 Arum Reacts to Wright Proposal
By Steve Kim (July 17, 2006)
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On Monday afternoon, a press release was put out by Winky Wright Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, making a proposal for the services of one Antonio Margarito.
It read, "Today, Chris Lighty, CEO of Winky Promotions extended an formal offer to Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum for $1.5 million to provide the services of Antonio Margarito.
"Said Winky Wright: "I am ready, willing and able to give Antonio Margarito a chance for a mega-fight where he can prove to the world what he is all about. My promotional company Winky Promotions together with Golden Boy Promotions are ready to put together a spectacular promotion.
"Said Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya: "We believe that this is a fair offer for Top Rank and Antonio Margarito. It is an opportunity for Antonio to get not only a big fight but also the biggest purse of his career. This is what Winky Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions are all about."
Arum's reaction?
"They're playing games," he would tell Maxboxing on Monday. "It's a joke."
And 'they' include more than just Winky Promotions and Golden Boy, according to the veteran promoter.
"We sent a response to HBO that we decline the offer," stated Arum, who obviously believes someone else is really running the show here. "They're playing games all over the place. It's obvious what's happening."
Which is basically that HBO wants their house promoter in charge.
"They want control," Arum says.
But Margarito is good to go for October 7th, though, right?
"Antonio Margarito is going to fight this year. They already called us from HBO to say they're doing a HBO fight with Nicolay Valuev on October 7th. That's the date we were going to put a pay-per-view on for Margarito," said Arum, with a chuckle.
And Top Rank will not go head-to-head with an HBO telecast.
"We'll do another date," he says. "We're in the middle of a war. And it'll be what it'll be."
So who's Hezbollah in all this?
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E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com
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