The
official website of the THREE TIME world
champion - and the people's champion.
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-
Fund
raiser nets ''Chicanito'' Hernandez a very nice sum in his
fight against cancer.
Report
and photos By German Villasenor
Fifteen
thousand, three hundred and fifty dollars was the last count
given of the money made last Sunday on the fund raiser organized
by Javier Capetillo, to help former WBA / WBA Super Featherweight
champion Genaro ''Chicanito'' Hernandez to help with costs
of his fight against cancer.
With
donations made at the door of $10 dollars for entrance at
the East L.A. Community College Stadium and subsequent donations
in much larger amounts made by fans, called out by the MC
throughout the soccer game played between orange-garbed
members of the media and Galaxy Soccer team and former and
current professional boxers.
Entertainment
came in the form of live rap, along with the players and
boxers signing and taking photographs with all of the fans.
An
enthusiastic, yet visibly in bad shape Hernandez thanked
everyone and even came out to play in the second half of
the match.
Among
the fighters helping out a dear friend in need were, Jorge
''Maromero'' Paez, Alfredo ''Perro'' Angulo, Antonio Margarito,
Urbano Antillon, Giovanni Segura, Brian Ramirez, Jose Luis
and Jesus Soto Karass, Isidro ''Chino '' Garcia, Carlos
Hernandez as well as others.
Other
luminaries included radio superstar, Eduardo ''Piolin''
Sotelo , pro soccer Galaxy players, and members of Channel
52 newscasters.
Hernandez,
one of the throughly beloved boxers and fan favorite thanked
everyone for their support many times throughout the event.
Margarito
hits a stumbling block, Mosley takes title away.
Photo:
German Villasenor.
By
Francisco Villasenor.
January
24, 2009-
Breaking every attendance record, with 20,820 rabid fans
at hand (the vast majority Margarito supporters)at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles, California, at the end of the night
most would be going home in disbelief as now four time world
champion, ''Sugar'' Shane Mosley, a 4-1 underdog turned
back the clock, using everything at his knowledge bank's
disposal to take the WBA welterweight title in the ninth
round.
Mosley
46-5-39 KOs) would smartly set up debilitating body shots
form the onset, with quick double handed punches to Margarito's
face, the speedster from Pomona California, would spin quickly
to the sides of Margarito, ripping him with body shots,
the likes which he had not used in the last few years, as
Margarito attempted to get going throughout the rounds,
Mosley would tie him up, stealing round after round with
the sharper shots of the night.
The
accumulation of punches would pay high dividends in the
eight round, as to the dismay of many, Margarito (37-6,
27KOs) would go down, beat the count and just made it out
of the round.
The
still champion's corner wanted to halt the fight in between
rounds, but Margarito insisted in coming out, instead of
throwing in the towel and stay on his stool.
Tired,
and still not fully recuperated was all that Mosley needed,
jumping in and landing a barrage of shots which once more
sent Margarito to the canvas, referee Raul Caiz needed nothing
else to do, but call the fight off with twenty seven seconds
remaining in the ninth round.
After
the fight, Mosley beamed with joy, as his career is once
more rejuvenated at 37 years of age, and can look forward
to another big money payday.
Margario's
promoter, Bob Arum had said before the fight, that even
if Margarito were to lose, he would still get a rematch
with Miguel Cotto (who needs to defeat Michael Jennings
next month with the WBO belt at stake, for that fight to
still be on the back burner)
The
Cotto rematch could well be the way back for Margarito to
regain another piece of Welterweight title hardware.
Enter
the NEW GLOVES signed by the champion
contest, as usual, pick the ROUND
and TIME if you chose a round, or if by decision,
state the form (majority, unanimous, etc) and of course,
for whom.
Whoever
comes closest to the actual result will be declared the
winnner at the webmaster's discretion. All decisions are
final.
send
your entry to antoniomargaritonews@yahoo.com
Deadline
will be wednesday January the 21st at 10PM Pacific time.
Contest
is open only to the United States of American and Baja California,
Mexico.
Monica Sears: Thank you. I’d like to welcome everyone
today to the Margarito and Mosley conference call. We have
a great site lined up for next week and at this time I’d
like to turn it over to Chief Operating Officer of Golden
Boy Promotions, Dave Itskowitch.
David
Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Monica. Thank you everyone for
joining us. Again, January 24 at Staple Center we’ve
got a great fight which will be live on HBO is World Championship
Boxing, 10 pm Eastern Time, 7 pm Pacific. If fan interest
is any indication of what kind of a fight this is going
to be, it’s going to be a great one, tickets are going
fast. I urge you all if you’re going to write about
the fight to tell everyone to get their tickets as soon
as possible because they’re moving quickly and they
start just at $25.
It’s great again to be working with Bob Arum and Top
Rank and of course Cerveza Tecate, our title sponsor for
the show. Without any further ado I’d like to turn
it over to Nazim Richardson, trainer of Shane Mosley to
say a few words about how things are going in camp. Nazim?
Nazim
Richardson: How’s everybody doing? I’d like to
thank everybody for having Shane and again I’d just
like to point out from early ongoing that working with Shane
there have been no surprises. It’s just been a pleasant
confirmation on the fact that the things I assumed about
him turned out to be true. That his work ethic is exceptional
and his knowledge of the sport is staggering.
It’s just been pleasant working with this guy because
everything you ask of him he produces or he makes his best
attempt at it until he gets it the way you want it and you
have to appreciate that from an athlete. And for a guy to
have such a world of experience and knowledge, for him to
still be so open he just made camp a pleasant experience
and I look forward to the fight next week.
David
Itskowitch: Thanks a lot Nazim. As Nazim alluded to Shane
Mosley is a champions champion, he’s a people’s
champion, one of the great fighters of our era and without
any further ado I’d like to turn it over to the four
time world champion in three different weight divisions,
Sugar Shane Mosley. Shane?
Shane
Mosley: I’m definitely excited for the fight; ready
to go in great condition. My camp has been great. Nazim
has been great. Everybody, the sparring partners are great,
everything is running according to plan, according to schedule
and the only thing left now is to get in the ring and fight.
So I’m ready to go and I’m excited and let’s
get it on.
Q:
I’ve noticed that guys either forget to or they’re
unable to attack Margarito’s body. Now from you we
haven’t seen quite as much bodywork over the years.
How will you address this on fight night?
Shane
Mosley: If Margarito’s body is open and he’s giving
it to me then I’m going to take it. We definitely worked
on that, and when you fight guys like Margarito you have
to work on everything, you can’t just work on boxing
and movement, you have to work on punching as well, and
targeting different spots of the body, different parts of
the head, different parts positioning. I think that’s
what Nazim is very good at -- pinpointing different spots
of the body and (giving me shots). So I think it’s
going to be, well I know it’s going to be, a great
night.
Q:
You ended the Mayorga fight quite spectacularly. I’m
sure even you’d admit to maybe looking a little sluggish
prior to the knockout. My question is, why were you sluggish
in that fight and what can you do to prevent that in the
Margarito fight?
Shane
Mosley: Well the first thing I’ll do is make sure that
I have the proper shoes on and I won’t have blood blisters
on the bottom of my feet. That’s what happened in the
Mayorga fight, from about the fifth round on I was swishing
around and my blister on my right foot. And also you know,
when Mayorga, he’s kind of a great to have a fighter
where you don’t know where the punches are coming from.
He was like ten pounds heavier than me and I was basically
fighting him out of my weight class -- I’m 147 pounder
--, kind of gave him the advantage to kind of wrestle me
a little bit and I wrestled back with him so, it will have
to put a stop, a lot more snappier, more crisper, a lot
more like the the old Sugar Shane that everybody used to
see.
Shane
Mosley: I’m great man.
Q
At this stage of your career to bring a new trainer in,
and you’ve got the fundamentals down, what does Nazim
bring or what could he do in just lone training camp to
help you?
