion’s training camp for his December 2008 battle against Oscar De La Hoya. While at the Wild Card, Holloway was able to get to know Pacquiao on a personal level as well as many of his countrymen who either trained at or visited the gym. That is one of the many reasons he is anxious to see the country on a first-hand basis.

“I get a lot of love from the Filipinos,” Holloway claimed. “When I was sparring Manny for the De La Hoya fight I swear I was on [GMA-7 news] every day. They’re just great people and they have always been good to me.”

Chavez Jr. has a reported December 4th clash with Miguel Cotto while Martirosyan will likely be seeing time on the undercard against once-beaten Poland native Pawel Wolak. As for Holloway, he claims that he will be seeing time on the Pacquiao-Margarito undercard but is dying to get in one more fight before his trek overseas.

“I was supposed to fight on September 18th in Las Vegas,” Holloway revealed. “It would have been on the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez undercard but that card got scrapped because Marquez got injured. I told Freddie that I need to have a fight before I leave for the Philippines because I don’t want to go into the November 13th card having been off a year.”

Holloway noted Roach is currently in Russia at the moment helping WBA Welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko for his title defense against Charlie Navarro at the end of the month. When the trainer gets back to Los Angeles he will sit down with Holloway to eye possible options towards a stay-busy fight before the crew breaks for camp.

All the drama regarding Antonio Margarito’s ability to obtain a boxing license in Texas for his showdown with WBO welterweight titlist Manny Pacquiao is now over.

Moments ago (via telephone) Margarito’s trainer, Robert Garcia, confirmed to me that the fight is on for the November 13 rumble and the press tour to hype this clash has already been scheduled. The first stop on this buzz tour is slated for Monday, August 30 in Los Angeles and will extend to appearances on the east coast.

Now that the fight is happening, a couple of questions should be asked, “Should this fight be for a title fight and what has each fighter done lately to deserve a shot at this title?”

Though this fight is for the vacant WBC light middleweight title, neither man will weigh in at the 154-pound mark.

Garcia explains, “we are very happy to have this fight and I can tell you that the announcement will come out either tomorrow or Friday.”

“We will weigh in at 151 pounds and I believe that Manny (Pacquiao) will actually come in at around 149(lbs.),” Garcia adds, “but this is a good thing; we will be very strong and solid at 151 and I think that Manny will be good at 149 too. I just don’t want any excuses or people having a problem about the weight issue.”

Some people will and do have a problem with the weight topic. Many people believe that catch weights are a setback in boxing. Weight divisions have weight criteria. The practice of challenging other fighters at higher weight classes (let alone for the chance to fight for a world title in that weight division) yet coming in at lesser weight has become the norm of late.

This fight is an example of that “standard”.

How does one campaign or get ranked for a title in a division that he himself (Pacquiao) has not yet fought in?

How does his opponent (Margarito) get the chance to fight for the junior middleweight title when he has only fought once since 2004 in the 154-pound division and the person he fought recently was ranked 23 in the world?

In addition to having only one fight as a junior middleweight in the last six years, Margarito has been under suspension and suspicion since early 2009 when it was discovered that he had plaster in his hand wraps before entering the ring against Shane Mosley.

So what constitutes these two combatants being able to fight for a world title in a weight class that neither man has spent any or little time in as of late?

Is it because Manny is Manny and as Freddie Roach (Manny Pacquiao’s trainer) (in) famously stated that Margarito “has to feed his family and make a living”?

If this is true, others aren’t buying those reasons.

“Come on that’s a joke,” says Manny Steward, “he’s just saying whatever Bob Arum (chief of Top Rank Boxing) wants him to say.”

Steward believes that Roach has lost his way as a trainer and has become more of a promoter of sorts.

“He needs to be a trainer. Lately he’s (Freddie) been saying things that don’t sound like him; now its just like he thinks of the big paydays.”

I’m not sure I personally agree with this assessment, but I did find common ground to stand on with Steward when it came to the issue of catch weights.

“Catch weights should be looked at especially with Pacquiao,” he continued, “he has been fighting guys, but doesn’t weigh in at the weight limit that he challenges them at.”

“I think this should be addressed,” he said.

Another top-flight trainer agrees.

