Manny appealed for Margarito
Well, it looks like Manny went to bat for Margo.
When Antonio Margarito failed to have his boxing license renewed by the California State Athletic Commission on Aug. 18, Manny Pacquiao, whom he was scheduled to fight on Nov. 13, went to see the Nevada State Athletic Commission to help him out.
Pacquiao got on the phone and called up his personal advisor, Michael Koncz. Following a conversation, Koncz appealed to officials from the MGM Grand/Mirage Hotel and the Nevada commission director, Keith Kizer, on behalf of Pacquiao and Margarito.
"Manny and I personally made an effort to get Antonio Margarito licensed there in Las Vegas," Koncz stated recently. "We spoke to the commission last week. I went and spoke to Keith Kizer, indicating that we would love to fight in Las Vegas."
Kizer, in return, seconded the exchange. "[Michael Koncz] told me that Manny wants to fight in Las Vegas, and nowhere else.”
Complications arose though, when the Nevada commission confirmed that Margarito would have to apply to California first, the state in which the controversy occurred, and would have to successfully renew his license there before Nevada would consider his claim.
With the delays, too, Bob Arum sought out Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones about using his stadium for the prospective bout, with whom he worked with previously on the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight back in March. Arum must have had a sneaking suspicion that the Texas commission would grant Margarito a license (they’ve historically proven more lenient than other commissions), and a fight in Texas was expected to draw a massive crowd. So when Margarito finally did get his license, after only four days of review, Koncz and Pacquiao’s camp were pleased.
"We're happy that Antonio Margarito got licensed in Texas. It takes a lot of the stress away about whether or not the fight is going to happen," Koncz said. "We made an effort to get him licensed in Nevada in a time of economic need and suffering for the state of Nevada. The MGM Grand people treated us very well over there. But you know, Nevada is losing all of the tourism and profits every time we fight somewhere else."
When Pacquiao takes on Margarito, it will be for the vacant junior middle-weight WBC title. Some boxing experts have criticized the circumstances of the title fight. Many have said that Margarito has actually profited from cheating. Others have pointed to the fact that the fight is for the junior middleweight crown, but neither Pacquiao nor Margarito have had more than two fights in the division. In fact, Margarito has only fought once at junior middleweight, against Roberto Garcia in his last fight. Pacquiao has never fought in the weight class, and this has moved many to ask how they can therefore already be fighting for the title.
Certainly, there’s an argument to be made that Pacquiao is receiving an awful lot of privilege in the opportunity for this bout. But then the same thing could be said for Margarito. After all, it seems as though, already with seven titles in just as many weight classes, Bob Arum is crazed just to add to Pacquiao’s bag with an eighth. But in how many other sports can you really win titles in eight different classes or equivalents? As incredible as this feat is, there’s something kind of ridiculous and sinister about it, comical even.
For the bout, Pacquiao will be the heavy favourite. He hasn’t lost a bout in five years, and Margarito is coming off of a nasty TKO at the hands of “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
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