Mosley vs. Margarito is nearly a done deal...

By Robert Morales

Richard Schaefer on Tuesday said that "Sugar" Shane Mosley has agreed in principle to a fight with welterweight world champion Antonio Margarito. If Margarito does likewise, the deal should be done in the next day or two.

"I informed Bob Arum that from our side we are done," said Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Mosley. "And he (Arum) is trying to finalize his side. The ball is in Margarito's court."

Schaefer said that if the accord gets consummated, the fight will be held Jan. 24 at either MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It would be televised on HBO.

"On regular HBO, wouldn't that be a great way to start the season?" Schaefer said.

Schaefer was speaking by telephone from Los Angeles as he was about to board a plane to New York City, where he said he will take in Saturday's fight between Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr.

Arum, who promotes Margarito, was contacted and he echoed Schaefer's comments.

"That is absolutely correct," Arum said. "Margarito is coming in this week and hopefully we go over everything with him and he can approve it. We talked to the managers (Francisco Espinoza and Sergio Diaz) and they're on board."

Arum said that Margarito was in Mexico on Tuesday. Diaz is in China for the WBC convention, but Arum said that Espinoza will bring Margarito to his Top Rank Inc. offices in Las Vegas as early as Wednesday but no later than Thursday.

"Obviously, we can't finalize anything without talking to (Margarito)," Arum said. "I think it's a good fight, a fight that everyone wants. But again, I'm not the one doing the fighting." Arum intimated he was very optimistic that the deal will be sealed.

"I think the money is fair, the money is right," he said. "I don't anticipate any difficulties. But I can't commit without talking to Tony."