Shane
Mosley: Well, he’s not trying to change me or trying
to switch up, just recreating all the stuff that I already
know. You know with Nazim, he trains fighters that are amateurs
and professionals. So he has both backgrounds and sometimes
when we turn pro we start forgetting different things about
some of the things that got us to where we were at as the
champions, to start lagging on different things.
And I think that with his knowledge of training fighters
on both sides of the spectrum he has a broad view of everything.
He sees a lot of different things, he watches a lot of films,
watches a lot of fighters fight, like I said amateur and
professionally. So I think that kind of rejuvenated me,
bringing me back to life.
Q:
And speaking of changing trainers, obviously you went with
Nazim and you left your dad as the trainer in terms of the
training and you went with Nazim and then you, I know you’re
not going to talk about this, but you have the steroids
thing and maybe some other personal things. It seems like
that there are a lot of distractions right now from the
outside. Is that the case? And if so, how are you dealing
with that?
Shane
Mosley: I don’t really pay attention to what’s
going on outside of boxing, you know, if you do what I’m
doing right now as far as my fight’s concerned then
that’s what I’m going to do. The other stuff I’m
not really paying attention to it until after the fight
and I just block it out. (Unintelligible) it’s all
about training and winning the fight and being the best.
Q:
Nazim. what can you bring…you come in for one fight,
what is it that you try to do in such a short period of
time?
Nazim
Richardson: My thing is I stay in my lane and I understand
the fact that our job is not to teach Sugar Shane Mosley
how to fight. He already knows how to fight, he’s known
how to fight at an exceptional level for years.
My job is to point out flaws in Antonio Margarito’s
arsenal and to help Shane to devise a plan to exploit those
flaws in the fight. I stay in my lane and I focus on that
task at hand. I help him break down Antonio Margarito and
hope to exploit those small mistakes that he makes.
And Shane being a student of the game he adjusts, he adjusts
so quickly so it’s not about trying to change him or
have him do a bunch of different things.
Q:
Did you see the Cotto fight and what did you think of the
way he fought Margarito.
Shane
Mosley: Yes. I (unintelligible) pretty good, I mean the
first was (unintelligible) he fought pretty good and he
was landing shots and stuff and actually was leading in
the fight he just I think had a little mental break down
the fight and Margarito caught up to him. He was dinging
him with some body shots, caught up to him and sealed the
deal in the last two rounds, so I mean he fought all right.
He was winning up until that point.
Q:
What is it about you and your style that makes you think
you’ll be more successful in surviving his constant
pressure than Cotto was?
Shane
Mosley: Cotto was not familiar with what Margarito brings
to the table and I’m familiar with it because I’ve
been brought up in California where I fought a lot of Mexican
fighters and I know that type of style. I know how to pace
myself, how to win rounds. I’m basically a California
fighter myself, I’m basically a California fighter,
I know how to go to the body as well.
So you know, Margarito (unintelligible) get body shots itself,
so you know, maybe if he’s (unintelligible) myself
then we’ll both (unintelligible) first, perhaps with
a thick coat I know how to fight, you know, I don’t
just box I can fight too.
Q:
Would you say that’s the number one challenge, being
able to stay away from his constant pressure?
Shane
Mosley: I’m not particularly trying to run away from
his pressure, I’m trying to get my shots in too. But
when I want to get them down, not when he says oh, you know,
we want to fight now. Maybe I don’t want to fight in
that second, maybe I want to turn the corner and then fight
again.
Q:
I was talking to your father not too long ago and you know,
your dad is still as you know, one of your biggest fans.
Shane
Mosley: Yeah. And I talked to him yesterday.
TK
Stewart: Do you talk to him much about the fight and about
strategy, about strengths and weaknesses that Margarito
has, I mean you guys have those conversations, or have you
had them?
Shane
Mosley: Yeah I mean you know, we’ll say a few things
here and there about the fight and what he believes I should
do and some of the things, I mean a lot of things that,
you know, what’s great is that Nazim and my father
both have the same type of philosophy basically, in the
training. So it’s not far off…using jabs, controlling
with the jab, I mean just different stuff that Nazim says
and my father probably says pretty much the same thing and
they’re not even in the same room.
Q:
And then in terms of your future boxing career, do you have
the sort of long-range plan as to what you’re going
to do or are you just kind of taking it on a fight by fight
basis right now?
Shane
Mosley: Yeah, I kind of take it on a fight by fight basis,
but I can see myself going for another four, maybe five
years….2013, 2014, something like that.
Q:
So you’d be 40-41 years old.
Shane
Mosley: Around 40 years old, 39, 40, somewhere in there.
Q:
I was surprised to hear the answer to that last question,
kind of caught me a little off guard. You want to fight
another four or five years?
Shane
Mosley: Yeah, I feel great right now. I feel good and I’m
ready to go. And if I’m feeling like this from my fights,
you know, the way I feel right today for my fights then
I can go on for more.
Q:
Wow. Okay. I just remember earlier in your career I heard
you say many times you wanted to have a long career and
a hall of fame career, accomplish all kinds of different
things, which you have done certainly, but that you would
maybe not want to hang around into your 40s.
But you hang out with Bernard Hopkins and you see how he
fights and now you’re working with Nazim, his trainer
and you see the old guy Bernard, who’s going to turn
44 I think in a few days still at it and fighting in a very
high level. Does that enter your mindset when you think
about where you are in your career and how much longer you
may be able to go?
Shane
Mosley: Well you know first of all Bernard’s I think
birthday was maybe two weeks (unintelligible) he was 44
but...
Q:
Actually you know, what, today is Bernard Hopkins’
birthday, January 15.
Shane
Mosley: January 15, yeah. So yeah you know, he’s 44
but that really has not crossed my mind, it’s the way
I feel. Everybody’s different, everybody fights different.
Bernard’s different. I’m different (unintelligible)
I mean everybody feels a different way. Fernando Vargas
is barely 30 and he’s retired because his body just
doesn’t feel good anymore and you have to feel good
when you get in the ring.
When I start feeling good I felt something, oh my god this
is a chore, I can’t really do it. When (counts) start
entering my mind then that’s when I’ll start thinking
about retiring. I don’t really like to, because a lot
of people a lot of times you know, you start listening to,
you know, the media and different people around, oh man
when he get like 31, 32, oh you know, you’re getting
oh, you need to start retiring.
I’m listening to I’m watching some of these Sportscenter
games and you know, down in that, (unintelligible) now says
he’s 32 years old and he’s talking about he’s
getting old and there’s another guy that’s 37
that’s the quarterback for the Falcons or no for the
Cardinals and you know, they’re saying that he’s
getting old, you know like wow. But they’re still playing,
they’re still both getting ready to go to the Super
Bowl.
Q:
Exactly. The other thing I wanted to ask you about if you
take a look at the records of Antonio Margarito, here you
have a guy who beat Cotto and knocked him out, stopped him.
Cotto has a win over you. I’m sure he’s aware
of that obviously.
And there’s the fact that maybe he’s celebrating
that huge victory that he had, that really big, that you
know, his victory against Cotto sort of did for Antonio
kind of like what your first victory against Oscar did,
you know, even though we all knew that he was a good fighter
and won titles, put him on the map so maybe he’s a
little bit been celebrating about that. And then of course
it took him a little bit of time to finally come around
and make the deal for this fight. A lot of people thought
maybe he didn’t really want to fight you.
I wonder do you think that there’s a chance that because
of all the things I just said, you know, plus you know,
it was mentioned earlier you look a little bit sluggish
even though you scored a spectacular knock out against Mayorga,
that maybe Margarito for whatever reason might be just taking
it a little bit lightly?
