Freddie Roach has been on fine form ahead of his fighter Manny Pacquiao's November 13th showdown with Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC light middleweight title, and predicted that his charge would finish the much taller Mexican within 8 rounds.

Given the size difference between the 5,6 Pacquiao and the 5,11 Margarito, that's an ambitious prediction to make, especially given Margarito's well earned reputation for absorbing punishment. Not to mention that Margarito will be trying to come in as big as he possibly can on top of that, and could well be stepping into the ring somewhere closer to super middleweight rather than junior middleweight if he cuts weight the right way.

Roach's prediction was made sitting face to face with Margarito and his trainer Robert Garcia, during HBO's face off with Max Kellermen, and seemed to get under Margarito's skin, who replied with:

"What does he see he crippled or something?"

Roach without missing a beat simply replied: "I saw your last two fights"

To which there was really nothing Margarito could say in return. His last fight was a somewhat lackluster decision against the clearly over-matched Roberto Garcia, and before this he was famously battered over nine rounds by Shane Mosley, being stopped for the first time in his career.

Margarito's trainer Robert Garcia, speaking to John Martinez of BoxScoreNews, predictably differed in his prediction for the fight, instead opting for an 11th round stoppage in Margarito's favor. He also added:

"This isn't going to just be a win for Margarito, this is going to be a f**king beatdown we put on him. A bigtime beating is what we got for Manny Pacquiao."

Which seems to differ from Garcia's talk of trying to outbox Pacquiao only a few months ago. So what kind of approach Margarito will be taking will have to remain to be seen for the time being, but most picking him to win have done so expecting to see the Margarito of old rather than him keeping Pacquiao on the end of his jab.

Some of Roach's predictions are undoubtedly made in order to rile up his fighter's opponent, which works more often that you might expect. This time though, the bookmakers are agreeing with him, and most odds sites have Pacquiao winning by knockout as the most likely outcome.

Margarito wasn't the only one on the receiving end of Freddie Roach's wit this week though, he also had some choice words for his stable's increasingly beleaguered rival Floyd Mayweather.

Speaking to DaTruthBoxing prior to his trip to the Philippines to train Manny Pacquiao, Roach was asked about what has probably become a familiar topic over the last couple of years, his star pupil fighting Floyd Mayweather. His response was:

"Mayweather's busy beating up girls"

When asked about the possibility of a fight occurring in the future, Roach said:

"Who knows with him, he's so sporadic, he's here, he's there, he's negotiating, he's not negotiating"

A response from Floyd himself is probably not on the cards on this occasion due to his current legal predicament, but should Floyd Sr get wind of Roach's remarks, an at least amusing response will undoubtedly be forthcoming.

Jim Pallis, Pittsburgh: "Can't wait to hear Pappa Mayweather's repsonse to Roach"

Earnie Fleishmann, Philly: "Roach can run circles around most trainers, even when he's just trying to annoy his guy's opponent"

Scott Heritage

World pound for pound boxing king Manny Pacquiao is a prohibitive favorite against Mexican Antonio Margarito, with whom he will do battle for the alphabet soup World Boxing Council super welterweight crown on November 13 (November 14 in the Philippines).

Although Margarito is taller, bigger and arguably the harder puncher, his last two fights suggest he may no longer be the feared boxer he once was.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been on a roll, piling up 12 straight victories since losing to Erik Morales in 2005 while continually moving up in weight.

Pacquiao also morphed from a whirlwind knock-out puncher into a more complete boxer while still retaining his explosiveness as well as crowd pleasing style.

While the Filipino southpaw, who is now member of Philippine Congress, is known for his aggressiveness, he has also managed to develop an underrated defense such that no opponent has really tagged him with four or five punch combinations at a given time during this incredible stretch.

Since moving up in weight as a full-blown featherweight, Pacquiao also has never been knocked down, even against the heaviest punchers in the weight classes where he toiled and earned his keeps.

Margarito, however, is a unique challenge for Pacquiao if the Filipino is to keep that unblemished record during the last five years.

For one, Margarito, along with Miguel Cotto, is one of the couple of boxers that current pound for pound rival Floyd Mayweather Jr had avoided. Pacquiao already stopped Cotto who was also KOed by Margarito. Margarito, however, has yet to erase the stigma of being called a cheat for trying to load up his hand wraps in his fight with Shane Mosley. For that, he was suspended for one year and his comeback fight against Robert Garcia in May this year was far from impressive.

But Margarito could quickly turn the tables around if he manages to pull an “upset” against Pacquiao. He certainly has the tools to shock the boxing world.

