By Robert Morales

Had the California State Athletic Commission granted Antonio Margarito a license Wednesday, the chances were still good that the Nov. 13 fight between Margarito and Manny Pacquiao would land at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas - promoter Bob Arum's first choice.

Arum told BoxingScene.com not long ago that although he was convinced Texas would license Margarito even if California didn't, he wasn't  sure about Nevada. Today's ruling therefore would seem to make Cowboys Stadium in Texas the leading candidate to host the bout that will be for a vacant junior middleweight title.

But Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on Wednesday evening did not rule out the possibility of Margarito getting a license in that state - his unsuccessful attempt in California notwithstanding.

Kizer reiterated that when the Nevada commission tabled Margarito's request for a license last month, it was only because it wanted Margarito to face California first. It never said he had to actually get his license there.

"At the time of the hearing the chairwoman (Pat Lundvall) admitted she was willing to give him a second chance," Kizer said, via telephone, of that Nevada meeting last month. "The other four were not ready to make a decision. I would think a positive vote (in California) would have helped him and a negative vote would hurt him. Whether he can get three out of five votes in Nevada, I just don't know."

But, Kizer said, Margarito did what was asked of him by the Nevada commission.

"He needed to apply in California and he needed to have a hearing in California," Kizer said. "He has done that. He is free, if he wants, to be put back on the agenda in Nevada. The choice is up to him. And if he does, the commissioners would decide whether to put him on the agenda."

Chappelle's Take

Karen Chappelle of the California State Attorney General's office represented the state Wednesday in the hearing on Margarito. She was asked if she knew of any one thing that lead to her second victory over Margarito and his big-shot attorney, Daniel Petrocelli.

"No, I really don't," she said. "I think the commissioners voted from their heart and I think they heard all his testimony. I think Mr. Margarito came across as very sincere, which bodes well in the future. And I think they wanted to err on the side of caution."

Schaefer Believes in Second Chances

Arum was asked by BoxingScene.com recently if he was concerned about the negative publicity surrounding a fight between Margarito and Pacquiao because of Margarito's problems with the illegal hand wraps. He said he was not, and that he was going to take the recent story by veteran writer Thomas Hauser and "rub it in everyone's faces."

At the end of his recently published article, Hauser basically says that the fate of Margarito's career should not be based on a guess. In other words, no one will ever be able to prove he knew he was about to enter the ring against "Sugar" Shane Mosley with loaded gloves. 

Well, in his own way, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer agrees. And that is somewhat surprising. It's no secret that Arum's Top Rank Inc. and Golden Boy have been at odds. It's rare an executive from either company says anything good about the other. But when asked Tuesday what he thought about the possibility of Margarito being licensed to fight in the U.S. again, Schaefer came with this response.

"It's a tough thing," he said. "I think you can make a strong argument for why he should be licensed and you can make a strong argument for him not being licensed."

Schaefer then paused and said he kind of wanted to stay out of all this, but he went on to make his point. 

"I can see the risk of licensing him, that you establish some sort of precedent that if you have plaster in your hand wraps and you say you didn't know and have the trainer take the fall and have a one-year suspension, you can go on," Schaefer said. "But at the same time, there is no proof that Margarito really knew. He got punished and sat out a year and I do believe people should have a second chance. You can make a strong case for either one."

One thing's for sure, Schaefer said, this infamous moment in boxing history is not the sport's finest. 

"It is not a good thing for boxing, not a good thing for all of us involved," he said. "It is not a glorious thing." 

Decisions, Decisions

Four weeks from Saturday, fans will need to make a choice: Watch or attend the Las Vegas card featuring Rafael Marquez against featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez, or the "Sugar" Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora junior middleweight fight in Los Angeles. 

For the sake of television, it's actually easy. The Top Rank card featuring Marquez-Lopez at MGM Grand is is on Showtime. Mora-Mosley,  being staged by Golden Boy at Staples Center, is on HBO pay-per-view. Both start at 6 p.m. But the main event in Las Vegas will be over long before the main event in Los Angeles because Showtime - so far, anyway - is only televising the main event.

But what about those who actually want to be at one of these fights in person? Heck, one of the biggest questions currently being asked reporters by PR people working the respective cards is, "Which fight are you going to cover on Sept. 18?"

Both cards are being billed as celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mexican Independence Day, which falls on Sept. 16. Arum believes he has the edge in this department.

"A tremendous amount of people come to Las Vegas from Mexico to celebrate," Arum said. "It's a great fight and it will do very well at the gate."

More importantly, Arum said, his has the fight more people want to see in person.

"It is clear our fight is the hot fight," Arum said.

The longtime promoter actually didn't have anything really negative to say about Mosley-Mora. But ... 

"It is not a hot fight," Arum said. "Marquez and Juan Manuel Lopez is a hot fight."

Schaefer had his own view of what fans should be considering. First of all, Schaefer said his is the official Mexican bicentennial event.

"Our card was endorsed by the (Mexican) consulate here," Schaefer said.

The main event is intriguing, Oscar De La Hoya's right-hand man said.

"More than one expert already told me they are picking Mora to win the fight," Schaefer said. "It is an interesting fight. Both guys are from L.A., Mosley is in a must-win situation at this time in his career and Mora has waited all his life for that kind of an opponent."

The undercard appears to favor the Golden Boy event by quite a bit. Saul Alvarez, supposedly the most popular fighter in Mexico at the moment - according to Golden Boy research of attendance and television ratings for Alvarez's fights there - will take on former world champion Carlos Baldomir in one fight - a 10-rounder in the junior

middleweight division.

"If you are going to use Arum's own words about hot, he is the hottest fighter in Mexico and no one can dispute that," Schaefer said of Alvarez, who is 33-0-1 with 25 knockouts. "He is the hottest fighter and he is taking on a guy - Baldomir - who is going to be the toughest test of his career. Baldomir and his iron will and iron chin. It's going to be a tough test for the 20-year-old Alvarez."

It should be noted that Baldomir (45-12-6, 14 KOs) is 39 and will not have fought for 10 months. 

A 10-round junior welterweight fight between Victor Ortiz and Vivian Harris - both of whom sport the moniker "Vicious" - is also on tap. In Ortiz's only other fight at Staples Center in June 2009, he was stopped in the sixth round by Maidana. He then took some heat from those fans and reporters who thought he quit. Ortiz, 27-2-1 with 21 knockouts, is 3-0 since that setback.

Harris (29-4-1, 19 KOs) held a world title from 2002-04. But the 32-year-old is 1-2 with one  no-contest in his past four starts. "It is basically lose and go home or win and go up," said Schaefer, intimating both fighters badly need a victory, "so that is in interesting fight."

Schaefer said he is also working on another bout for the card that he described as a potential "barnburner." 

Meanwhile, he referred to the fights underneath Lopez-Marquez as "a bunch of undercard fights."

Indeed, two eight-rounders between welterweights Henry Bruseles and Hector Munoz and super featherweights Diego Magdaleno and Carlos Olveira aren't very inspiring.

"You want to go watch a night of fights in Los Angeles, or a couple of rounds in Las Vegas?" Schaefer said. 

The Cherry on Top

The card in Los Angeles will have several days of festivities in honor of the bicentennial leading up to the main event that Saturday. Several legendary Mexican fighters are expected to make themselves available to the public in the downtown area, and there will be a Telefutura-televised card the night before.

But perhaps the most important thing will be the Tecate girls beauty contest. Schaefer said he is hopeful of putting together the pageant with about 20 girls. Reporters will be the judges.

Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and BoxingScene.com