Pacquiao VS Margarito Next – Watch Boxing Online

In his first public statements since the fallout from the alleged Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter-Manny Pacquaio failed negotiations, Presdent of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg, acknowledged that he acted as a mediator between Mayweather

Mayweahter’s handlers and those of Pacquaio’s from Top Rank Promotions in an effort to bring their highly-anticipated fight to fruition.

Top Rank Promotions’ CEO, Bob Arum, told reporters on July 16 that he had been negotiating with Mayweather

Mayweahter’s manager, Al Haymon, with Greenburg acting as the mediator, even as Golden Boy Promotions’ president, Oscar De La Hoya, and Mayweather

Mayweahter’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, have recently denied that the negotiations took place.

In his statement e-mailed through his public relations department, Greenburg did not name Haymon or Arum, although he corroborated Arum’s assertion.

“Fights like Mayweather

Mayweahter vs. Pacquaio are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world,” said Greenburg. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010,”

“I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together,” said Greenburg. “Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

READ MORE:

Oscar de la Hoya Denies Negotiations took place
Bob Arum Calls Negotiations ‘Totally Bizarre’
Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter-Manny Pacquaio: Somebody’s Lying

Arum told reporters in a midnight national conference on July 16 that he had been negotiating a Nov. 13 fight between seven-division titlist Pacquaio (51-3-2, 38 KOs) and Mayweather

Mayweahter (41-0, 25 KOs). Arum said that he had been doing so for the past two months with Greenburg acting as the intermediary between himself and Haymon.

Arum said that the talks were exclusive of anyone else other than himself and Haymon, whom he said was reporting and forwarding Mayweather

Mayweahter’s thoughts and opinions.

Arum said that Pacquaio had imposed the midnight deadline for which Mayweather

Mayweahter was to sign for the bout. When Mayweather

Mayweahter did not indicate his approval for the bout, Arum moved ahead with his plans to have Pacquaio pursue his record eighth crown in as many different weight classes against either WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champ Miguel Cotto, or WBC No. 1 contender Antonio Margarito.

Pacquaio reportedly has elected to face Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title on Nov. 13 at a catch weight of 150 pounds either in Las Vegas, Mexico, or possibly even Abu Dhabi.

Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com on Monday that “nothing was going on” in response to questions about why a bout between Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter and Manny Pacquaio never materialized.

Rival promoter Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, told reporters on July 16 that he had been negotiating with Mayweather

Mayweahter’s manager, Al Haymon, with HBO Sports’ Ross Greenburg acting as the mediator.

But De La Hoya denied those assertions during a media day promoting Golden Boy Promotions’ July 31 show in Las Vegas. The media day was at The Fortune Gym in Hollywood, Calif., on Monday.

“Obviously, negotiations weren’t going on,” said De La Hoya. “Nothing was going on. Like I said, Mayweather

Mayweahter has the key to making that fight happen.”

But in June, De La Hoya spoke differently when asked by Univision reporters how negotiations were going.

“Up until now, it’s been a very difficult negotiation process for various reasons, but right now we’re very close. We’re very close in finalizing the contracts that were once very complicated. The two fighters now realize that this fight must be made,” De La Hoya said at the time.

“It has to be made because the boxing fans want to see it happen and right now it’s the biggest fight that can be made in the world,” said De La Hoya. “It’s going to be a big, big fight. I think right now we are very, very close in finalizing the contracts. I can’t talk right now in detail about the negotiations, but I will say that we are very close.”

De La Hoya explained his comments in June this way:

“I think I said it because I get the question asked so many times that, obviously, I was fed up and tired of it and I just said like, yeah, yeah, it’s gonna get made,” De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com. “So it was a quick answer that I should have obviously thought about.”

Arum said that documents were sent to the handlers through Greenburg for Mayweather

Mayweahter (41-0, 25 knockouts) to sign, this after Pacquaio (51-3-2, 38 KOs) already had agreed in principle to the terms, which included some form of random drug testing.

