Looks like the fight circus won?t be coming back to town after all.
Promoter Bob Arum says he has found an opponent and a date for Manny Pacquiao?s next fight and although no site has been named, it doesn?t look like it will be at Cowboys Stadium.
According to Arum, Pacquiao will fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 for a vacant 154-pound championship. The site will be either Las Vegas? MGM Grand Garden Arena, which can handle about 17,000 fans, or a 22,000-seat arena in Monterrey, Mexico.
Cowboys Stadium, which attracted 50,994 for a Pacquiao?s last fight against Joshua Clottey in March doesn?t appear to be a contender. Nov. 13, by the way, is wide open on the stadium calendar.
That rebuff is interesting because Margarito, a tough Mexican fighter, would be a much better draw at Cowboys Stadium than was Clottey, who is from Ghana and has zero following. Pacquiao-Margarito could draw 70,000-plus. Still, Arum obviously believes he can get a bigger site fee elsewhere.
One Cowboys Stadium official I talked to Monday sounded miffed that his place was not being considered. He feared that for whatever reason, Cowboys Stadium simply has been set up to be used in Arum?s negotiations with other towns and arenas.
Maybe it?s for the best after all. Margarito comes with heavy baggage. He was suspended for at least a year by the California State Athletic Commission for attempting to load up the knuckle pads under his gloves for a bout against Shane Mosley in early 2009. Without the cheating advantage, he lost a lopsided fight. Since state boxing commissions tend to honor each others? suspensions, Margarito has to re-apply for a license anywhere he fights in the United States.
Looks like Las Vegas gets him if the Nevada commission, which has already once turned turned him down, does an about face. If not, Monterrey is the fall back site. Cowboys Stadium? It appears to be out in the cold.
