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OK, Does Anyone Want to Weather the Tijuana Tornado?
By Steve Kim (July 7, 2006)

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First it was Floyd Mayweather - supposedly the best fighter in the world post-Muhammad Ali - who not once, but twice turned down a career-high payday of $8 million to take on Antonio Margarito.

Then it was Winky Wright, passing on $ 4 million - which is more than he made for facing Jermain Taylor a few weeks ago.

Now, Wladimir Klitschko has turned down his opportunity to face Margarito, believing there are easier fights in the heavyweight division.

Even Godzilla growled, 'thanks, but no thanks' as he says he's got unfinished business in Tokyo.

Superman also declined, citing the fact he's been gone from this planet for about five years and he's got some issues to take care of with Lois Lane.

Alright, the last three didn't happen, but this is getting a bit farcical. Why is it becoming so hard to find someone to take a lucrative payday against a supposedly slow, uncoordinated and ponderous boxer who doesn't have a modicum of skill?

Why won't anyone step up and face 'the Tijuana Tornado'?

“I think he's the most dangerous, best fighter out there," Bob Arum would state to Maxboxing on Thursday from Italy, where he is vacationing. "Nobody wants to fight him; you can't blame them because I think he beats anybody now. I mean everybody’s afraid to fight this guy."

For Arum, history is repeating itself.

“(Marvin) Hagler had the same problem fighting for a title and then getting a major opponent," recalled Arum, who also promoted 'the Marvelous One' to prominence decades ago. "He was too difficult, and people didn't want to fight him."

But his frustration pales in comparison to that of Margarito, who's more than a bit antsy to get his career moving.

“More than anything," he would tell Maxboxing through his manager, Sergio Diaz, "I feel that this has actually affected my career. I can't understand how these fighters who call themselves true champions, true top-notch fighters, are turning down this great amount of money - money that they haven't even received in other fights before. I just can't understand it, and to tell you the truth, it is really frustrating."

It was widely believed by many observers that if Mayweather could not land a fight with Oscar De La Hoya (who announced he may fight again next May) this fall, he would then take the best offer on the table - which seems to be Arum's offer to face Margarito.

Mayweather's mantra in recent years has been: If it don't make dollars, it don't make sense. In this instance, a fight against Margarito seems to make a lot of both.

“As a person, Mayweather has all the respect I can give him," says Margarito. "But as a fighter, he has none of my respect. I can't understand how Mayweather - who calls himself the best fighter in the world and says there's never been another fighter like him - does not step in the ring with me to face me. I do not believe he should be saying that he's the best at welterweight in the world because he hasn't faced me.

"He needs to face me, and he needs to beat me, because this is the fight that everyone is asking for. This is not a fight that I'm the only one asking for. This is a fight that everyone in the boxing world is asking for."

Well, everyone it seems but Mayweather, his representativesm and his loyalists. There are even rumors that perhaps the ‘Pretty Boy' will take on Kermit Cintron - who Margarito wrecked last year - on November 4th.

Margarito says he is moving on.

"I'm not going to ask for Mayweather anymore, I need to continue my career. I know I mentioned this before but the fight came about again and I said, 'Hey, OK, let's do this.' But we're back to where we started at, which is nowhere."

After De La Hoya's comeback win over Ricardo Mayorga in May, Margarito would confront his nemesis at the post-fight press conference at the MGM Grand, and Mayweather would tell him that this was all about business (i.e.- I'm waiting for Oscar) and that they would make a deal when and if the time was right.

“Mayweather was just a bunch of lies," Margarito believes. "Just deceiving not only the public but the actual boxing people themselves. Mentioning that, 'I will fight Margarito if this fight between Oscar and I does not happen'. But it’s just like the Americans say, 'It's a bunch of bulls**t.’ It’s all talk, he doesn't want to fight me, he's afraid of fighting me.
For him to say that's it's not about being afraid, it's just a bunch of B.S."

Does Diaz believe they will ever face Mayweather?