Pacquaio’s camp set a July 16 deadline for Mayweather

Mayweahter to agree, and when he didn’t, the seven-division champion and present WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king decided to pursue his eighth crown in as many different weight divisions against ex-world champion Antonio Margarito.

Arum has said that Pacquaio and Margarito will battle for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas or Mexico, with Abu Dhabi also a consideration.

Last week, however, Mayweather

Mayweahter’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, issued a statement denying that negotiations had ever taken place.

“Here are the facts. Al Haymon, [Golden Boy Promotions CEO] Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis, and the truth is, no negotiations have ever taken place,” stated Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather

Mayweahter Promotions.

“Nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather

Mayweahter or Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter to fight Manny Pacquaio on November 13,” said Ellerbe. “Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”

Arum responded by calling Ellerbe’s version of what happened “totally bizarre” and “preposterous.”

As a young boxer growing up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, Daniel Jacobs aspired to the greatness of other famous fighters from his neighborhood.

There were Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe and Shannon Briggs — all three of whom earned heavyweight world titles.

Jacobs started boxing at the age of 13 and appeared to be well on his way toward following in their footsteps.

Jacobs won the 2003 Junior Olympics national title. The next year, he became a U.S. Under-19 national titlist, a national PAL champion and also earned a national golden gloves welterweight crown. In 2005, Jacobs added championships in the national Golden Gloves welterweight and middleweight divisions. In 2006, he became the U.S. amateur middleweight king.

With all of his success, Jacobs had visions of earning a berth on the U.S. 2008 Olympic team. But when he didn’t, that dream became a nightmare.

Now a 23-year-old who owns the NABF and NABO middleweight (160 pounds) belts, Jacobs has a record of 21-0 with 17 knockouts as he heads into the biggest fight of his professional career.

On Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Jacobs will battle 30-year-old Dmitry Pirog (16-0, 13 KOs) of Gelendzhik, Russia, for the vacant WBO championship in an HBO pay-per-view bout.

“I didn’t have a chance to make the 2008 Olympic team. When you think about the Olympics, you think about USA versus Russia. You don’t think about anybody else other than the Russians. Dmitry is probably the top, if not one of the top Russian fighters out there, and I’m probably the top middleweight American fighter,” said Jacobs.

“So to me, this is my Olympics, and this is my gold medal that I never had an opportunity to win, as well as for the WBO belt. This is going to be a stellar fight because I know I’m hungry. I’m pretty sure he’s hungry,” said Jacobs. “He’s training hard. And two undefeated fighters who are young and in their prime, it just goes for a great fight. I’m excited and ready to put my skills against his and see the outcome.”

Jacobs-Pirog is part of a deep card whose main event is a rematch between WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs). Marquez came from behind to win the first fight by ninth-round knockout.

“I believe the road to this WBO championship has been above and beyond. I think we’ve probably moved a little faster than my imagination. When you think of somebody turning pro, you think about that long road that they have to go to get to that championship level,” said Jacobs, who is nicknamed, “The Golden Child.”

“With the team that I have behind me — Al Haymon and Golden Boy Promotions — pushing me and getting me the right fights and moving me up the ladder accordingly, I think everything has been going great,” said Jacobs. “I’m happy and I’m grateful, and I just have to dominate and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Jacobs-Pirog came about after Argentinian-born Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) was stripped of the WBO belt that he won by unanimous decision from Kelly Pavlik along with the WBC crown.

“I don’t think [the opportunity came] too, too fast. I don’t think that I’m not ready for the situation. I think that I’m very well prepared and that I will hopefully be the victor come July 31. Initially going pro, when you’re amateur, and you look at these guys who had been pro for so long and never had a title shot, and when they get that title shot they’re about 25-0 or maybe about 27-0, somewhere around that range,” said Jacobs.

“But initially, if I had my choice, I would have fought for a world title maybe 17-0. But that’s just from a boxer’s standpoint, because I fight, so this is what I do. So if I can get an opportunity quicker, why not?” said Jacobs. “I have the skills, I have the youth, and all we had to do was just get a little bit of the experience. And with each fight I think I’m getting a little bit more experience to take it to the next level.”