Shane
Mosley: That could be the case, I mean that could be the
case. I don’t know. I don’t really take it for
granted. I don’t, I’m not training where I think
oh he’s just taking me for granted and I’m going
get a victory. If he does that’s his problem, that’s
his loss and maybe he might just get hurt in there if he
takes it lightly so you got to be totally prepared, I’m
ready to go.
But you know, a lot of times, you know I really don’t
worry about what the other fighters thinking or what the
trainers are thinking and what they’re thinking about
doing or what I’m going to do and I’m going to
execute. So whatever he’s thinking that’s totally
on his side.
Q:
This fight is going to be at Staples Center. It is the site
of your greatest victory in your career. I don’t think
anyone would argue with that. You have a lot of good memories
I bet going back to that arena to have this big fight. You
are the underdog here but do you feel, how comfortable do
you feel about going back to a place where you had the greatest
win of your professional career?
Shane
Mosley: You know I probably even feel more confident and
comfortable than I did when I fought Oscar the first time.
I feel comfortable and I’m confident that I’m
going to do my job. I’m confident that I’m going
to look spectacular. I’m confident that I’m going
to be at my best. I’m confident that the fans around
the world are going to be surprised and they’ll be
shocked. So I’m just very confident and I’m trying
not to be too confident and trying to keep my level head
before I get into the ring.
Q:
There’s a lot of talk that Margarito can face Miguel
Cotto in the summer in a rematch. Do you feel that’s
disrespectful to you? If you win would you like another
chance at Miguel in the future?
Shane
Mosley: I don’t think it’s disrespectful to me
because it just lets me know how great of a fighter I am
where people just really don’t want to fight me. And
Margarito thank God he stepped up, I can get this victory
on Margarito and then after, you know, after we fight then
if Miguel Cotto and Margarito want to fight that’s
fine with me, maybe I, you know I stepped too, you know,
Pacquiao and you know, Ricky Hatton, I mean see what happens
with them.
So there’ll be somebody out there to fight and I just
want to keep myself busy. I want to have a terrific year
in 2009 so I consistently train and keep myself in great
shape until the next victim comes along.
Q:
You would like another chance at Miguel?
Shane
Mosley: Of course. Yeah after the fight when I fought him
the first time I wanted a rematch but it didn’t happen
so maybe the rematch will happen sometime in the future.
But like I said, I’ll be the one victorious when I
fight Margarito but if they want to fight each other first
and (unintelligible) the two fights next that’ll be
great too.
Q:
I was just wondering why you decided to make the change
switching, trainers, why you decided to switch from your
father to Nazim?
Shane
Mosley: Oh I just needed a different look and me and my
father were butting heads a little bit. I just needed a
different change of pace and stuff and I think that has
worked out very well.
Q:
Do you feel that you’re sort of refreshed with a different
trainer, that you hear maybe a different sounding voice
and the information sort of sinks in a little bit better?
Shane
Mosley: Oh, I mean that could be the case. (Unintelligible)
it’s just a little, it’s a different twist, different
change and I think it’s refreshing. I believe that
it’s working out very well. I’m looking good,
looking sharp.
Q:
I was just also wondering, you said that with all the distractions
and everything you just sort of put them aside and for,
you know, for most of us that’s just sort of difficult
to do. How do you do, I mean how do you put that aside?
How do you put all the stuff that’s going on aside
and just concentrate on boxing because it’s a 24-hour
day, you’re not, you know, you’re not involved
in boxing 24 hours a day?
Shane
Mosley: I’m in Big Bear 24 hours a day so I keep myself
away from all the drama.
Tim
Smith: Yeah but the drama sort of also invades you though...
Shane
Mosley: No.
Q:
I mean you’re getting phone calls from people you’re...
Shane
Mosley: No. I don’t get phone calls from people. I
don’t do that. I put them in the box and shut them
out and that’s it. I don’t mess, I don’t
think about that, yeah. I’m that type of person where
I don’t really you know, the calls they have something
that’s on the Internet or something that’s going
on, I don’t look at the Internet, I look at (unintelligible)
fight post and stuff, I don’t do that. When I’m
focusing (unintelligible) on the boxing it’s strictly
boxing. I’m in, I watch fight films, I sit and stretch,
you know, everything is about the fight and I kind of put
everything else aside.
Q:
So all this stuff with steroids you haven’t, you haven’t...?
Shane
Mosley: No. Actually I put that stuff aside since 2004.
People want to bring it up and I don’t even listen,
I don’t listen to it I put it all aside. Judd [Burstein]
doesn’t even call me about any of that stuff. You know
if I have to sign something on that that’s it, but
I put that in my shelf, that’s somewhere in another
field. I don’t even, actually I don’t even know
nothing about what’s going on right now about that,
I don’t even listen to it. My whole thing is Margarito,
I don’t even care.
Q:
Nazim, one of the things that I’ve looked at, looking
back at Margarito and his fight with Joshua Clottey and
one of the things that really stood out for me was watching
Clottey’s speed be a factor in that fight, even, well
obviously before he injured his hands. Is that something
that you think will play out in this fight or can play out
in this fight?
Nazim
Richardson: Well one thing you have to take into account
is that when you’re dealing with Shane Mosley speed
is always going to be a factor. You know I don’t care
who you face is they’re going to have to deal with
the speed of Shane Mosley. But the other thing is that people
have a tendency to be fast but it’s how you use your
speed and where you use your speed at what times. So that’s
some of the things we had to concentrate on, but yeah I
think Shane Mosley brings several weapons to the table and
he’s going to be (unintelligible) to find an answer
to deal with all of those weapons whether he’s using
them properly.
Q:
Margarito has pretty good height for a welterweight. Are
you prepared to deal with that and having, and what other
fighter can you say hey they had that kind of height advantage
and how will you be able to deal with that?
Shane
Mosley: Well Margarito I think (unintelligible), when we
did the first press conference if you’ll notice we’re
both looking eye to eye and that’s not just the picture,
that’s really us being the same height. My arms are
well, they say on the record that they’re a little
longer than his so (unintelligible) think we’re pretty
much maybe the same height.
He’s going to come in there you know, he is a little
taller, maybe I think an inch and a half taller but that’s
not very much. Oscar de la Hoya is the same way, he’s
like an inch and a half taller than me too. So I don’t
see any problems with that.
Q:
One of the things that he seems to have problems with is
hand speed, especially guys with fast hands who are busy.
Is that something that you think you can make him have to
deal with and adjust to?
Shane
Mosley: I definitely can exploit him on that. Some people
have good hand speed and don’t have good foot speed.
I do have good foot speed. So I’m going to exploit
him with the hand speed and the foot speed, I’m not
saying I’m moving away from him and running and trying
to get away from him, I’m not trying to really get
away from him, I’m trying to you know, like I always
do, I try to get my shots in.
Q:
When you’ve broken down Margarito, I mean was it something
that you saw immediately that let you know that you were
going to match up well against this guy or is it something
that has happened during the course of training?
Shane
Mosley: Oh man, I’ve seen him fight many times and
I knew his style, I know it’s a difficult style and
you have to be in great shape, in tremendous shape to fight
him and you have to be on top of your game to fight him
but it’s a style that my style can beat, you know,
be on top of my game. Go ahead.
Q:
And obviously it sounds like you’ve got great plans
for a long career, but you know, as you’ve seen, I
guess you’ve seen it from both ends with Bernard, you
know, at 44 it looks like he’s got a couple fights
left in him at least. With Oscar after his loss it looks
like he may be finished. If you lose, worse case scenario,
have you thought about, has that entered your mind and what
you would do if that scenario plays out?
Shane
Mosley: Actually I haven’t thought about losing, so
I don’t know. But it could happen.
Q:
Shane if we compare Paul Williams and Margarito’s fight,
Margarito’s fight with Cotto, we can analyze that (unintelligible)
two different fights you know, because certainly we look
at Margarito’s more nice shots against Cotto, more
briefly that Williams fight so definitely I think it’s
obvious that the fight body to body to Margarito is not
the way to win a fight against (unintelligible). What has
been about that two fights Williams and Cotto fights against
Margarito?