“In my honest opinion," he says, "I don't think he will get in the ring with him. Floyd knows what Antonio can do to him. I think Floyd right now is trying to stay alive for a May 7th (2007) fight between him and Oscar. That's what he's going to do. He's going to hand-pick his opponents and he's going to look for the easiest one."

Could it be that maybe, juuuust maybe, the almighty Mayweather simply does not want any part of Margarito?

"I've had the offer out there for months," says Arum, "and he certainly hasn't responded. So I would say the answer to that is yes."

But Mayweather has been dismissive of Margarito's talents when asked about the reigning WBO welterweight titlist. So why the reluctance to face him?

"Ken Norton was never on Ali's radar," Arum explained. "So there are some guys that great fighters really don't want to fight because they would give them a lot of difficulty and may lose."

Of course it has to be pointed out - and to Ali's credit - that there were three editions of Ali-Norton.

It seems that Mayweather may have bought out his contract from Top Rank (for $750,000) a few months ago to avoid Margarito in perpetuity, lest having Arum continually badger him about facing him over and over again. When asked what he thought his former fighter’s options were, Arum stated: "A.B.M. Anybody but Margarito."

There is a theory that perhaps Mayweather simply doesn't want to perform under the Top Rank banner, for whatever reason. But Arum says, "There's absolutely no animosity between us and Floyd."

The fact that Margarito is having so much difficulty in finding a marquee dance partner is puzzling to Larry Merchant of HBO Sports.

"I think that boxing at this level is risk and reward and they want to make sure that the risk is worth the reward. And right now, I think for example, that Mayweather is waiting for the Mosley-Vargas fight and the Gatti-Baldomir fight to see whether Mosley or Baldomir are also in the mix for him and whether he thinks the risk and reward is better for fighting those guys," he says. Merchant continues by saying, "The Winky Wright thing befuddles me because Winky is a bigger guy and a clever boxer and why he would reject $4 million, if that's the case, is mystifying to me. He has a very high opinion of his own worth, which is OK, but I don't know that there are any alternatives out there which either A) he can make as much money or B) would be a more dangerous fight."

Word on the street is that Wright is contemplating moving up to face super middleweight kingpin Joe Calzaghe and would have trouble moving back down to 154 pounds anyhow.

Ironically, Margarito is in the same position that Wright was in not too long ago.

"There have been fighters in the past nobody wanted to fight unless they had to fight, and Winky Wright was one of them," Merchant points out. "When Vargas fought Wright the first time, they were scared to death because Vargas was on track for big money fights and Winky Wright was a dangerous opponent.

"And Winky Wright himself had probably been avoided on more than one occasion and we've all seen that. But in this case, what makes it unusual is that he's got a promoter who's putting serious bucks out there to attract an opponent, where Winky didn't have that."

As for Mayweather, Merchant opines that, "If Vargas should beat Mosley and Gatti should beat Baldomir, I don't know where Mayweather can go to even make half of what he's apparently been guaranteed to fight Margarito."

As for Margarito, Arum, who hasn't had much in the way of 'Plan B' in 2006 for Margarito says, "As soon as next week when I get back I'm going to go ahead and make a fight between Margarito and (Carlos) Quintana." The crafty Puerto Rican southpaw recently handled the highly touted Joel Julio on the most recent edition of HBO's 'Boxing After Dark'. The bout would take place on October 7th as part of a pay-per-view telecast.

It's pretty obvious that right now Margarito is not an enticing option for the game blue chip boxers between 147-154. In the absence of getting the Mayweathers, Mosleys, Vargases and Wrights, will Top Rank now focus in on keeping Margarito as busy as possible, exposing him to as many eyeballs as possible, and promoting him into a marketable commodity that will then be worth the risk?

"Absolutely," says Arum. But it has to be pointed out that Top Rank has dropped the ball in recent years in this regard. 2000 was the last year in which Margarito has fought more than twice over a calendar year, with long, protracted layoffs in between each outing. Margarito, who's been lost in the shuffle as Arum's company focused in on the likes of De La Hoya, Mayweather and Erik Morales, to a large degree has been under-promoted.