“154(pounds) is 154. Junior middleweight is junior middleweight. Period. Anyone saying anything different don’t know boxing,” said Roger Mayweather, trainer and uncle to undefeated pugilist Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Roger highlighted Manny Pacquiao’s famous conquests to solidify his position.

“He’s been fighting under weights that he challenges at. He didn’t fight Oscar (delaHoya), Ricky (Hatton), or Cotto (Miguel) at 147. He’s always weighing in less and had them drain their bodies to make weight. It’s like cheating.”

“Look. If you’re gonna challenge a mutherf*cker that’s in a higher weight class, then fight at the required weight or don’t challenge him at all and if you’re gonna fight for a title at a bigger weight class then respect that weight and title and fight at 154.”

“Catch weights don’t belong in title fights at all,” said Mayweather.

Aside from the catch weight subject, both Steward and Mayweather argue that Pacquiao and Margarito haven’t done much to earn the right to fight for a recognized belt.

“How is this a title fight? One guy aint fought in the division and the other guy’s been out serving a suspension for possible cheating and fought only once this year at 154,” explains Mayweather.

Steward offered his own assessment on the matter.

“This fight has one guy (Margarito) that has been out serving a suspension that has caused a lot of people to reevaluate his career wins; he hasn’t fought lately except for back in May against a guy that went 10 rounds with him and wasn’t an elite fighter either.”

Steward adds, “the other fighter, Manny (Pacquiao), hasn’t even fought at 154. So how is this a title fight? How are they even ranked to have this opportunity to win a title at junior middleweight?”

While addressing the upcoming battle between Margarito and Pacquiao, Manny detoured slightly from the debate at hand to comment on statements made by Freddie Roach regarding a rematch between Stewart’s charge, WBA super welter weight champion Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao.

In their first and only meeting, Pacquiao stopped Cotto in the twelfth round of their WBO welterweight title collision. The referee stepped in after he saw that Cotto wasn’t fighting back and had already been dropped twice early in the fight.

Roach proclaimed that having Manny Steward in the corner of Cotto wouldn’t “make a damn bit of difference” in the outcome of the fight.

Roach went on to say that he would welcome a second fight between his fighter, Manny Pacquiao and Stewart’s pupil, Miguel Cotto.

“I would take another Cotto fight even with Steward in his corner in a heartbeat because it was that easy.”

Steward answered with, “ I tell it like it is. HBO and everyone knows this.”

“I’m not gonna say things for their (HBO and others) interests. I don’t do that sh*t.”

Steward finished by saying, “People need to remember when they are trainers. I know I do. He needs to think about the fights and what is fair and right and stop chasing paydays because now he’s (just) following through with what he is being told to say.”

In a final note during the interviews, both Mayweather and Steward stated that Manny Pacquiao would ultimately prevail against Antonio Margarito come fight night, but not before suffering some damage himself.

Said Steward, “this fight will be difficult for Manny, but he will win in the end. Margarito will give him a fight early, but the weight and ring rust will be a problem for him as the fight goes on.”

Mayweather chimed in, “the weight will beat Margarito. He aint fought but once in over a year. Manny will have a rough fight on his hands, but only for a little while early on.”

Roger concluded with a note of caution.

“Margarito was picked (be) cause he’s easy to hit and made for Manny. Its gonna make him look good fighting a bigger guy, but the guy is slow and drained. Either way, it’s a sh*t fight because neither mother f*cker has done anything to earn them the right to fight for this title in this weight class.”

By John Martinez

Manny Pacquiao will return to the gym starting September 20, eight weeks before he faces Antonio Margarito on November 13 in Dallas, assuming the Mexican slugger gets licensed in the state of Texas.

A decision on Margarito’s application for a license should be out by Thursday or Friday, in time for the kick-off of a three-city press tour on August 31 in Los Angeles.

Texas is expected to grant Margarito’s license even if Nevada and California had rejected his application since Margarito has already served his one-year suspension stemming from the illegal handwraps incident before a fight with Shane Mosley.

Two more promotional stops – in New York and Dallas – have been lined up by Top Rank chief Bob Arum and Texas billionaire Jerry Jones, whose $1.2 billion Cowboys Stadium will be the venue of the fight for the vacant World Boxing Council super-welterweight bout.

Reporting from the US, Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser, said the Filipino pound-for-pound king is scheduled to leave for Los Angeles this Sunday and will be joined by wife Jinkee, lawyer Franklin Gacal, training assistants Buboy and Roger Fernandez.

