Pacquiao, Margarito set bout, but talk about Mayweather
Boxers Manny Pacquiao, left, of the Philippines, and Antonio Margarito, of Mexico, hold up a WBC championship belt during a news conference. (Sept. 1, 2010) Credit: AP
It's on to "plan B" for Manny Pacquiao.
Boxing fans everywhere had been salivating for a megafight between the newly-elected Filipino congressman and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Instead, everyone will have to settle for Pacquiao against Antonio Margarito in a 154-pound WBC championship bout on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium.
Both fighters were on hand to promote the fight at Chelsea Piers Wednesday.
It was almost as if Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) wasn't in the room for a while as reporters peppered Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) with questions about Mayweather.
Pacquiao was gracious, but clear in his thoughts. "He needs me, I don't need him," Pacquiao said of failed talks with Mayweather. "Compare my achievements in boxing to his."
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach said boxing needs the fight to happen. "I really truly think that fight needs to happen," Roach said. "All people say to me is 'When is he going to fight Mayweather?'"
Although much of the talk in boxing has been about Pacquiao and Mayweather, no one has forgotten the plight of Margarito.
Margarito had his license revoked last year by the California State Athletic Commission after illegal hand wraps were found before a one-sided loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009. Margarito has maintained his innocence, insisting he didn't know former trainer Javier Capetillo put a plaster-like substance in his gloves.
Margarito, whose application for a license was denied by California two weeks ago and tabled by Nevada weeks before that, was granted a license by Texas last week.
Pacquiao is not convinced of Margarito's innocence.
"You know what goes in your hands," Pacquiao said. "He's human. There's not a perfect person in the world. We gave him a chance to fight."
Arum absent. Top Rank boss Bob Arum was absent from yesterday's news conference. His son John, a 49-year-old environmental lawyer, went missing while on a hiking trip in the Cascade Mountains in Washington state on Saturday. Arum left for Seattle on Tuesday, his stepdaughter Dena Duboef said Wednesday. John Arum, an experienced climber, was attempting to scale the 100 highest peaks in Washington. He had 18 left, according to Duboef.
More boxing news