Shane
Mosley: Well honestly (I haven’t) seen the Paul Williams,
Margarito fight. I’ve see seen the Cotto, Margarito
fight. But I would think that you know, with Paul Williams
I can’t really equate that to me that he’s 6’4”,
3”, whatever, arm span of a heavyweight and it’s
just a different type a fight.
With Cotto, I mean he did very well. He just broke down
the last couple rounds and he let Margarito accumulate too
many body shots early on in the fight where he couldn’t
sustain it and (unintelligible) to fight to 12, but before
then I think Cotto was ahead, but even watching the first
couple of rounds I felt in my head that Margarito was going
to get him because of the way Cotto was fighting him, he
was rushing the shots and he was throwing a lot of punches
and he was on his heels a lot giving Margarito (unintelligible).
With Paul Williams you know, he’s tall so he’s
probably was sticking his jab and you know, keeping Margarito
at bay and turn twist and turn them some. That’s probably
why he got the victory.
Q:
Can we expect the same style from you in terms of boxing
in your fight (unintelligible) with Margarito?
Shane
Mosley: Well I mean I’m not going to stand around in
front of (unintelligible) basically expect me to be throwing
a lot of fast shots, snappy and fast shots and you know,
I definitely will have you know, I have good punching power
so there’s going to be some fire on some of those shots
too as well.
Q:
Since 2001 you’ve had two bouts every year. If Margarito
had signed any earlier do you think this bout would’ve
taken last year? And since you only did have a single bout
last year are you okay with that going into this one?
Shane
Mosley: I’m definitely okay going into this one because
what happened was I was getting ready to fight Zab Judah
before and it fell through like in May, so I was in training
camp for a long time and then I fought, and then I went
back to training camp to fight Mayorga and now I’m
back in training camp. So I was actually training all the
time. I wasn’t really laid off.
Q:
Do you have anything good to say basically about Margarito
going into this?
Shane
Mosley: Oh yeah, I mean Margarito he’s definitely a
tough fighter, he’s a warrior and everything that he’s
got he’s earned. He’s fought very hard all through
his career to get this type of respect and to get this type
of claim and finally he achieved it. He took the long road
up, the hard road up. He fought everybody he could and battled
everybody. But he’s definitely a tough competitor.
Q:
Yeah, you just mentioned that you think you have the right
style for
Margarito.
Could you maybe get a little bit more specific? What is
it about your style that you think makes this a good match
up?
Shane
Mosley: Well it makes a good match up because I have good
hand speed, good power, hand speed, power and I’m very
durable. I take good shots and I can go, I can stay in the
fight when it’s tough. I don’t have to move around,
move away and be afraid of being in an exchange. I think
some fighters, they’re just fast.
Some fighters are just strong and some fighters are fast
and strong but they can’t take a punch, they can’t
take it in the inside. They just can punch hard.
I have experience, I have everything. I’ve got the
total package for somebody like Margarito. Margarito is
one dimensional where he comes right at you and he throws
all these shots and punches but he throws them hard and
he breaks a lot of guys down with his heart and his will,
but I have a big heart and big will too so you’ve got
two guys with a big heart and big will, but one’s a
little faster and one hits probably a little bit harder
and can move better.
Q:
What was Cotto lacking then? What was the missing ingredient
for Cotto?
Shane
Mosley: The grit, I mean what happened with Cotto I think,
and maybe that’s why Cotto wants to fight Margarito
again is for all his career, the whole career, he’s
been used to going forward and walking guys down and for
somebody to come and do the same thing to him it kind of
rattled him I think a little bit in the later rounds, it
rattled him and he started getting hit with shots and he
just couldn’t take the pressure then, but I think that
him being in the ring with Margarito he knows what to do
so it might be a different fight the next time they fight.
David
Itskowitch: All right. Thank you everybody for joining the
Mosley portion of the call. Thank you Nazim. Thank you Shane.
I’m going to turn things over now to Lee Samuels of
Top Rank so he can continue on with the Margarito portion
of the call. Lee?
Lee
Samuels: Great call. Thank you Shane. Thank you Dave and
Monica from Golden Boy, really appreciate it.
Lee
Samuels: We have the champion on the line with us. He’s
been training in California for weeks getting ready for
this big fight at the Staples Center and my boss, the Hall
of Fame promoter Bob Arum is on the line as is Sergio Diaz,
the co-manager of Tony and we have Ricardo Jimenez with
us also.
So I’m going to turn it over to Bob and he has some
remarks and we’ll introduce Tony. Bob?
Bob
Arum: Welcome all to the call today. I’m not needed
at this point to really sell anything because the fight
has been sold out for about a week now. We’ve opened
the balcony and those tickets are going extremely fast and
they’ll be sold out probably by the end of the week,
beginning of next week.
So essentially this fight is a huge, huge box office success
and demonstrates how vital and alive boxing is. If you give
the public the right kind of matches at the right prices
and this championship match between Antonio Margarito and
Sugar Shane Mosley is something that has piqued everybody’s
imagination. The celebrity turn out is going to be enormous
being of course Los Angeles, and everybody is excited including
myself.
And I think it’s a tribute to the champion, Antonio
Margarito that coming off this great victory against Miguel
Cotto he has cemented his status as now being a big box
office attraction which is wonderful for Antonio and it’s
a real tribute to him. He’s a great fighter and it’s
really an honor and pleasure for Top Rank to be promoting
him.
Lee
Samuels: Okay. Sergio, some remarks about Tony and his training
and getting ready for Shane?
Sergio
Diaz: Well first I’d like to thank Bob Arum for putting
us in this position. The other day I was speaking to my
partner Francisco on which promoter has sold out the Staple
Center and the only one, Bob Arum. Bob Arum has done a tremendous
job with Antonio’s career and we are happy, happy to
be part of this Top Rank family and Antonio is proud to
be defending his title here in Los Angeles and we’re
looking forward to making Top Rank happier and looking forward
to continue work with them in the future.
Antonio
Margarito: I’m ready to get up into the ring. I trained
very hard for this fight. I expect a difficult fight. He’s
a very experienced fighter but I put in the work and I’m
ready to go in there and put on a good show.
Lee
Samuels: Great. And thank you Antonio and (Felicia) we’re
ready for our first call. Would you give instructions please?
Q:
We saw Manny Pacquiao defeat Oscar recently and he’s
become kind of the talk of boxing, I just wondered if Antonio
wins this would he like to fight Manny?
Antonio
Margarito: I heard about the fights that may be out there
for me but I’m not really that interested right now.
All I’m thinking about is Mosley, beating Mosley and
then Bob will tell me what’s out there for me. I’ll
put my hands on what they decide for me to do.
If
they think that’s a fight I should do then I’ll
do it but right now my mind is just on Mosley and getting
over that fight and winning.
Q:
I wanted you to talk about what you believe is your ultimate
advantage in this fight against Mosley. Where do you match
up best? And then secondly do you see any signs that his
skills are deteriorating through age or whatever?
Antonio
Margarito: I really don’t see that I have any advantages
anywhere against him, I just think that my preparation,
the way I work, the way I always come prepared for fights,
that will carry me over. I know what I need to do to win
fights and I always come to do that. They say Mosley is
old and all of this I really don’t see it. I think
he’s a great champion, I think he’s a great fighter
and I’m not going to underestimate him. I know what
he’s done and I’m coming in prepared because I
believe this is my moment, this is my time to shine.
Q:
Antonio you were already a very popular fighter before you
beat Cotto but I’m wondering in what way has your life
changed just as far as your popularity, that kind of stuff
because any time you come into a fight, like at the Home
Depot Center, nobody even pays attention to the fight, everybody
starts mobbing you and I’m just wondering if you have
become even that much more popular since beating Cotto,
especially with the Puerto Rican and Mexican rivalry.