Koncz said Team Pacquiao will fly to New York on a commercial flight for another press conference on Wednesday, this time with Freddie Roach in tow.

From New York, Pacquiao will get on board a private jet en route to Dallas for the final media gig set Friday.

Koncz said that after Pacquiao winds up his promotional obligations in the Empire State, they will take a private plane bound for Los Angeles so they could catch the Philippine Airlines flight back to Manila set to leave 10 p.m.

A gym owned and operated by the Elorde family near West Avenue in Quezon City is being looked at as possible site of the first phase of Pacquiao’s preparation.

Scheduled to arrive in the country are Roach, conditioning coach Alex Ariza and sparring partners Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Rashad Holloway.

By NICK GIONGCO
mb.com.ph

Antonio Margarito's request to have his boxing license reinstated by the California commission that originally revoked it when it was found he had plaster-caked inserts inside both of his hand wraps before a title fight last year was denied last week, with commissioners telling him they wouldn't consider his request again until next year.

Unlike California, Texas has the opportunity to profit from Margarito's next fight, to the likely tune of 75,000 people in Cowboys Stadium in a Nov. 13 super-welterweight title fight against the world's most popular boxer, Manny Pacquiao.

So although California didn't hesitate to give Margarito grief over a bundle of reasons, down to his lack of a sparring permit (a misstep the state doesn't enforce in other cases), Texas is poised to loosely reinstate Margarito without a hearing by the end of the week.

According to sources close to the negotiation, Texas authorities have all the information they need to reinstate Margarito in the form of a letter the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation's head of combat sports requested from the Assn. of Boxing Commissions.

In the four-paragraph letter, ABC President Timothy Lueckenhoff and other board members advised to state commissions that "Margarito has fulfilled his obligations" to appear before California before seeking a license elsewhere "and thus he is now free to pursue licensure with any ABC member commission. There is nothing under the federal law that would prohibit consideration for licensure."

Dickie Cole, Texas' program manager of combat sports, told The Times this week that in his personal opinion, "If a man serves his time for his crime, he's served his time and needs to be released."

Cole won't personally decide Margarito's fate, but he has worked behind the scenes to assist Margarito promoter Bob Arum and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in their effort to place the fight in Texas.

Cole, 79, went further in defending Margarito's reinstatement, assessing that though Margarito broke rules forbidding the presence of foreign material in hand wraps, the tainted knuckle pads might have been there only to protect Margarito's hands.

"My personal opinion is what he had on his hands doesn't give you any advantage over an opponent," Cole said. "Do I personally think it'd help his hands or be detrimental to his opponent? No. It'd have no effect on his punching power. I wonder how many of those [California] commissioners ever had a hand wrapped before."

Cole noted that "the only gentleman on that committee who's been involved in boxing [John Frierson] voted to give [Margarito] the license. The others are just political appointees who don't really know the sport."

Cole's point is that Margarito would've gotten "spanked" in Texas too, but that he's been sufficiently punished by being held out of fighting in the U.S. for more than 17 months, "has a family to care for," and deserves to be reinstated because he's denied knowing the plaster inserts were inside his wraps in the first place.

"I'm not a policeman," Cole said, "but it appeared the evidence against him was weak. I don't think the kid is a bad person. Now, technically, he's legally able to fight here."

Margarito's team hasn''t sent a similar license request to Nevada. But for the sake of maintaining a positive relationship, Pacquiao's manager, Michael Koncz, had discussions Tuesday with MGM/Mirage officials and Keith Kizer, executive officer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, to let them know Pacquiao is deeply appreciative of their past involvement in his fights.

"He told me Manny wants to fight in Las Vegas, and nowhere else," Kizer said.

Koncz said he realizes the fight against Margarito appears bound for Texas, but he wanted to express that, "Manny likes the city of Las Vegas, how they've always treated him well there, especially Mandalay Bay bending over backward for him. I can't force Margarito to apply here, but I've expressed Manny's thoughts, of how, if we had a choice, we'd fight here. But we have no complaints over Dallas."

Continuing the theme of this fight, Koncz was just playing politics.

By Lance Pugmire

A decision on whether or not to grant ex-champion Antonio Margarito a license to fight WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium could be made as early as Thursday or Friday rather than the usual week-long process, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The story was first reported by BoxingScene.com.