Nobody can build a fighter/attraction like Arum. Many consider him to be one of the last of the real, true, independent promoters. But in this instance, he has neglected one of his own properties. Trotting out someone, anyone for that matter, twice a year isn't a way to build up or push a product. It looks like once again that in 2006, Margarito will be relegated to just a couple of bouts. He's still only 28, but a few prime years have already been squandered.

So what makes Arum think he can get Margarito more active in this ever-tightening marketplace?

"Don't worry, don't worry," he says, "I'll be opening up a lot of new, important venues in different parts of the world in the next few months and they'll be plenty of spots for him to fight and we're not dependent on necessarily what has been the traditional dates on either HBO or Showtime."

When asked about how he feels he's been dealt with by his promotional company, Margarito answers: "When it comes to Mayweather, I do believe they've done and tried to make this fight happen by offering that big amount of money. You're talking about $8 million and I did notice how Bob was trying to be a little bit polite, businesslike, didn't want to turn Mayweather away in order to try to make this fight. But after, I noticed how he did speak to the paper from Grand Rapids, which is Mayweather’s hometown and came about and said this guy’s a fraud and doesn't want to fight Antonio, he's afraid to fight Antonio.

“But when it comes to Plan B, I don't think they've done enough. I believe that Top Rank should be doing a little bit more for me. I believe I am the best welterweight in the world and I'm willing to show it against anyone out there. But I need my promoter to make these fights happen. I need a Plan B to be a big Plan B, not another fight for me to keep busy. I want to fight the best."

So is a bout against Quintana a suitable contingency in his mind?

“I’m glad they're talking about October 7 and now that I'm hearing it's a pay-per-view, that's great," says Margarito, whose record stands at 33-4 with 24 KO's. "When it comes to the opponents, I don't know anything about Quintana. I did see him fight, and it's not really an opponent that I'd like to fight, but I will face anyone. I will fight Quintana if I have to face him.

"Right now, there isn't anything concrete; my people need to sit down with Top Rank and to come out with a gameplan."

Diaz says he and his fighter will be making a trip to the desert.

“Antonio and I will be in Vegas next week so we can sit down with Top Rank."

And they'll have a lot to discuss - except a Mayweather fight of course.

SUPER JUDAH?

I can't believe some folks think Zab Judah should get a crack at Margarito. Seriously, folks, he just lost AGAIN. He is what he is, a physically gifted athlete, whose actual production doesn't match his supposed physical potential.

He reminds me a bit of former Los Angeles Dodger right fielder Raul Mondesi, who in the 90's was pegged as a 'five-tool' player and a future superstar who was going to one day break out and be the modern day Roberto Clemente.

Well, about eight years in, everyone figured out what he was - a good ball player, but one whose production didn't match his tools.

To hear some folks, Judah is that career .280 hitter who gets credit for winning five batting titles because he has great bad speed and a sweet looking swing.

But being a .280 hitter doesn't make you Tony Gwynn.

And Judah (who isn't even allowed to fight in Las Vegas for a spell, where Margarito's next bout will most likely take place) isn't someone that is currently deserving of a big fight.

But, hey, you never know, he could face Mayweather in a November rematch.

FRIDAY FLURRIES

Wow, did you see the latest edition of Wednesday Night Fights on ESPN2? There were more mismatches than 20 episodes of 'Blind Date'. Seriously, I hope they didn't pay the ring card girls by the round..... Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas actually ran out of things to talk about.... But seriously, 'WNF' has had a very good campaign....I'm hearing from sources that it won't exactly be a sell-out (or anything close to it) this time around for Cory Spinks' homecoming at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, as he challenges Roman Karmazin....Anyone else thrown off in the recent week with the Telefutura shows being broadcast on Saturday nights?.... So Kenneth Lay died, huh? Talk about a convenient rolling blackout.....