Dan Rafael of espn.com reported that disgraced former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito received a boxing License in Texas and a proposed fight with Manny Pacquiao will now go forward on November 13th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.
“After a thorough review of his application it was determined Mr. Margarito met the requirements of the Texas Combative Sports Act and Rules,” William Kuntz, the executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, said in a statement.
“I want to thank the state of Texas for granting me a boxing license which enables me to continue my passion for the sport of boxing in the United States,” Margarito said in a statement. “I have dedicated my life to giving the fans of the sport entertainment and excitement. On Nov. 13, this great opportunity will ultimately be fulfilled when I battle Manny Pacquiao.”
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, on vacation in France, was happy with the news.
“For me, it was like a terrible nightmare, this whole thing, and now the sun is shining,” Arum told ESPN.com. “I really believe that it will be a very competitive fight. One guy is much bigger and stronger [Margarito] and the other guy [Pacquiao] is quicker and hits with both hands. It will be a fascinating fight to watch.”
“I was never a big fan of the ABC, but they were totally honorable and very responsible in this whole situation,” Arum said. “They made us go back to California, which to me didn’t make sense. But we did it because they requested it and then they issued a letter saying any state was free to license him. I really believed that once we followed the ABC road map that we were going to be OK.”
“Based on the review of the above information I have authorized the issuance of a license to Mr. Margarito,” Kuntz said.
“I think the crowd will be much bigger and Jerry [Jones] thinks it will also,” Arum said. “The last fight was not during football season. This one is, and we have all the Dallas Cowboys assets they use during the season to help this time. We have a lot of stuff that we didn’t have for the Clottey fight. With Margarito being Hispanic, and this is North Texas, which has a huge Hispanic population, that will make this even bigger.”
Jones said: “This is a good one because we know Margarito — with our fan base, in our area — if we do the fight, then it’ll be a big draw.”