After some rumors came to the surface in the last week or two, it now appears close to official that Antonio Margarito’s New York boxing license will not be approved, which puts his upcoming December 3rd rematch against Miguel Cotto in jeopardy, not to mention the rest of the planned fight card. Cotto vs. Margarito II was set for Madison Square Garden, but without a New York license, Margarito cannot fight professionally anywhere in the state. It’s a disappointing turn of events for Top Rank, but one which should never have happened to begin with.
UPDATE: 12:45 eastern, Friday:
The NYSAC has been debating Margarito’s license this afternoon, and after an hour they came up with no official verdict. Then they gave Margarito, who is not in the country right now, one more hour to agree to another eye exam performed by an NYSAC doctor within the next two weeks. Fight night is 15 days away.
At this point, and with the uncertainty that creates, it may be in Top Rank’s, the fighter’s and the fan’s best interests to move the fight anyway. The new choice destination seems to be Cowboys Stadium.
Back to the original story….
Before boxing moralists high five one another that Manos de Plaster is being denied his license because of his hand-wrapping scandal, hold your horses. The license denial here has nothing to do with that, at least on the surface. Instead, it is based on the cataract removal surgery that Margarito had on his eyes after the brutal beating he took at the hands of Manny Pacquiao.
The official verdict from the NYSAC will come on Friday, however sources said the Wednesday meeting held on the subject didn’t exactly go in Top Rank’s and Margarito’s favor. This is after the October 31st application was denied.
According to SI.com’s Chris Mannix, Bob Arum said:
“We didn’t get a very good feeling from them at all. It’s outrageous. We brought in two specialists who told them he could fight and they brought in a couple of hacks.”
All signs from Top Rank right now are that Cotto-Margarito II is still a go for December 3rd. No official statements have been made about which site the fight would move to, but clearly the scramble is on. The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ would be a logical choice as it’s the closest option to MSG and would appease all of the local ticket holders. However, other options as far ranging as Denver, Colorado have also been thrown in the mix. All of this is speculation, including some input from the Twitter account of Fred Sternburg.
But why is the fight even in jeopardy at this point, and why has Top Rank placed themselves, their fighters and boxing fans in such a position? They have moved about 90% of their tickets in Madison Square Garden, all the while being unsure whether or not Margarito would even get licensed.
I don’t think the hundreds of dollars that fans spent on their seats came with a friendly message from Bob Arum saying, “Hey, folks. This might be a useless ticket, because the fight might not even be held here!” Sure, refunds will be made available, not that it makes the matter any more convenient or fun. What about fans who made nonrefundable travel plans, hotel reservations, flight reservations and more based on the fight? What about the undercard fighters working their asses off for modest paydays who now may have their night scuttled as well?
All fights and fighters on the card subject to change doesn’t cut it here, and it’s inexcusable for one of boxing’s biggest operations to promote a fight and sell tickets for it while having full knowledge that it could all be for naught.
It’s bad enough you’re willing to pay a proven cheater millions of dollars to put on an in-house fight between two of your charges. But this isn’t just morally wrong; it’s completely reprehensible and fraudulent.