If Margarito can manage to land stinging jabs, which he must double or triple up, he may able to set up his powerful right against Manny. Pacquiao is also not used to being bullied around and it is important for Margarito to establish his dominance in the early rounds and go for a knockout inside the first half of the fight. With Pacquiao, you simply have to take your chances because Manny will come charging at you, but won’t be there at the blink of an eye once he's done breaking you down slowly. That’s how quick and speedy Manny is.

Or if you wish, you may lay a trap against Manny by waiting for him to commit and then throw counterpunches in bunches. The only fighter who came close to knocking down Manny using this technique was Juan Manuel Marquez. I doubt however if Margarito can load up his punches as quick Marquez does.

You also need to give Manny different angles and see to it that you can avoid his onrushing style.

It is important to upset Manny’s rhythm if you want to pull an upset. The last man to do that was the 2005 version of Erik Morales, but only because Manny suffered a huge gash over his right eye - caused by a head butt, by the way - which affected the Filipino’s vision.

It will take a boxer that has the combined skill set of a prime Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez to finally end Manny’s winning streak.

Margarito, however, is simply too old to learn new tricks. Margarito will be his old self when he faces Pacquiao in November. He will be an aggressor and will come charging forward – a bad strategy against Manny who throws powerful punches from weird angles.

If Margarito does that, I will have to agree with Pacquiao's coach Freddie Roach that the Mexican will look like a younger Oscar de la Hoya against Manny Pacquiao. And he will suffer the same fate as the man described by Roach as the one who can’t pull the trigger anymore.

by Edwin Espejo

With a mega world title fight between Pacquiao and Margarito on the fast-approaching November horizon, it's getting close to put-up-or-shut-up-time for these two warriors that will step into the squared circle. Or to quote what Roger Mayweather said to me a couple days ago, "It ain't about what you say you can do . . . it's about what you will eventually do and prove."

On November 13, broadcasting live on HBO PPV, Manny Pacquiao will go for a record eight titles in as many weight divisions when he squares off against the dangerous and former world champion Antonio Margarito for the coveted WBC junior middleweight title belt from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

"He's (Antonio Margarito) training like a monster right now," said Robert Garcia (Margarito's trainer) before boldly predicting to me his fighter would win with an, "11- Round knock out."

He's not the only one that now believes Margarito will be the victor on November 13. "If Margarito keeps Pacquiao cornered and throws uppercuts along with roughing him up on the inside, Margarito should knock his ass out," said Roger Mayweather (undefeated former world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Uncle and trainer).

Mayweather added, " Manny can't be allowed in the middle of the ring; if Margarito wants this, he's gonna have to work him on the ropes and get him there with lots of jabs and pushing and shoving him and oh yeah, it also helps if Manny aint got that sh*t in his system."

When this fight was first announced, I agreed with what Dan Rafael (ESPN.com) now describes this fight as being, "not enough to make the fight with 'Cheato' all that attractive."

However, now I believe Rafael and others sharing his view are just ignorant and short sighted about whats to come.

If war is the place for evil, then on November 13th Cowboys Stadium will be the Devil's playground where these two warriors will do the evil that men do to one another.

Make no mistake about it; these two combatants are going to fight like dogs of war. Not even the rabid Filipino fight fans (who on occasion let their blind loyalty get in the way of sometimes sound judgment) would disagree that neither fighter will ever be known as a well rounded pugilist; rather, what they are and will definitely display on November 13 is their renowned reputations for brutally assaulting their opponents with malicious intent.

I thoroughly believe that Margarito is a live horse in this match up. He is longer, leaner,bigger, and more importantly, focused on this task of beating Manny Pacquiao.

"We've been watching a lot of Manny's fights and know exactly how to attack him. Right now Manny is considered "The Man", but he's also kinda overlooking us," said Garcia.

"We have been especially interested in his fights with (Miguel)Cotto and (Juan Manuel)Marquez."

It should be noted that in the Cotto fight, though Manny won, he suffered a busted eardrum and took heavy shots to the head. After the fight, he looked just as beat up as Cotto did and Cotto is far smaller than Margarito.

Right after Garcia said this to me, he looked at me with a cold demeanor and emphatically claimed, "This isn't going to just be a win for Margarito, this is going to be a f**king beatdown we put on him (Pacquiao). A bigtime beating is what we got for Manny Pacquiao."

Consider this?

Antonio Margarito was cast aside ever since his hands were found to have been illegally wrapped by his former trainer, Javier Capetillo, on the night he was facing Shane Mosley in January 2009.

He served a suspension that lasted well over a year and his comeback fight was a ten- rounder against a nondescript fighter named Roberto Garcia from Texas which left many people wondering if Margarito was finished.