Video clips have provided Jacobs with all of the scouting reports he needs for Pirog, whom he describes as “not the average European fighter.”

“[Pirog] takes little bits and pieces of American fighters and he’s added to his arsenal, which is amazing. His hand speed is average, but his footwork is pretty good. His head movement is average, but he’s a great fighter and he throws tons of punches,” said Jacobs.

“I haven’t seen any evidence of any punching power. I think his knockouts mostly are of accumulation of punches. I don’t see any big, one-punch-knockout punches,” said Jacobs. “I believe that all his punches really come from just arm punches. Not to discredit him from anything because he’s a good fighter, but at the same time, this is what I get from watching his tapes.”

Jacobs does not seem to be intimidated by the history of boxing success that was achieved by Tyson, Bowe and Briggs. In fact, “I embrace it” with pride, he said.

“You’d have to be from my neighborhood to understand that, to feel that. It’s like a Mexican fighter representing their country. They put their flag on their back and they rep their country to the fullest. That’s how I feel when I’m going in there and I come out to my music,” said Jacobs.

“I come out to somebody like a Jay-Z, who is from Brooklyn, or somebody like a MOP, who is from Brooklyn. I just get that adrenaline rush and it gets me in that mind frame to represent,” said Jacobs. “I know everybody is watching and everybody’s looking for me to succeed, and to be that next big thing from Brooklyn because we have a long history of great fighters. I just want to be one of those guys who just come up the ladder right under somebody like a Zab Judah or somebody like a Riddick Bowe.”

Jacobs won’t try to “outdo myself” against Pirog in an effort to begin his own legacy.

“I’m my own fighter. I want to create a lane for me. If I don’t become the best, if I don’t become the greatest, then so be it,” said Jacobs. “But as long as I make a name for myself and at the end of my career the boxing fans will say, ‘You know what? That Danny Jacobs from Brooklyn, he was one of the best in his time.’ So I’m not really trying to overdo anybody. I just want to set my own lane and take it from there.”

It appears that seven-division champion and present WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquaio will pursue his eighth crown in as many different weight divisions on Nov. 13, either in Las Vegas or Mexico, against ex-world champion Antonio Margarito (pictured above, at right), doing battle for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown.

Margarito is coming off of May’s 10-round, unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in Mexico, which helped him to rebound from a ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009. Prior to the bout, Mosley’s trainer, Naazim Richardson, discovered that the Mexican’s fist wrappings included a plaster-like substance that was subsequently removed and confiscated.

Although Margarito has claimed no knowledge of how his hands were taped, blaming former trainer Javier Capetillo, he still is not legal to fight in America — this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following the illegal hand-wrapping scandal that was the result of the Mosley fight.

In this Q&A, FanHouse spoke to Margarito’s new trainer, Robert Garcia, regarding his fighter’s past, and his potential to defeat Pacquaio. Margarito is promoted by Top Rank Promotions.

FanHouse: So when will you begin training Antonio Margarito for Manny Pacquaio?

Robert Garcia: The first week of September. Right. That will give us about 10 weeks of training before the fight. But Antonio is always in the gym anyway. He runs every day as part of his regular workout. But our boxing regimen will begin officially 10 weeks before the fight.

FH: What has Antonio said to you about the entire hand-wrapping scandal?

RG: Honestly, like I’ve told everybody and I’ll tell you the same thing, when a trainer is wrapping hands, the fighter is normally listening to music, listening to their iPod or something. They don’t pay attention to what’s going on with the wrapping.

You know, they give us all of the trust. I’ve wrapped fighters from Nonito Donaire to Joan Guzman to Steven Luevano. I’ve done it for a number of world title fights.

Of all of the fighters that I have, not one single time have they asked, ‘Can I see what’s on the wraps?” or “can I see what’s on the padding?’