"We have received the license and a check for $20.00, which is the licensing fee. And it's currently under review. And, there's approximately three-to-four people who will review it," said Susan Stanford, public relations specialist for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. 

"They [the reviewers] will be in licensing and in the compliance divisions," said Stanford. "Licensing normally takes on the average, 10 days, but I'm hoping to have either the license granted or denied on Thursday or Friday of this week."

Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) is scheduled to face Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title. 

Margarito has been unable to fight on American soil since his license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following a hand-wrapping scandal stemming from his ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January, 2009.

Margarito, whose suspension ended on Feb. 11, tried to file for a license in Nevada, but was directed by that commission to return to the CSAC for a ruling, and was turned down, yet again, by the CSAC. Margarito was then free to apply at any of the other commissions, nationwide, with Texas being the first. 

Dickie Cole, Texas' program manager of combat sports, told The Los Angeles Times that in his personal opinion, "If a man serves his time for his crime, he's served his time and needs to be released."

"We're looking forward to and hoping that Texas will issue a license. We fully expect that they willl. And we will then announce the press tour and the dates of the various cities," said Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions. 

"We expect to start next Tuesday in Los Angeles, and then do New York," said Arum. "And then make a stop off Thursday with Manny in Washington, D.C. with USA Today. They've asked us to visit with them. The last press conference will be in Dallas."

Unlike in other states, Margarito will not be required to endure a hearing before the licensing decision is made by Texas.

"There is no hearing. The way that we license people, it's either granted or denied," said Stanford. "Now if any licensee or applicant is denied a license, then they can ask for a hearing at that time. But the initial process does not require a hearing."

Stanford said that Margarito's case is the largest that her department has dealt with.

"My voice mailbox is full this morning. It quit at 12 voice mails. It's full at 12," said Stanford. "We haven't had to deal with anything this big since I've been here. I've been here for two years. It definitely is [the biggest.] I think we were prepared for it."

By Lem Satterfield

As of right now, the hearing of Antonio Margarito before the California State Athletic Commission is on a lunch break, and is set to resume at approximately 5pm EDT. Here are some key moments of the hearing to determine whether or not the fighter will be given a new license to box. All of the moments we were able to transcribe can be found in the comments of this post.

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "Since your license was revoked in California, have you applied to box in any other state?"

Margarito: "Yes. ... My attorney said my piece and we decided to go and request it in Nevada."

Prosecution: "What was the outcome?"

Margarito: "That we had to wait, because we were punished here by the California commission."

Prosecution: "Did you apply for a license anywhere else other than Nevada while you were revoked?"

Margarito: "We got some exams, just in case the company were to get some fights in any other states."

Prosecution: "I see. Did you apply for a license in Texas?"

Margarito: "That I’m not sure. We did go through the tests. There was a fight in Texas that I did not go through…"

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "Do you have a fight scheduled with Manny Pacquiao as an opponent?"

Margarito: "That has been heard. I have not signed for that fight yet, though. But that is supposed to be the next fight I would have."

Prosecution: "And where would that fight take place?"

Margarito: "I don’t know. It has been mentioned that the fight could be in Texas, but it is my promoters that take care of all of that."

Prosecution: "Who is your promoter?"

Margarito: "It is Bob Arum."

Prosecution: "Since the time of your license revocation, have you had a professional fight?"

Margarito: "After the year went by, yeah, there was a fight."

Prosecution: "And when was that fight?"

Margarito: "May the 8th."

Prosecution: "And who did you fight?"

Margarito: "Roberto Garcia."

Prosecution: "And what was the outcome?"

Margarito: "I won by decision."

Prosecution: "And was that a title fight?"

Margarito: "It was a championship fight, but no it was not a world title fight."

Prosecution: "A championship fight, so did you win a belt?"

Margarito: "Yes."

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "If you had been given a license to fight in Texas, would you still have come to California to request a license here?"

Margarito: "Well, yes. This is where I got punished. This is where I would have to come in order to clear my name. This is where I would have to come and show that I don’t need anything other than my ability to fight."

The best moments are after the jump, including Margarito being asked if he ever asked Javier Capetillo why he would do such a thing, and members of the CSAC expressing their concerns over what may be a precedent-setting case.

Prosecution: "Do you currently have a sparring permit from the California boxing commission?"

