Manny Pacquiao will fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 for a vacant super welterweight championship, either in Las Vegas if Margarito can get licensed or in Monterrey, Mexico, if he can't, promoter Bob Arum said.
Manny Pacquiao's fight vs. Antonio Margarito will likely take place in either Las Vegas or Monterrey, Mexico.
Reed Saxon, AP
That ends any possibility of a match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the top two boxers in the world, for 2010.
Arum said he decided to choose Margarito instead of Miguel Cotto, whom Pacquiao stopped in the 12th round in November, because it would be perceived as a more competitive bout. The bout will be offered on HBO Pay-Per-View.
"Cotto was beaten and even with [Hall of Fame trainer] Emanuel Steward now with him, I don't think people believe that it's enough to make a difference and I'm not sure they would buy it as competitive," Arum said by telephone from his vacation home in Los Angeles. "But putting aside the controversy about the wraps, the one thing you know for sure with a Margarito fight is that it will be a hell of a fight for however long it lasts.
"Margarito knows only one way to fight and that's coming forward. They're going to get in there and fight. That's what people want to see."
Margarito's hand-wrap controversy is no minor matter, however. He was caught with a hardened substance in his knuckle pad prior to a Jan. 24, 2009, fight in California against Shane Mosley.
Manny Pacquiao's fight vs. Antonio Margarito will likely take place in either Las Vegas or Monterrey, Mexico.
Reed Saxon, AP
That ends any possibility of a match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the top two boxers in the world, for 2010.
Arum said he decided to choose Margarito instead of Miguel Cotto, whom Pacquiao stopped in the 12th round in November, because it would be perceived as a more competitive bout. The bout will be offered on HBO Pay-Per-View.
"Cotto was beaten and even with [Hall of Fame trainer] Emanuel Steward now with him, I don't think people believe that it's enough to make a difference and I'm not sure they would buy it as competitive," Arum said by telephone from his vacation home in Los Angeles. "But putting aside the controversy about the wraps, the one thing you know for sure with a Margarito fight is that it will be a hell of a fight for however long it lasts.
"Margarito knows only one way to fight and that's coming forward. They're going to get in there and fight. That's what people want to see."
Margarito's hand-wrap controversy is no minor matter, however. He was caught with a hardened substance in his knuckle pad prior to a Jan. 24, 2009, fight in California against Shane Mosley.
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