Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito?
Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has confirmed that Manny will be fighting against Antonio Margarito over Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto who he previously knocked out last year. Manny will reportedly fight Antonio Margarito on the 13th of November 2010 for the vacant WBC Super Welterweight title.
According to various news reporters, Bob confirmed the announcement over the phone from Los Angeles. The fight will either take place in Monterrey or Las Vegas in the MGM Grand Garden Arena only if Margarito is able to get a license to fight in Vegas. However, if he is unable to receive the no objection certificate, the fight will take place in an arena with 22,000 seats in Mexico. Bob said that Abu Dhabi is also being considered as a possible venue.
California State Athletic Commission suspended Antonio in 2009 for allegedly inserting illegal hand wraps during his fight against Shane Mosley.
When reporters asked why Bob Arum chose Antonio over Cotto, he explained that the choice is more competitive as Manny has already beaten Cotto. Bob said that the only way that Margarito knows how to fight is to come forward and that is what is going to keep people interested. He said that because the two will get straight to business and the fans would be eager to watch the match.
Bob also stated that Cotto was beaten even after being trained by a Hall of Famer like Emanuel Steward and putting aside the controversy relating to Antonio’s last fight, “the one thing you know for sure with a Margarito fight is that it will be a h**l of a fight for however long it lasts” said Arum. Antonio has fought only once since his controversial fight against Mosley. The fight was between Antonio and Joshua Clottey who is a Ghana native which resulted in Antonio’s favour.
Boxing fans around the world were anxiously waiting for the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, which was due this year. The undefeated champion failed to sign a deal last month, stating that he was spending more time with his family and enjoying his vacations. This was the second time Floyd ignored the fight. The first such instance came when his camp accused Manny of taking performance enhancing drugs. They demanded that Manny goes through a drug test but the offer was rejected by the Filipino.
Mayweather’s camp told the reporters they weren’t under any commitment with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum. Floyd’s fans were enraged when they found out that no actual negotiations had taken place as boxing enthusiasts across the world had been waiting for the mega fight to take place since over a year.
Bob Arum told the press that he thinks that Floyd is not ready because of personal issues. Floyd’s Uncle Fred Mayweather, who is his personal trainer as well, was recently accused of assaulting a female boxer, and is to appear in a Las Vegas court. Floyd’s fans beg to differ and claim that Floyd is a fearless boxer and is not scared because of personal issues.
On the other hand, Manny Pacquiao’s fans have been complaining about his upcoming match against Margarito because they believe that the fight is a total “mismatch” because Margarito stands at 5feet 11 inches with a reach of 73 inches. On the other hand, Manny is only 5feet 6 inches and has a limited reach of 67 inches. Experts agree to the fact that Margarito is a more experienced player with a 5 inch advantage in height, 6 inch in reach and could give some serious whooping to Manny.
However experts also say that it would put Bob’s theory to the test as he recently stated in an interview that great fighters look for big fights and that is what transforms them into champions.
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