Margarito: "No, I don’t have one."

Prosecution: "Are you aware that boxing or sparring is illegal in California without a permit?"

Margarito: "Yes of course I do know."

Prosecution: "So when you spar with your trainer in Oxnard, California, you’re aware that you’re in violation of California law?"

Margarito: "Well that would be for fighting, but not for training. I believe that I would need it in order to fight a fight, but not for training."

* * * * * * * *

[Margarito is asked if he's ever made a public apology]

Margarito: “No, but that’s why I’m here. I’m here to answer any of the questions, and I am here to make an apology, not only to the commission, but to the entire world, for not knowing what was in those wrappings.”

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "What else have you been doing since your revocation, other than trying to seek a license in another state and practicing boxing?"

Margarito: "As everybody knows, I’ve been training to maintain my condition. I’ve been also in Tijuana, Mexico, helping out kids. Kids that are suffering with cancer. Kids that have some mental disability. Helping the mothers of those kids with some grants. Well, I’ve been helping kids, also training them in the ring, trying to teach them a little bit of this. I’ve also played some baseball, trying to raise some funds to help the moms of kids who are afflicted with cancer."

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "So in order for you to continue your relationship with Mr. Capetillo, you would have to break the law, would you not?"

Margarito: "I don’t understand."

Prosecution: "You testified that you broke your relationship with Mr. Capetillo for what he did. But in fact he hasn’t got a license anymore, so if you continued your association with him, you would be breaking the law."

Margarito: "At the moment that I was punished, that’s when I broke that relationship."

* * * * * * * *

[Margarito is asked by the prosecutor if he's aware of any other instances in boxing history dealing with loaded gloves.]

Margarito: "No, I’m not. I’m not aware of any of that."

Prosecution: "This is the only time you’re aware of? When it happened in your case?"

Margarito: "Yes."

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "Would you say that you honor the integrity of the sport of boxing, fair play, and a competition among equals?"

Margarito: "That’s right. I do believe so."

Prosecution: "Other than yourself, how many other people depend on you for your financial support and maintenance?"

Margarito: "That’s a lot. I do have a wife that I support, and I support also her siblings, I support my parents. I also support my wife’s parents. I have never counted them, but it’s a lot of people that I support."

* * * * * * * *

Prosecution: "Are you aware that if the commission denies your petition, you have to wait one full year before you can reapply?"

Margarito: "Here in California? Yes. That’s why I’m here."

* * * * * * * *

Margarito: "I was offered to fight in Mexico, and I was offered quite a bit of money to do so. I was told your punishment is in California, not here. … I decided not to do so, respecting the commission here, and I decided to wait the entire year."

* * * * * * * *

Commissioner: "Do you think Mr. Capetillo was trying to cheat before the Shane Mosley fight?"

Margarito: "I do believe that if he was putting something illegal in the wrapping, then yes. But do believe me when I tell you that severing my relationship with him was very difficult after so many years. But it had to be done."

* * * * * * * *

Commissioner: "Why did you not come here first, instead of seeking licensing in Texas or Nevada?"

Margarito: "To Texas I never went. To Nevada it was Top Rank who wanted to have the fight over there, and that’s why we went, but if you grant my license again, I will gladly fight over here to show that I’m willing and able to follow the rules of the California commission. If it was granted to me, I would show that I am willing to follow the rules here before anything else. With any condition that you may give me."

* * * * * * * *

Commissioner: "Why did you not familiarize yourself with the rules and also with your lawyer’s statement prior to testifying today?"

Margarito: "For that I have to apologize for not being aware of that. What I do have to do now is just to get more involved and, I didn’t know that I had to get so involved. All I can tell you is that I was unaware that I needed that permit to train or to get prepared. I’m going to get more involved in that and I’m going to be on top of that."

* * * * * * * *

Margarito: "I did trust Capetillo with the wrapping and everything else, and I don’t know why he did what he did, but if I were to be granted a license again, I’m going to be more on top of everything. I’m going to be involved in not only the wrapping is right, but that everything is right, and that I’m gonna be following the rules as they’re set, and just being more involved in it."

* * * * * * * *

Commissioner: "Did you consider Mr. Capetillo before the incident a ‘clean’ trainer?"

Margarito: "Yes, that’s right. He had never used or put anything like that before, and that’s why we had been working before so long, so well."