They trust me and they believe that I’m doing a good job, and I want them to believe that I’m doing a good job. Every fighter, even when I was fighting, whoever wrapped my hands, I wasn’t questioning it. It wasn’t like, ‘What’s there?’ or ‘what are you putting in there?’

I just stuck my hands out there, listened to music and let my trainer do the job. That’s the way that it’s supposed to be, and that’s the way that it’s always been. Antonio and I talk about it a little bit. We tried to kid around about it. We try anyway. But he’s always said the same thing.

He’s like, ‘just like you’re doing right now. I’m not asking you what you’re putting in the wraps. I’m letting you do your job.’ He said, ‘that’s what I always did with my former trainer.’

FH: Have you ever met Javier Capetillo, and what do you think of what he did?

RG: I’ve known him for years. Since I was a fighter, I’ve always known Capetillo. He’s a very nice person outside of the ring. Always helped us out if we needed sparring. He would let us come out to Los Angeles. Myself, my dad, Fernando Vargas. He would always give us sparring and everything.

He’s a good person, but I don’t know what he was thinking or why he would do something like that or what his intentions were. It’s something that, you know, I wasn’t there to tell you how things went. All that I’ve heard is what Antonio has said to me and what I’ve read.

That’s how I know what happened. I don’t ask him questions about, ‘Why did Capetillo do this?’ or ‘why did he do that?’ That’s none of my business. Now, he’s with me, and I’m doing my best, and I’ve always done a good job with my fighters.

Antonio is happy with the way that I wrap his hands. He’s actually surprised. He’s happy and everybody that I work with and that I wrap is happy.

FH: What do you believe that the public perception is of this fight?

RG: What I hear is what I read. But everybody who has talked to me says that Antonio has done his year and served his time and his suspension. So he’s paid his dues. They should give him an opportunity to fight again.

He’s got a new team and new people behind him. Nobody’s ever heard any controversy around myself or my team, so they’ve got nothing bad to say about the new team that he’s with. Like I said, the fighters put their hands out there and the trainer does the job.

I’m pretty sure that Margarito is going to do well in this fight and give us good results.

FH: How do you believe that Antonio will do against Manny Pacquaio?

RG: Well, I’m on top of that. I’ve been watching Manny’s fights. I’ve been watching Freddie Roach also. Freddie Roach is a great trainer, and I respect him. But I’ve learned some things about the way that they train and the way that Manny Pacquaio fights.

I think that I’ve got a good idea about how they’re going to try to fight against us. I think that we have a great chance. Antonio’s last fight with Roberto Garcia, he’ll be much better than that. That was his first fight with me and he did what I asked him to do.

He fought smart, moved around, boxed. I honestly thought that he looked really good. He was different from the Margarito that the world had come to know, and that we all knew. He was not the guy that came straight forward and get hit and just wore down his opponent.

With me, I just told him that he’s not just a guy that goes out and gets hit and gets into wars. I said, ‘show these people that you can also box.’ He came out, knocked Roberto down in the first round, and wound up winning a unanimous decision.

He played around with Garcia and showed the world that he’s got skills. He’s got skills and good footwork. We worked about three months before his last fight, so, this next time, he’ll be even better. I think that we have a good chance.

FH: I understand that there is a catch weight of 150 pounds for this fight?

RG: I believe that the fight will be at a catch weight of 150 pounds, and 150 is no problem for Antonio. The last time he came in to camp, he was 12 pounds over where he had to fight, which was 154. Two weeks before the fight, he was already on weight.

So he had no problem making that weight. So he will be a very strong fighter in there against Manny Pacquaio.

FH: Do you have a prediction?

RG: Obviously, I’ve never called fights or ever predicted anything. I just know that Antonio will have the heart and the power and the conditioning to be a great champion and to beat anybody out there.

But I think that we can get him in the later rounds. So I’m going to say that maybe Antonio stops him in the later rounds.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

WBA interim junior welterweight (140 pounds) champ Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) is among the most feared boxers in his division. FanHouse caught up to the Argentinian slugger, who becan in the sport at the age of 15. Maidana is handled by Golden Boy Promotions.