Manny Pacquiao, left, poses with Antonio Margarito on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif. The two boxers are scheduled to fight at Cowboys Stadium on Nov. 13 for the vacant WBC 154-pound title. (Allen J. Schaben/Associated Press)Manny Pacquiao's fight with Antonio Margarito was officially announced Tuesday in Los Angeles, a bout with the potential to be one of the most attended in the U.S. in recent years despite controversy surrounding the match.
Pacquiao and Margarito will box in a 12-round junior middleweight bout at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on Nov. 13. The Filipino sensation Pacquiao fought at the same venue in March, drawing 50,994 for a lopsided 12-round decision win over Joshua Clottey of Ghana.
Top Rank, his promoter, believes the bout can do a much larger number this time around, given Pacquiao's popularity and the fact his opponent should draw from the state's large Hispanic base, despite misgivings over the bout from some in the boxing community.
Texas has overlooked the fact Margarito has not been licensed to fight in the United States since an illegal, plaster-like substance was found in his hand wraps before a January 2009 bout against Shane Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Margarito's hands were rewrapped and he went on to lose the World Boxing Association welterweight title fight in one-sided fashion.
Margarito (38-6-1, 27 knockouts) has cut ties with Javier Capetillo and blamed the incident on his former trainer, stating repeatedly he had no knowledge of the difference in hand wraps.
Those claims rang hollow to the California State athletic commission earlier this month. The commission voted 5-1 to deny Margarito a licence after a lengthy hearing, saying it is the fighter who ultimately holds responsibility for what goes on in his corner.
Nevada had earlier refused to table a Margarito application for reinstatement, wanting the commission where the incident took place to rule. The Texas commission had no such qualms, granting Margarito a licence last week.
The 32-year-old Margarito, who has lived much of his life in Southern California, returned to the ring on May 8 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, winning a decision over Roberto Garcia.
Since he last fought, Pacquiao has only added to his larger-than-life status in his native country, winning office and being sworn in as a congressman in Sarangani province.
Pacquiao, who turns 32 in December, was sixth in the most recent survey undertaken by Forbes magazine of the world's richest athletes — tied with golfer Phil Mickelson and basketball star LeBron James — earning $40 million US in the 12-month period covered by the survey.
He likely will be fighting Margarito at somewhere between 147 and 152 pounds (the division limit is 154), having started his career at 106 pounds as a 16-year-old in early 1995.
Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) has not lost in the boxing ring in over five years and is considered one of the top two pound-for-pound best in the sport along with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Negotiations fell apart in January for a potential superbout between the pair. Money usually kills most big fight talks, but the Pacquiao-Mayweather sessions fell apart over disagreements over Olympic-style blood testing, which the American requested.
Since the Clottey fight and Mayweather's early May win over Mosley, there has been dispute as to whether negotiations ever resumed again.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum opted to pursue a fight with Margarito, who he also promotes. Many boxing writers have wondered aloud why any number of potential opponents without the taint of controversy — and not promoted by Arum — weren't actively pursued.
Despite that, the bout will be well attended. The two most recent fights attended by more people in the U.S. than Pacquiao-Clottey were held indoors (see table below).
Mayweather has not announced when he plans on fighting again, although he did hint through Twitter last week that his next bout would not be in his native Las Vegas but Dubai.
With files from The Associated Press