How lucky can Margarito be now?

Getting the assignment to face Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the equivalent of hitting the Powerball Lotto in boxing.

Margarito, in my opinion, isn't going to let this chance pass him by. There's no way Antonio lets this opportunity skate by him by letting the wind blow his golden ticket out of his hands before he can cash it in.

In an interview I did with Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, he told me he wasn't all that confident about picking Margarito as Manny's next opponent.

"Well at first, I wasn't, and to some degree, even now that comfortable with fighting Margarito, but Manny wanted this fight and I saw how he handles some other big guys and so I went with it, but those other guys aren't Antonio Margarito."

Roach continued, "Antonio brings size and power, but he also knows how to box and use his jab when he's focused and I believe he's focused for this fight against Manny; he has to be."

In fact, Robert Garcia told me that come fight night, "Antonio will probably rehydrate about twelve pounds."

Roger Mayweather added, "Look, Manny fights at weights that are in between recognized weight divisions like 143 instead of 140 or 147."

"It's like a lot of people say my nephew is scared of Manny. Really? Lil Floyd fought Oscar De La Hoya at 154, but Oscar came into the fight at around 165. Oscar never hurt my nephew. Floyd out-boxed and outgunned Oscar that night so what is there to be scared of from Manny Pacquiao when they fight at 147?

If Manny fights Floyd at 147, he's gonna get the same that 41 others before him got-a loss. Manny can't outbox or out think my nephew in the ring. He doesn't have my nephew's head movement, defense, or hand-speed. He just moves forward with very little side to side movement. He's gonna get his ass whooped by Floyd, but before that, if Margarito can keep the fight chest to chest and Manny on his heels, then Margarito should be able to lean on him and use his weight and strength to wear Pacquiao's legs down."

I think that strategy rings true. The problem with that is, Manny and Freddie can come up with a plan to counter that. But it's the intangibles that make this fight a dangerous one for Manny.

When Antonio Margarito enters the ring in November, he will slide through the ring ropes looking to prove something. His name and record will be introduced from the dramatic bellowing of Michael Buffer's voice only to be drowned out by the crowd's serenading of boos and cat-calls as his body of work is and has been questioned since the Mosley fight.

So what does he fight for? Probably not the green belt. He's probably fighting for pride, restoration of his name, and family.

These are three things Freddie can't strategize for and Manny can't hit with blazing speed and rapid power. These intangibles come from the hearty and mind and like Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya did in June of 2000, Margarito is going to go "soul searching."

Kelly Ferguson, a former Army boxer and strategist added this:

"It's not what you say you're gonna do, it's about how you do what you said you'd do when it comes time to do it."

Well on November 13, Mayweather and Ferguson along with the "millions watching from around the world" will see just what Pacquiao and Margarito have as they set out to prove that their actions will speak louder than their words.

In a side note of silliness, according to Rhonda Lee, meteorologist from KXAN in Austin, Texas, Freddie Roach may have misspoke when he valiantly stated that. "the tornado(Margarito) has been downgraded to a tropical storm" because though taking a direct hit from a tornado is very devastating and lethal, a lingering tropical storm would cause severe flooding, damage, and bring torrential rains which could prove to be fatal and most definitely be very destructive.

Perhaps the miscalculations in the Pacquiao camp has already begun, eh?

Lastly, be on the look out for hot junior welterweight prospect Jesse Vargas as he next enters the ring on September 30 at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Sporting a record of 11 and 0 with six wins by way of knock out, this fighter has his trainer gushing with pride.

" He's got hand speed, great defense, and has been fighting guys weighing 170 pounds and outclassing them."

"He's an all around well schooled fighter and he IS the next big thing in boxing," said his trainer Roger Mayweather.

"Also, light middleweight, Omar Henry. He's undefeated with 10 wins and 8 of them by KO." "He's got speed and power and people will definitely be seeing more of him."

I agree. Omar Henry was trained for a good while by my good friend, Jay Johns out of Savannah's Boxing Gym in Houston, Texas.

If Henry is improving under the tutelage of Mayweather, it's because Jay Johns created the ferocity, technique, and foundation for Omar Henry first.

For this, Roger Mayweather owes Johns.

On January 21 of 2009, Antonio Margarito lost via ninth round TKO at the hands of Shane Mosley. It was the only time in his career he was ever stopped.

His lack of success with Mosley has been used as a gauge to predict how he will fare against Pacquiao, but there are a few significant differences that should be noted.

Prior to the Mosley fight, it was discovered by Mosley’s trainer, Nazim Richardson, that plaster of Paris objects had been inserted into Margarito’s handwraps. His hands were rewrapped, and the fight went on as scheduled.