Antonio
Margarito: Without a doubt, you know everywhere I go now
it seems like I’m coming up to people everybody wants
my autograph, everybody wants to take a picture with me.
I think it is more people coming up to me and I think you
can see that reflection on my popularity with the way the
tickets are selling. I think without a doubt I’ve taken
another step in my career.
Q:
Would you like to fight in Mexico, you really have done
all your career in the United States. Would you be interested
in fighting in Mexico some day due to your popularity, the
way you are right now?
Antonio
Margarito: If there’s an opportunity to fight in Mexico,
it’d be great.I haven’t fought in Mexico in a
long, long time so that would be something that I would
like to do. if it comes up it’s great, if it doesn’t,
you know, it doesn’t.
Q:
There’s already talk about maybe you fighting Cotto
after this.
Antonio
Margarito: Right now I’m not thinking about anyone.
I’m happy that people are talking about me, about big
fights, but I’m just concentrating on Mosley right
now and winning this fight.
Q:
You fought Cotto when everybody thought he was invincible
and now you’re fighting a future Hall of Fame fighter,
how do you feel about that at this point in your career?
Antonio
Margarito: I have always wanted to fight the best fighters
in the world and I have the opportunity now to fight them
and the important thing is to do well and beat Mosley. I
know how important this fight would be to my career if I
do win.
Q:
Mosley has never lost to a Mexican fighter. His quickness,
his speed is that something that concerns you?
Antonio
Margarito I’m always going to fight the same way, I’m
always going to try. I’m always going to depend on
my training the way I train, the way I get prepared for
fights, that’s what wins me fights.
Q:
For this fight they said that you didn’t want to fight
him, there was a release put out that you said that they
said that you were afraid to fight Mosley and that you really
didn’t want to fight Mosley that’s why you didn’t
sign. What did you think when you saw something like that
or you heard about it?
Antonio
margarita: I just laugh. I knew that I’ve been waiting
to fight Mosley for the last three years. The opportunity
never came up, it just never happened but now that it’s
here I’m going to take advantage of it and like I said,
I’ve wanted to fight him for a long time.
Q:
Some people think that the way that you beat Cotto and the
way that Cotto beat Mosley that maybe you’re not taking
this as seriously as you should. A challenge from Mosley
they think that maybe you’re not going to be up for
it.
Antonio
Margarito: No. That will never happen to me. I’m not
going to say it’s going to be an easy fight, I just
know that how difficult it is. He’s got a lot of experience
and I’m not going to underestimate him at any time.
In the ring anything can happen and I’m going to be
ready for anything and everything.
Q:
Do you consider the Cotto victory the biggest of your career?
And obviously you’ve had trouble with tall fighters,
guys that can box. Do you think that that’s the problem
you might have with Mosley like you had with Paul Williams
and Santos fought you?
Antonio
Margarito: I don’t think so. Without a doubt the Cotto
fight was the best win of my career because he was at the
time probably the best welterweight in the world. So my
beating him obviously was the biggest fight because now
I’m the best one. The other thing about boxing and
speed and all that, that’s why we get ready for a fight.
We get ready to fight. You prepare for all styles and the
preparation is what will make you a winner.
Q:
With your new found fame, new found popularity since the
Cotto fight, has that forced you to adjust your lifestyle
and are there any potential distractions because before
the Cotto fight you were always one of the most accessible
guys. I’m just wondering how much of a difference that
has been for you and how much have you had to adjust to
that?
Antonio
Margarito: Obviously between fights there have been a lot
of things to do, a lot of people wanting me to do things.
But I always take two months for every fight, I’ve
always done that. I stay away from everything for those
two months and I just concentrate on fighting. That’s
not going to change. When it’s my time to train that’s
all I’m going to do, train.
Q:
You have one of the greatest chins that I’ve ever seen
quite possibly the best chin of this particular era. Is
that just your belief that you can’t be hurt? Where
does that come from?
Antonio
Margarito: You know I think it’s something I was born
with. I really don’t have any other answer other than
the fact that I get prepared very well for every fight,
that my preparation allows me to take some punches, not
that I like to take punches. I’d rather not take as
many …in every fight I really would like to take less
but you know, I think that I do have a good chin and do
prepare myself.
Q:
Awhile back there was a I think it was on HBO on the 24/7
episodes they showed a picture of you and Julio Cesar Chavez
and I was wondering if when you were a kid and now that
you’ve grown up, so as a kid is being a champion everything
that you thought it would be and is this life that you’re
living the life that you always thought it would be?
Antonio
Margarito: You know when I was eight years old when I started
fighting, that photo that you saw was when I was nine years
old and I never thought about that, you know, about being
a champion, getting into boxing, I mean at that level I
never thought about it. It wasn’t until I turned into
professional and I started winning some fights that I even
thought, you know, maybe my dream would be to win a championship
but you know, the way I obtain and the ways things have
developed I think it’s been great for me.
Q:
Usually everyone figures that Mosley’s going to depend
on his speed to beat you, would it surprise you if he came
in and changed and was looking for a fight?
Antonio
Margarito: I don’t know what his strategy is going
to be, if he fights, boxes me, I’ll box with him, I’ll
figure him out and I’ll get him. If he comes to fight
well, that’s what we’ll do, we’ll just fight.
Remaining
tickets, priced at $300, $150, $75, $50, and $25, are on
sale now at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 213-480-3232
and online at www.ticketmaster.com, and at STAPLES Center
Box Office.
Margarito
vs. Mosley is promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions
and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The 12-round world championship
fight for Margarito’s World Boxing Association (WBA)
welterweight title takes place on Saturday, January 24 at
STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be televised live
on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00
p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT.
MARGARITO
and MOSLEY COLLIDE IN WORLD TITLE RUMBLE!
Photo:
Brett Newton - courtesy pound4pound.com
Saturday,
January 24 at STAPLES Center, Live on HBO World Championship
Boxing
Tickets
Go On Sale Friday December 12!
LOS
ANGELES (December 9, 2008) –
The welterweight division’s two most exciting fighters,
three-time welterweight champion ANTONIO MARGARITO and three-division
world champion SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY, plan to open 2009 with
an explosive world championship fight. Margarito’s
World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title defense
against Mosley, one of the era’s top pound-for-pound
fighters, will take place on Saturday, January 24 at STAPLES
Center in Los Angeles and will be televised live on HBO’s
World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00
p.m. PT.
Margarito
vs. Mosley is promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions
and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. Tickets priced at $300,
$150, $75 and $50, go on sale This Friday! December 12 at
10 a.m. PT at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 213-480-3232
and online at www.ticketmaster.com. STAPLES Center Box Office
will begin selling tickets on Saturday, December 13, 2008
at 10:00 a.m. PT.
I
have being looking for the biggest fights for a long time,
and this one against Mosley is one of them,” said Margarito.
“As I proved with Miguel Cotto, I have never ducked
anyone in my career and I'm looking forward to showing the
fans again why I am the best welterweight in the world.
I fear no one. This fight will be my moment to shine and
I will not let it pass by.”
“I’m
glad Margarito decided to step up to the plate and fight
me,” said Mosley. “If Margarito thinks he is the
bigger puncher than I, he is delusional. I will definitely
win this fight, especially with the type of fighter he is.
He is going to end up getting knocked out because he’ll
come right at me and I’ll catch him.”
"In
his memorable fight against Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito
proved his courage, ability and demonstrated that he is
a true champion. His next test is against the dangerous
future Hall of Fame champion Sugar Shane Mosley. We at Top
Rank are convinced that Antonio will do well in this new
challenge," said Bob Arum
"I
always say that great fights happen when the best fight
the best," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.
