Oscar de la Hoya pleads for Pacquiao—Marquez III
Here’s the 411 in the boxing world this week. On Wednesday bad boy and banned boxer Antonio Margarito appealed to the California State Athletic Commission in hopes of renewing his boxing license. The license was revoked last February after illegal plaster was found in his wraps prior to a fight with “Sugar” Shane Mosley. To the surprise of many, the California Commission rejected Margarito’s appeal 5-1 Wednesday, stating they didn’t think he showed remorse or a willingness to take responsibility.
In response to the news, Oscar de la Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions held a press conference to discuss the turn of events and highlight new Golden Boy developments. De la Hoya made the compelling case that, as opposed to Manny Pacquiao fighting Margarito in November, the seven-division titleist Pacquiao ought to take on Juan Manuel Marquez for a third time, since he is already licensed.
De la Hoya said: “I want to make a case for Marquez. Marquez has a license; he's obviously ready and willing to fight Manny Pacquiao. [...] This is a fight that not only has to be made, but must be made because their first fight was a draw, and their second fight was highly disputed and it's only fair that a third fight happen. And here is Marquez with a license, willing to fight him, and I think that the public really deserves it.”
In response to his interview, acclaimed boxing analyst Dan Rafael of ESPN confirmed that he agreed with de la Hoya, in that Marquez would be a better opponent than Margarito. That said, there is little to suggest that Bob Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, will stop pushing forward with a Nov. 13 bout. Promoting both men, the fight is obviously easier to arrange, and Arum has already had extended talks with Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, to have the bout at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
All of this leads up to Margarito applying today for a boxing license in the state of Texas. As Texas was completely outside of the hand wrap controversy, it is expected that the Texas State Athletic Commission will grant him a license where California didn’t (don’t forget that the ‘incident’ itself happened in California, arguably making that Commission biased against Margarito). In this sense, many have correctly said that, as far as match with Pacquiao goes, California’s rejection matters very little.
De la Hoya continued: “I want to make a strong case for Marquez. Not only for myself, because I want to watch that fight, but for all of the fans around the world who want to watch that trilogy. I think that it's only fair. The right thing is making a third fight with Marquez. Marquez is willing to fight him.”
Always for “the right thing,” de la Hoya successfully argued his case. The backdrop to this is that many don’t think Margarito should be allowed to fight Pacquiao. Guilty or not, this smells an awful lot like a guy who basically broke the worst rule in boxing, could have seriously hurt someone, and is now being rewarded by getting a shot at the world’s top guy.
As well, anybody who saw the first two bouts between Marquez and Pacquiao knows that a third match wouldn’t just be a Golden Boy venture; it would be worth its weight in gold.
These two have shown themselves to be exciting to watch together, and clearly almost even in physical and technical attributes. Marquez brings an incredible amount of heart and dedication into the ring, and facing him against Pacquiao, there would be no heels.
But a bout with Margarito could go either way. Pacquiao would be the favourite, but it might not be as exciting. And what if the unspeakable happened? Could boxing handle a Pacquiao defeat? To be continued...
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