The psychological aspect of boxing is extremely important. On that night, Margarito knew that he was in big trouble for what had just occurred. It’s a dangerous thing for any boxer to enter the ring when he isn’t focused on the task at hand. Margarito was at a very significant psychological disadvantage, and Mosley capitalized fully.

The boxer was suspended for fighting in the United States for one year before being denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission.

Texas, which had already been selected as the state that Pacquiao – Margarito would take place, granted Margarito’s appeal for a license.

Pacquiao has stated that he believes that Margarito knew that he had the little surprises in his handwraps. Most boxing fans agree with Pacquiao’s opinion.

Now that Margarito is set to face Pacquiao on November 13 at Cowboys Stadium, he has everything to gain.

The much bigger man will be physically and mentally prepared, and he will give it everything he has in his attempt to upset the Pound-for-Pound king. He will undoubtedly consider a win over the world’s greatest fighter to be his first step toward redemption.

Dale Pippin of Seligman believes that Margarito’s size and power could create problems for Pacquiao.

“He could beat Pacquiao. He’s a lot bigger, and he has a puncher’s chance,” Pippin said.

Margarito is known to have a granite chin, and good power. He’ll most likely come to the ring weighing at least 10 lbs more than the Pacman.

It would be foolish for any pundit to neglect to factor Margarito’s height, reach, toughness and mental and physical conditioning into the equation. He's going to want a win, and he's going to want it badly.

A multitude of great fighters have come to the ring fully confident that they had everything it would take to beat the Filipino warrior, only to be completely overwhelmed by Pacquiao’s speed, power and angles.

Margarito’s resilience and willingness to slug toe-to-toe should make for an exciting fight, but whether he can make it a competitive fight for more than a few rounds remains a question.

With still over two months until Manny “The Mexicutioner” Pacquiao steps into the path of the “Tijuana Tornado” at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas predictions have been starting to roll in.

Most see the fight going the way of Pacquiao.

Ted “The Bull” Sares of Bad Left Hook sees the fight as a back and forth battle with the speed of Pacquiao trying to find openings around the heavy hands of Margarito. Ultimately, Sares sees the speed catching up to Margarito and a late Pacquiao victory.

“Speed will be the critical variable in this fight, Sares wrote. “And Manny has the speed (and skills to go with it). But before he prevails with a 10th or 11th round stoppage, he will be rocked several times by a stalking Margo using his heavy hands. Around the 7th or 8th, I see a facially bruised and puffed up Manny finally asserting himself but not nearly as easily as he did with Cotto.”

There are also those writers who are not only predicting a tough fight for Pacquiao but also envisioning the upset.

Chuy Marco of Now Boxing sees the fight playing out similar to Margarito’s fight against Miguel Cotto, a match which started strongly for Cotto, who dominated the early rounds, but was ultimately worn down and knocked out by the persistent Margarito.

“The strategy that Team Pacquiao, specifically Freddie Roach is trying to use of dehydrating the fighters or draining them will not work on this fight because Margarito can easily make 151-pounds catchweight,” Marco wrote.

“The smile and confidence on Pacquiao during the press conference was almost disrespectful to his opponent. Margarito will wipe the smile off of his face for sure when they step in the boxing ring at Cowboys stadium. Remember, the Pacman has never had someone who will move forward to him, everyone he fought was scared to push him back, Margarito fears no man in that ring and he runs from nobody.”

Outside of the pundits and the pencil pushers, Pacquiao’s old nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez has made a prediction on the fight. Marquez, who fought Pacquiao twice to a draw and a split decision loss (both controversial), also sees the speed of Pacquiao being the difference in the fight.

“Like Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, David Diaz, Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey before him, Margarito is expected to have a hard time coping up with Pacquiao’s quickness and ring savvy, according to Marquez,” wrote RCJ of GMA News.

“Never mind that he and Margarito are both of Mexican descent, but Marquez is definitely going to bet where the money is.”

The editors at Boxing Dispatch also see the fight going the way of Pacman. Margarito showed considerable rust in his last fight, against Roberto Garcia, and while it was only a tune-up, a jump from Garcia to Pacquiao is going to feel like moving from a soapbox derby to the Indianapolis 500. If we compare the Pacquiao-Margarito fight to the Cotto-Margarito fight, we have to factor in the speed of Pacquiao and the question of whether Margarito was hitting Cotto with what essentially amounted to a cast.

Pacquiao should bring Margarito down from an F5 tornado to a light breeze and we predict a knockout within 10 rounds.

We are curious to know what the readers think the outcome of Pacquiao-Margarito will be and how the fight will play out. Feel free to vote or leave comments.