"In Margarito vs. Mosley we are expecting a great fight
because we have the two best welterweights in the world
facing each other. Making a great fight even greater is
the fact that it will take place in Los Angeles where both
fighters have huge fan bases and that it will be broadcast
on HBO rather than pay-per-view."
Margarito
vs. Mosley is an exciting way to kick off a new season of
World Championship Boxing on HBO," said Kery Davis,
senior Vice President of programming for HBO Sports. "It's
an action-packed showdown between two of the sport's best
fighters."
"This
world championship fight card features two great champions
with strong ties to southern California, making it an ideal
match-up for STAPLES Center," said Dan Beckerman, Chief
Financial Officer, AEG. “Hats off to Richard Schaefer
and Bob Arum for putting together a fight that the fans
have been asking for and that they deserve."
Antonio
Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs ), from Tijuana , Mexico , returns
to the ring on the heels of his career-defining victory
over Miguel Cotto on July 26, 2008 . Considered a major
underdog when it was announced that he’d be challenging
the undefeated WBA welterweight champion Cotto, Margarito
withstood a firestorm of punches from the Puerto Rican superstar
while retaliating with his own barrage of nuclear-like arms,
stopping Cotto in the 11th round. The victory not only produced
his third world championship belt in the welterweight division,
but it also solidified his position as one of boxing’s
top pound-for-pound fighters. Margarito’s first world
title reign began in 2002, when he stopped Antonio Diaz
in the 10th round to capture the vacant World Boxing Organization
(WBO) welterweight championship belt. He successfully defended
it seven times during his five-year term, including victories
over current world champion Joshua Clottey, former world
champion Andrew Lewis and top contenders Kermit Cintron
and Danny Perez. He captured the International Boxing Federation
(IBF) welterweight title on April 12, 2008 , by knocking
out defending champion Kermit Cintron in the sixth round.
Margarito vacated that title in order to challenge Cotto
and now looks to further solidify his spot in boxing history
with a win over Mosley on January 24.
Sugar
Shane Mosley (45-5, 38 KOs ) of Pomona , Calif. is arguably
the most accomplished fighter of his era and certainly a
shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. He returns to
the ring fresh from his 12th-round knockout victory of former
world junior middleweight champion Ricardo Mayorga on September
27, 2008 . Mosley, who has won six of his last seven bouts
since 2005, boasts victories over world champions Mayorga,
Fernando Vargas (twice) and Luis Collazo during that streak.
Mosley first came to prominence when he defeated defending
IBF lightweight champion Philip Holiday in 1997 to claim
his first world title. He successfully defended that title
eight times, all by knockout, before vacating the title
to move up to welterweight two years later. In 2000, Mosley
won an exciting 12-round split decision over WBC welterweight
champion Oscar de la Hoya to claim his second world title
in as many divisions. Mosley successfully defended his new
crown three times before losing it 18 months later to Vernon
Forrest in 2002. Just a year later, in 2003, Mosley once
again moved up in weight and captured the WBC/WBA super
welterweight titles in a rematch with De La Hoya, this time
winning a unanimous decision. In addition to becoming a
three-division world champion, he also became the only man
to claim two professional victories over the legendary “Golden
Boy.”
MARGARITO
vs MOSLEY WILL TAKE PLACE ON JANUARY 24TH AT THE STAPLES
CENTER IN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA.
Three
time and newly crowned WBA Welterweight kingpin Antonio
''Tijuana Tornado'' Margarito was surprised by one of his
sponsors, Affliction with a custom made fatboy motorcycle
on Thursday night at a Affliction store opening gala on
Melrose Ave in Hollywood California.
A
bevy of beauties, and celebrities among them WBC Super Welterweight
champion Sergio Mora and actor Michael Madsen were at hand
as Affliction MMA's Vice President Tom Atencio presented
Margarito with the keys to the custom bike.
Margarito
is riding a streak of celebrity as he pursues a showdown
against the Golden Boy - Oscar De La Hoya, for the latter's
final fight at the end of the year.
Foto:
German Villasenor.
Margarito
received a plauqe as well as the ceremonial keys to the
city just a couple of week's after his victory over Miguel
Cotto in Tijuana Mexico.
The
awards were presented to the champion by the city's major
Jorge Raos y el triple campeon mundial Erik Morales.
MARGARITO'S TORNADO RAVAGES COTTO'S ISLAND IN ELEVEN.
HBO
SPORTS PRESENTS EXCLUSIVE REPLAY THIS
SATURDAY! AUGUST 2 ON HBO at 9:30 P.M. ET/PT
It's
a special edition of HBO Boxing After Dark when HBO Sports
presents the exclusive replay of the incredible welterweight
championship fight Cotto vs. Margarito, This Saturday! August
2, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT The replay will be available
in HDTV.
The
replay will be paired with the live telecast from Las Vegas
as welterweights Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey battle for
the vacant IBF welterweight title on HBO Boxing After Dark.
Margarito
T-shirt giveaway!The
return of the extremely popular Signed Gloves by the champ!
Two
separate contests! one for a redapparel.com
designer shirt and a separate one for signed gloves by the
champ!
REDCORNERAPPAREL.COM
The official and exclusive supplier of the Antonio Margarito
shirt collection will be giving away a t-shirt (three explosive
designs to choose from) to the winner of the picks contest
of the blockbuster and highly awaited welterweight showdown
between ''The Tijuana Tornado'' Antonio Margarito VS.Miguel
Cotto 'in the 'The Battle'' fight card which takes place
on Saturday July the 26th at the MGM Grand arena- televised
through HBO's PPV arm and promoted by Top Rank.
To
enter- just choose the fighter and the decision / result-
be specific, citing the minute and second if the choice
is a stoppage within the twelve round time limit.
If
the bout goes the distance, please write down the specific
decision
One
pick per person.
To
enter, e-mail your prediction, wether it will be a decision
(specifics), KO, draw , etc.
E-mail
your pick to antoniomargaritonews@yahoo.com
This
contest is open to all the residents of the United States
of America AND Canada.
Should
there be multiple EXACT picks by different people, the prize
will be awarded at the webmaster's discretion.
SPECIFY
IN THE E-MAIL'S HEADER THAT THE ENTRY IS AIMED AT THE SHIRT
PRIZE.
The
cut off time is TUESDAY July the 22nd at 8pm pt.
WIN
a set of boxing gloves signed
by the champion Antonio Margarito by following the same
instructions as the ones for the T-shirt prize and also
SPECIFY
IN THE E-MAIL'S HEADER THAT THE ENTRY IS AIMED AT THE GLOVES
PRIZE.
The
cut off time is TUESDAY July the 22nd at 8pm pt.
E-mail
your pick to antoniomargaritonews@yahoo.com
This
contest is open to all the residents of the United States
of America ONLY
Remaining
tickets to "The Battle!" -- the four-fight pay-per-view
headlined by the Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito world
welterweight championship -- priced at $700, $500,
$300, $200 and $100, can be purchased at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena box office and at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations
(select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s
West at the Fashion Show Mall, and Ritmo Latino.)
Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge
by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at
(702) 474-4000 or MGM Grand at (800) 929-1111. Tickets
are also available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com
The Cotto vs. Margarito pay-per-view telecast,
beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail
price of $49.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO
Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 71
million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available
in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View
is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view
industry. For Cotto vs. Margarito fight week updates,
log on to www.hbo.com.
It
took Antonio Margarito six years to find an elite boxer
willing to fight him. Now that he has one in Miguel Cotto,
Margarito is so intensely focused that his manager put up
a big TV screen in the gym playing nothing but nonstop Cotto
fights.
HEAD-ON
COLLISIONS HIGHLIGHT COTTO vs. MARGARITO PAY-PER-VIEW UNDERCARD!
