IT’S WHAT THE GREAT ONES DO

No sooner had Antonio Margarito finished off Miguel Cotto in 11 rounds last July than Margarito was calling for a fight with Oscar De La Hoya. At the press conference following the fight Top Rank CEO Bob Arum repeated Oscar’s statement that he didn’t want to fight a Mexican, but said that he still held out hope that perhaps the fight would be more appealing after Tony’s sensational win.

Soon after that negotiations began with Golden Boy for Oscar to fight Manny Pacquiao, who like Margarito is promoted by Top Rank, and that killed any remaining hope that Tony may have had. Had the Pacquiao cash cow bonanza not come along, Arum obviously would have given his all to push Margarito, win or lose. As it was, it became a forgotten subject.

So one would assume that the next best choice for Margarito would be a rematch with Paul Williams, who defeated him in July 2007. It could be legitimately billed as the two best welterweights in the world in a fight to determine 147 pound supremacy once and for all, with Margarito having the added motivation of revenge.

Williams lost his first defense to Carlos Quintana by decision in February, and then whacked out Quintana in a sensational first round knockout in the rematch this past June. Margarito quickly returned to prominence with KO victories over Golden Johnson and Kermit Cintron before stopping Cotto. Now the only thing lacking for him competitively is to avenge the defeat to Williams.

However, reportedly Arum put the kibosh on any negotiations for Williams-Margarito II, still angry with the Williams team after intense negotiations for a Kelly Pavlik fight fell through. Arum said point blank that the fight would never happen, despite a $4 million offer from Dan Goossen, Williams’ promoter.

This week, in response to our request for information regarding the status of Williams-Margarito II, Top Rank issued a statement that read in part:

“We are going into a different direction with Antonio. There has not been one single fan who has called our office or a single email (except for you) about this matchup…Antonio is the champ now and we will do what is best for him…”

We also spoke to Goossen at length and predictably the promoter had plenty to say:

“It’s not about us calling out Margarito. It’s about us making the biggest and best fights out there. Don’t you [Margarito] want to avenge the so called injustice that you say happened? How many millions does it take for you not to run away? That’s three or four times more than he’ll make for his next fight.

“Margarito said that it was a disgrace that Oscar was fighting Pacquiao and I see irony in this. The difference between Margarito and Oscar at this point in his career is that Oscar’s not going around saying he’s the best welterweight in the world. So where is Margarito when his toughest challenge is Williams and he’s going to fight a lesser fight for less money?

“If he’s not fighting Williams because that’s what his promoter says, come out and say it. Say Antonio Margarito is willing to take $3 million less because his promoter says so.”

Although the Arum-Goossen relationship has at times been a contentious one, it was the Pavlik-Williams negotiation that ended business between the two, at least for the present.

Goossen said that the bargaining stalled with the parties a relatively mere $250,000 apart. It was reported that Williams wanted $2.5 million and was initially offered $1.5 million. So, after gaining so much ground, what happened?

“It’s difficult to find anyone who is willing to fight Paul,” Goossen said. “I believe that Kelly Pavlik had that concern and that’s why both Arum and Kelly were reluctant to reduce their guarantee to make that fight. If it was reversed and that was the only obstacle left, I would have done it if I thought my fighter would win because it would have been shown before a big audience on HBO Championship Boxing on September 27.”

Goossen says that he even offered Arum the lead promoter spot for Margarito-Williams II because “it would have been better for the sport.”

“Bob’s still active,” Goossen continued. “He’s got the juices of a 40 year old. I give him a lot of credit. But he’s not doing the right thing for the sport. Let’s just do what’s best for boxing.

“Paul Williams is still the most feared fighter in boxing today. He’ll still make big paydays. He’ll make more than Margarito will in his next fight.

“Go back to Margarito’s past fights. Never ever before did he have packed houses, never ever did he have a big fan base. He made more money with Williams than anyone else. That’s why he was always on the lower end of the totem pole.

“I don’t have a problem with Margarito not fighting Paul, but I do have a problem with him saying he’s the best welterweight when Paul Williams handed him a loss and took his title. I believe that the man who beat the man is the man.”

So, for now at least, one of the best potential matchups on the horizon is dead in the water.

I have a great deal of respect for the Top Rank organization in general and Mr. Arum in particular. He and his company have promoted many of the classic fights of the past 30 something years and certainly no one knows the sport better.

Nevertheless, my feeling is that Margarito will not be totally accepted as the best until he fights and avenges the loss to Williams, because that’s what the great ones do.

Hopefully the residual hard feelings of a promotional squabble will not continue to be a factor in depriving the public of a potentially great fight, one, unlike some others which shall remain unnamed today, that will actually be of significance.

Questions? Problems? Send me a note to mswann4@aol.com.