SEATTLE -- Searchers spotted the body of the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum on a rugged Washington state mountainside Friday afternoon, five days after they began looking for him in North Cascades National Park, authorities said.

The body belonging to John Arum, an experienced mountain climber, was seen from a National Park Service helicopter at about the 7,700-foot level of the 8,500-foot Storm King mountain, park spokeswoman Kerry Olson said.

Previous flights had been made in this area, but recent snow melt made it possible to locate the 49-year-old Seattle environmental attorney's body on Friday, she said.

It wasn't possible to either reach or retrieve the body, but Olson said it was clear to searchers in the helicopter that Arum was dead.

"There was no doubt of that," she said, adding it appeared that Arum had fallen.

The search began Monday after Arum failed to return from a solo weekend trip to scale the mountain, which is about 85 miles northeast of Seattle. Family members said the climb was part of Arum's goal of reaching the summit of the 100 highest peaks in the state.

"His plan was to climb Storm King on Saturday, so it's probably a safe assumption that he fell that day," Olson said.

Arum's larger backpack was found Wednesday on a trail on the mountain's less arduous south side, Olson said. The backpack was found at about 7,400-feet along a climbing route, and climbing gear was missing from the pack.

Climbers often take only essential gear to lighten their load while attempting a summit.

Arum's smaller pack was found higher on the mountain on Thursday, and Olson said his body was found about 300 feet below that spot in an extremely steep area with a lot of loose rock.

About 20 people, some using trained search dogs, were out earlier Friday, along with four helicopters, two of them King County sheriff's aircraft with heat-seeking equipment. Counting coordinators and support workers, about 50 people were involved in the search, Olson said.

National Park Service workers were trying to develop a plan to recover the body, which is in an area so difficult "that people can't rappel down or climb up to it," she said.

Friday's weather was clear, with temperatures in the 80s. However, the National Weather Service has forecast that clouds will move in with a chance of rain Saturday.

Earlier this week, Bob Arum left Los Angeles to join park rangers coordinating the effort. He had been on a three-city tour promoting the Nov. 13 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. His stepson, Todd duBoef, took over the tour that also stopped in New York and Dallas.

ARLINGTON, TX - About 15 TV cameras, hundreds of cameras and camcorders, a genuinely packed media section and maybe a thousand fans packed what is called the East End zone above the field at Cowboys Stadium for easily the biggest and loudest of the three press conferences to announce the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito fight on November 13th.

The fired up crowd loudly booed Margarito as he was first escorted to the dais by a bevy of beautiful Cowboys Cheerleaders but the boos became cheers eventually as Margarito easily towered over Pacquiao by over fight inches in height when they posed facing each other.

Even the largely Mexican crowd cheered for Pacquiao as he was introduced and swept onto the dais by another team of gorgeous cheerleaders.

Many were there to see their heroes. Many were there for a picture with or an autograph of either fighter or anyone remotely famous.

The presser wasn't on the field as the first press conference for Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey back in January to kick off their March fight. But today's was where the presser was during fight week for Pacquiao vs. Clottey.

It probably had to do with NFL rules or at least because the landlord (the Dallas Cowboys) played a game last night and the field was in no condition to be converted to press conference form so quickly.

Top Rank president Todd DuBoef was the emcee of the event and he came prepared to turn the anti-Margarito fans into believers with information about the three-time champion they might not have known about. He did an exceptional job.

DuBoef was filling in for the second press conference for his step-father Bob Arum who left the media tour when it was discovered his eldest son, John, was missing from a hiking expedition in the Seattle area.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was there in the middle of everything and it was probably his idea to have the fighters wear white Cowboys jersey numbers 11 and 13 to signify November 13th as the date of the fight for everyone with a camera.

World Boxing Council Vice President Mauricio Sulaiman stood in for his father, Jose Sulaiman, (WBC President) and awarded gifts of belts and trophies to assorted dignitaries and commending the Texas commission for taking on such a controversial fight others passed on such as California.

Pacquiao stole the show with his poise and the graceful way he answered questions as the media was right in his face mostly asking questions he has answered many times before.

Both fighters stayed long after the questions to take pictures and sign posters and gloves for their fans.

by Matt Stolow

The first press conference of Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout was held at Beverly Hills. It was a great experience for all Pacquiao-Margarito fans to meet the November 13 mega fighters. Just watch the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito Fight Preview Video to see the fighter's quotes that can bring excitement to all boxing fans.

The Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito fight preview video will give you an interest to what they said in the press conference. Just watch the video and think about if who will win the fight on November 13 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas.

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.

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.”

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

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