Manny Pacquiao Would Fight Antonio Margarito 'Outside of U.S.'

Manny Pacquiao Would Fight Antonio Margarito 'Outside of U.S.

7/09/2010 6:58 PM

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Seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao would consider fighting WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) king Miguel Cotto or ex-world champion Antonio Margarito in a clash outside of the United States if a mega bout can't be made with undefeated welterweight (147 pounds) rival Floyd Mayweather, the Filipino titlist's adviser, Michael Koncz, told FanHouse on Friday.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 39 knockouts) has agreed in principle to put his WBO welterweight belt on the line against Mayweather, having given his unbeaten counterpart until mid-July -- or next weekend -- to sign the contract, Koncz said.

If agreed upon, Mayweather-Pacquiao would likely take place in Las Vegas on the proposed date of Nov. 13.

In the meantime, Koncz has begun to consider a rematch with Puerto Rico's Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs) -- whom Pacquiao dethroned as WBO welterweight champ by 12th-round knockout in November -- or a match up opposite Mexico's Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs).

Margarito, however, still is not legal to fight in America, this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following an illegal hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009. Margarito is coming off of May's 10-round, unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in a junior middleweight clash that was fought in Mexico, which licensed him for the bout.

"As a matter of fact, we are looking at a venue outside of the U.S., and it doesn't make a difference whether it's Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto. It's not Mexico, but until I have a concrete deal in place, I don't want to divulge what country that is," said Koncz.

"But we're waiting on our options with Floyd Mayweather before considering either of those two as opponents," said Koncz. "And we have not made a decision as to whether Manny would be going to fight Cotto or Margarito."

Margarito had been suspended until Feb. 11 by the CSAC after a ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009 dethroned him as WBA champion. 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.

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On Friday, Margarito (pictured at right) unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada, whose state athletic commission ruled that he must re-apply in California before attempting to fight anywhere in the United States.

Margarito testified to the NSAC that he had no knowledge of the wrappings -- instead blaming his trainer, Javier Capetillo, for the illegal substance in his gloves.

"The decision that the commission made on Margarito has a small bearing, obviously, in that it just eliminates Nevada from the picture," Koncz said. "But it doesn't eliminate a possible fight with Manny. If Manny decides to fight Margarito, just because he got denied in Nevada -- that's not going to squash the fight."

Koncz is in Puerto Rico in support of challenger Bernabe Concepcion, who will try to dethrone WBO featherweight (126 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Lopez there on Saturday night. While in Puerto Rico, Koncz said that he met with Cotto on Monday and discussed a potential rematch with Pacquiao.

"In a nutshell, I had a casual dinner with Miguel and Brian, Miguel's translator, who were both there. Some of it was just bull**** talk, and then, the rest was about the question of doing the rematch with Manny. That's the extent of what I want to reveal of our conversation," said Koncz.

"The question was whether Miguel is interested in a rematch with Manny, and the answer from Miguel was 'yes.' The rest of the conversation is private," said Koncz. "We agreed that we wouldn't talk publicly or disclose what else we had talked about."

Asked if he was expecting Mayweather to sign the contract for a bout with Pacquiao, Koncz said, "Read between the lines."

"If we thought that we were going to receive a contract next week, do you think that I would be looking around to see what our options are? Probably not. So we're considering all of our options because, in another week, we don't want to be caught with our pants down," said Koncz.

"If the fight is made with Floyd, and if he signs the contract, then so be it. And if he doesn't sign it, we're not sitting around waiting, as I have said many times," said Koncz. "So we're preparing to move on, looking at our options in the event that we don't receive a contract from Floyd next week."