SEGURA
and CANCHILA BATTLE FOR WBA INTERIM TITLE!
ALVARADO
RISKS UNDEFEATED RECORD AGAINST BAZAN!
NO.
5 CONTENDER CONCEPCION RUMBLES WITH CARRERA!
LAS
VEGAS, NEV. (July 11, 2008) –
Fasten your seatbelts! The undercard for “The Battle!”
-- the pay-per-view extravaganza headlined by the world
championship fight between welterweight superpowers Miguel
Cotto and Antonio Margarito -- promises to be as explosive
as the main event! Promoted by Top Rank, “The Battle!”
takes place Saturday, July 26 at the MGM Grand Resort &
Casino and will be produced and distributed live by HBO
Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
GIOVANNI
SEGURA and CESAR CANCHILA, the World Boxing Association’s
No. 1 and No. 2-rated contenders, respectively, will battle
12-rounds for the WBA interim light flyweight title. Segura
(19-0-1, 15 KOs), a native of Mexico, now hailing from Bell
Gardens, Calif., has won seven of his last eight bouts by
knockout, including a fifth-round stoppage of Jesus Martinez
for the NABF title last year. It was the first of three
knockout victories for Segura in 2007 made even more impressive
by the fact that his three 2007 opponents (including Daniel
Reyes and Willy Valdez) had a combined record of 78-10-4
(57 KOs). Making his U.S. debut, Canchila (26-1, 21 KOs),
from Colombia, is riding a four-year, 18-bout winning streak
with only two of those fights going the distance. Even more
impressive is his current streak of 10 straight knockout
victories dating back to 2006, including a 12th-round TKO
of Miguel Tellez for the World Boxing Organization Latino
/ WBA Latin American titles.
Undefeated
contender MIKE ALVARADO faces his toughest test when steps
up to fight former world champion CESAR BAZAN in a 10-round
super lightweight bout. Alvarado (21-0, 14 KOs), from Denver,
reeled off seven straight knockout victories beginning with
his pro debut in 2004. He has stepped up his competition
in recent fights successfully meeting each challenge. In
his last three bouts, Alvarado has stopped former world
title challenger Michael Clark in the first round, won a
10-round decision over Jesus Rodriguez and knocked out Michel
Rosales in the seventh round of his most recent bout in
May. Together, Clark, Rodriguez and Rosales had a combined
record of 69-7 (36 KOs). Bazan (48-10-1, 31 KOs), from Mexico,
captured the World Boxing Council lightweight title in 1998,
dethroning another Denver native, Stevie Johnston, via a
split decision. He successfully defended the title twice
before losing it the following year in a rematch to Johnston,
again by split decision. Bazan returns to the ring fresh
from a 10-round victory over Juan Rivera in May.
The
pay-per-view broadcast will open with a 10-round super bantamweight
rumble between top-rated contender BERNABE CONCEPCION and
ADAM CARRERA. Concepcion (25-1-1, 14 KOs), promoted by Manny
Pacquiao's MP Promotions, is the reigning NABF super bantamweight
champion. A native of the Philippines, Concepcion is riding
a three-year, 18-bout unbeaten streak. Included in his impressive
streak are NABF title victories over Gabriel Elizondo in
2007 and Juan Ruiz and Torrence Daniels this year. Those
victories have helped propel Concepcion into the Top-10,
where he is currently world rated No. 5 by the WBC and No.
8 by the WBO. Pacquiao, boxing's No. 1 pound for pound fighter
and the first Asian fighter to win four sanctioned world
titles in as many different divisions, is scheduled to be
ringside rooting for his protégé. Carrera
(19-3, 8 KOs), from Cathedral City, Calif., is a former
NABF and WBC FECARBOX super bantamweight champion. His professional
resume boasts victories over Julio Gamboa and Juan Ruiz.
Remaining
tickets, priced at $700, $500, $300, $200 and $100, can
be purchased at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and
at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s
Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show
Mall, and Ritmo Latino.) Ticket sales are limited to eight
(8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card,
call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000 or MGM Grand at (800)
929-1111. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com
or www.ticketmaster.com
The
Cotto vs. Margarito pay-per-view telecast, beginning at
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95,
will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and
will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes.
The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers
who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier
of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Cotto
vs. Margarito fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
Report
and photo by Neil Kapin -
special for antoniomargarito.com
Tuesday,
May 20, 2008- Los Angeles, CA- Miguel
Cotto and Antonio Margarito stopped by Los Angeles today
to promote their upcoming bout titled "La Batalla"
on July 26 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
This
long anticipated welterweight title battle will pit champions
from Mexico and Puerto Rico against one another for the
59th time. At the moment Puerto Rico
holds a decisive 38-20 edge according to
promoter/manager Fernando Beltran.
Margarito
appeared in good shape already and hopes to do his part
in giving Mexico another victory in a sure-fire classic
along the lines of Wilfredo Gomez versus Lupe Pintor, Salvador
Sanchez versus Wilfredo
Gomez and the rematch between Jose Luis Ramirez and Edwin
Rosario.
The
more versatile Cotto opened as a -220 favorite while Margarito,
who has advantages in natural size and toughness, is a very
live underdog at +180.
Margarito's
team mentioned that this fight is the type of opportunity
they have been waiting almost seven years for, and a victory
definitely puts the "Tijuana
Tornado" in line for more bigger money fights and deserved
recognition.
Tickets
for the event with Top Rank promoting and HBO televising
on their PPV arm will go on sale this Thursday at 10:30
AM at all ticketmaster / ticketmaster locations and the
MGM box-office.
COTTO
AND MARGARITO TO LAUNCH “THE
BATTLE” OF WELTERWEIGHT SUPERPOWERS!
Tickets
Go On Sale This Thursday! May 22 at 10 A.M. PT
LAS
VEGAS, NEV (May 19, 2008)
– The Battle is on! Welterweight superpowers MIGUEL
COTTO and ANTONIO MARGARITO square-off in a compelling and
eagerly-awaited world title fight to determine the division’s
top dog and arguably boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound
fighter. “The Battle!” / “La Batalla!”
-- the pay-per-view extravaganza -- headlined by the Cotto
vs. Margarito world welterweight championship, will take
place Saturday, July 26, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Promoted
by Top Rank, the fight will be produced and distributed
live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m.
PT.
Tickets,
priced at $700, $500, $400, $300, $200 and $100, go on sale
This Thursday! May 22, at 10 a.m. PT. They can be purchased
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and at all Las
Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and
Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall,
and Ritmo Latino.) Ticket sales are limited to eight (8)
per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card,
call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000 or MGM Grand at (800)
929-1111. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com
or www.ticketmaster.com
This marks the first time Cotto has fought in Las Vegas
since 2004 where he knocked out Randall Bailey in the sixth
round, en route to successfully defending his WBO junior
welterweight for the first time.
“I
am thrilled to finally be fighting Antonio Margarito, in
the biggest fight of my career, in Las Vegas, the fight
capital of the world,” said Cotto. “I am a fighting
champion, which means not only staying active, but staying
active against the best fighters man enough to stand up
to me. Like Shane Mosley and Zab Judah before him, Antonio
Margarito represents the biggest challenge of my career.
And like Mosley and Judah, Margarito will leave the ring
second best. I can’t wait to get to him.”
Margarito returns to Las Vegas for the first time in more
than two years where he knocked out Manuel Gomez in the
first round in defense of his WBO welterweight belt during
his first title reign.
“I
have wanted this fight against Cotto for so long,"
said Margarito. "I am going to make that ring a pressure
cooker for him. I will be in one gear for our fight –
forward. I will wear him down, break him down and knock
him out. July 26 can’t come fast enough for me.”