Commissioner: "So that’s the first time you’re aware of that this incident occurred?"

Margarito: "That’s right, sir."

Commissioner: "And would you consider this out of character for Mr. Capetillo?"

Margarito: "That’s right."

Commissioner: "Did you ever discuss with Mr. Capetillo what your ethics and standards were for fighting?"

Margarito: "No. Simply, we worked together, preparing ourselves in order to be able to get ahead and ready for any fight."

Commissioner: "Mr. Margarito, in your opinion, why did you feel that Mr. Capetillo felt comfortable in being able to do what he did? That he did this without your knowledge, why would he do that?"

Margarito: "I don’t know what to answer to you. I don’t know. Whatever he did without my knowledge, I don’t know. What I think is that had I found out that this was gonna happen before, the result would have been the same. I would have ended up cutting him off and we would have been at this point just like we are right now, without communicating to each other, but I didn’t know."

Commissioner: "Well unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of what you would’ve done before. We do know what you did after, when you really had no choice. … Your attorneys work for you. Your trainer works for you. … The bottom line is, when you get in the ring, just like when you get a driver’s license, you can’t know some of the rules of the road and ignore others. You need to know them all."

* * * * * * * *

Commissioner: "This commission is charged with the health, safety and welfare of other fighters. And I believe this may be a precedent-setting case. … I’m worried about the next fighter in the next fight who may be offered $250,000 or a million dollars or two million dollars for a fight. And if they think that their punishment is for a year, they may be willing to take that risk, and this case may set that precedent. And that’s the issue that I have."

Margarito: "Yes, I do believe that you’re right. I believe that everybody has to be informed of everything that is happening in his or her surroundings. That is why I apologize, and that’s why I feel guilty for not knowing what was going on. And that’s why I’m glad that it was found, I’m glad that I did not go into the ring, and that’s why if you were to grant the license again, I would be ever so grateful. Anything that you decided with that, then so be it. But I do believe that you’re right, that it is a hard thing to side."

* * * * * * * *

Chairman: "The permit thing about training in the gyms keeps coming up. And I wanna say this, it’s a good point, a very good point, and I know that because I read the rules. But I can guarantee you this: There’s not ten fighters fighting today that know that you can’t train under those rules. … You have 42 fights. And your hand wrapped was at least 42 times, let’s put it that way. And from experience, I do know this, it’s not like in the movies, or television movies, the hands are being wrapped a little at a time. It takes 15 or 20 minutes to wrap a hand. And you can feel it. After 5, 6, 7, maybe 8 wraps, and you punch the bag, and he’ll ask you, how’s that feel. … Having my hands wrapped many times, I knew that I could feel something. And that’s the issue that I have. … You keep saying that you didn’t feel it, you didn’t know anything about it. You may be true. But I think you should answer me on that one."

Margarito: "Had I hit something, then perhaps I would have felt something unusual. But I didn’t have a chance, I didn’t hit anything, and that’s why I didn’t feel — it didn’t feel tight, it didn’t feel that it was something bothering, or something that I could feel. I don’t know. I think that if I had had the chance to hit something, perhaps I could have felt it, but since I didn’t, I didn’t feel it."

* * * * * * * *

Chairman: "Did (Margarito) ever ask Capetillo, did he ever ask him, why he did such a thing?"

Margarito: "I did speak with him afterwards, after all this happened, and I asked him, ‘Why did you do that?’ And he told me, ‘Yes, son, I did it, and it was my mistake. It was my mistake.’ And when I asked him again, ‘Why? Why did you do that?’ And he said, ’Don’t ask me that. It was my mistake.’ So I did speak with him."

* * * * * * * *

Margarito: "You’re right, that is why I was mentioning at the beginning that if I were able to do everything by myself, I wouldn’t need a team. I wouldn’t have the team under me for the training, or my attorneys, or whomever, and whatever happened, I would be the one responsible for everything that’s happening. If I could, I would be responsible for everything that happened, but I do need the team to help me out with the things that I cannot do by myself."

Commissioner: "… You need to monitor and check your team constantly. It’s not a matter of ’I’ve got a team and I’ll just leave that up to them.’"

Margarito: "That’s right, sir."

Commissioner: "… At this point, I know what you’re going to do [if given a license], and I believe you’re sincere in that, but what you’ve done from that point to here is a little shaky, quite honestly."