Promoter Bob Arum believes this fight will be a big one
and stated, “Cotto vs. Margarito is such a compelling
fight because both champions bring so many powerful assets
into it. They are both in their prime, at the top of their
game, and they are fighting with so much at stake professionally
and personally. Every fight they have fought has been a
buildup to this exciting showdown and soon we will find
out which one is the world’s best welterweight. This
is more than just a world title fight. It’s a mandate.”
Mark Taffet of HBO PPV agreed saying, "Cotto-Margarito
is a premier matchup between two of the best and toughest
welterweights in the world today. It's the type of head-to-head,
toe-to-toe championship battle that fight fans love.”
President of Sports & Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE,
Richard Sturm, said, "We are thrilled to be working
with Top Rank on this championship fight. I can’t think
of a better way to heat up the summer than by watching the
war between these two great champions at MGM GRAND in July."
Cotto (32-0, 26 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, a two-division
world champion, won the WBO junior welterweight championship
in September 2004, knocking out undefeated contender Kelson
Pinto for the vacant title. He successfully defended the
belt six times during his two-year reign, before vacating
it to challenge undefeated contender Carlos Quintana. He
stopped him in the fifth round to capture the WBA welterweight
crown in December 2006. Cotto has successfully defended
it four times, going the distance only once.
Margarito (36-5, 26 KOs), from Tijuana, Mexico, is a two-time
welterweight champion. He knocked out Antonio Diaz in the
10th round to capture the vacant WBO title in March 2002.
He successfully defended it seven times during his five-year
reign before losing it to Paul Williams in July 2007 via
a close 12-round decision. He captured the IBF title in
his most recent fight on April 12, knocking out defending
champion Kermit Cintron in the sixth round.
The
Cotto vs. Margarito pay-per-view telecast, beginning at
9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95,
will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and
will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes.
The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers
who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier
of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Cotto
vs. Margarito fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
May
13th, 2008-
During the Pacquiao - Diaz press conference which took place
on Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles, Top Rank's Bob Arum
announced that the Super Fight between the two-time welterweight
champion, ''Tijuana Tornado'' Antonio Margarito and two-division
and current WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto should
take place on July the 26th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
Nevada.
Arum
added that Margarito has already signed on for the fight,
with just a few details remain to be ironed out with the
MGM before tickets for the event go on sale.
Details
on the card, as well as ticket prices will be announced
soon.
The
promotional machine for the fight will go into high gear
on Monday, May the 19th, with the fighters and their respective
teams starting out on the 19th in Mexico City, Tuesday in
Los Angeles, New York on Wednesday and Puerto Rico on Thursday.
Margarito
is expected to go into full training the following week.
Right
hand clicking on any of the rotating images will open up control
options, such as play, zoom, etc- clicking on ''play'' on
a photo while it is moving will actually pause it, click play
to resume play.
MARGARITO'S
TIJUANA PARTY BASH!
All
photo: German Villasenor / www.antoniomargarito.com
May
2, 2008 (Tijuana, Baja California) Michelle Margarito, Antonio's
wife turned into a ''Tijuana Tornado'' in her own right
in the last few week's, sparing no expense in arranging
a surprise party for the champion, who turned 30 a few week's
ago.
The
occasion was to celebrate his 15th year as a professional
boxer, achieving two world titles in boxing's hottest division,
the welterweight ranks. and a looming showdown against Miguel
Cotto expected to take place on July the 26th.
A
win over the undefeated two time, two division Miguel Cotto
who is expected to unify titles with Margarito, would give
the ''Tijuana Tornado'' a chance to snare his third world
title and a possible shot at Oscar De La Hoya, who has been
saying to the media he wants to fight Cotto in December-
That is, if Margarito has anything to say about it.
Attending
the party were family, friends, team members, Sergio Diaz
Jr. and Francisco ''Pancho'' Espinoza- Margarito's manager's,
as well as Margarito's trainer, Javier Capetillo and many,
many others- many of whom traveled from outside Tijuana
and the U.S.
The
party a huge video tribute on two giant screens, two musical
bands, fireworks, DJ and fully catering for the hundreds
who were in attendance via special VIP invite.
Enjoy
Margarito's second destruction over Cintron.
---
Right
hand clicking on any of the rotating images will open up
control options, such as play, zoom, etc- clicking on ''play''
on a photo while it is moving will actually pause it, click
play to resume play.
by
Francis Walker, franciswalker@blackathlete.com
POSTED: Mar 27, 2008
TIJUANA
TORNADO LANDS AT 152 LBS. ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
Photo:
German Villasenor.
Los
Angeles, California (April 3, 2008)- With
just a week to go before the official weigh-in, Antonio
''Tijuana Tornado'' Margarito (35-5, 25KOs) who will challenged
former KO victim Kermit Cintron (29-1, 27KOs) for the latter's
IBF Welterweight belt, weighed in at a ripped 152 Lbs. on
Thursday afternoon at both his training camp gym and a nearby
medical clinic.
With
a scant five pounds to go, Margarito should have no problem
making the 147 Lb. weight limit in second title quest.
Margarito
- Cintron II will be part of the double Welterweight title
clash, with WBA Welterweight king Miguel Cotto taking on
tough Alfonso Gomez on the April 12, HBO televised co-feature
from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.
The
winners of each respective bouts are expected to battle
it out in an unification match-up later on this Summer.
MARGARITO
NAILS TWO WEEK PRE WEIGH-IN.
Photo:
German Villasenor
Los
Angeles, California (March 27, 2008)
With just two weeks towards fight night, Antonio Margarito,
who goes for his second world title on April 12th at the
Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, weighed in at 154 Lbs
on Thursday at the East L.A. gym where he trains at.
With
just seven pounds to lose, and two full weeks eyeing the
official weigh-in, Margarito (35-5, 25 KOs) should have
no problem making the 147 LB. weigh limit.
‘'The
Tijuana Tornado'‘ looks towards winning his second
world title against former victim, and current IBF Welterweight
champion in Kermit ‘'The Killer'‘ Cintron. (29-1,
27 KOs)
The
other half of the explosive, all welterweight title card
will be WBA Welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25
KOs) squaring off against Alfonso Gomez, (18-3-2, 8 KOs)
with the eventual winners headed for a unification Match
in July.
The
two welterweight title fights will be televised by HBO and
are a production of Top Rank, Main Events along with The
Contenders.
Margarito
celebrates big 3-0.
All
photo credit: German Villasenor/ www.antoniomargarito.com
March
17th, 2008. (Los Angeles, California)
''The
Tijuana Tornado'' Antonio Margarito celebrated his 30th
birthday this weekend, as his wife, Michelle and management
team, Sergio Diaz Jr. along with Francisco ''Pancho''Espinoza
arranged the surprise party for the Margarito at Pepe's
Mexican Restaurant in El Monte California.
A
close group of family and friends gathered in the party,
with Margarito, in a very good mood agreeing to belt out
a song along with the house Mariachi. (as good as Margarito
sounded, don't look for him to give up his boxing career)
Margarito
AKA ''The Tijuana Tornado'' is right in the middle of heavy
training for his rematch against one time victim Kermit
Cintron for the IBF Welterweight belt which will take place
on April 12th at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The
card also features MIguel Cotto defending his WBA Welterweight
title against Alfonso Gomez, with the respective winners
expected to meet in the summer to unify their titles.
HBO
will televise.
See
tony training for Cintron II
All
Photo: German Villasenor.
Sparring
with Alfredo ''El Perro'' Angulo, Jesus Soto Karass and
various other top pro boxers.
NEW
YORK, November 10 - Antonio
''The Tijuana Tornado'' Margarito (35-5, 25 KOs) came back
from his title losing bout against Paul Williams with vengeance
in his mind- and a fast start, which was REST- SEE Margarito
vs Johnson
Margarito
T-shirt giveaway! The
return of the extremely popular Signed Gloves by the champ!
TIJUANA
TORNADO LANDS AT 152 LBS. ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON.
Photo:
German Villasenor
