By Enrique Rodriguez, ganchoycross.com

This deep interview, without concessions, was requested some time ago by this web site. Mario Margossian answers the accusations made by his “former?” client, WBA interim 140 pound champion Marcos Maidana, related to the breach of the commercial relationship between them, and he affirms Gilbertico Mendoza, son of the historical president of the World Boxing Association (WBA), is the one that made the boxer make this drastic decision.

- Mario: I can say that this interview is a reminder of some of the answers that Marcos Maidana gave me in an interview uploaded to this web site on June 7 of this year, related to the difficult contractual relationship that you now have. You will tell me what you think and I will make all the questions that I believe are necessary. (comment from the editors: all the claims made by Maidana are detailed in his interview on the date I just mentioned. Maidana no longer talkes about this subject, saying that it is handled by his lawyers)

-Maidana told me that he wasn’t injured and that was your excuse because the business of the fight against Timothy Bradley was in jeopardy. What do you have to say about it? Was he injured or not?

-Maidana said he was injured to three different means of mass communication. I do not lie: he told that to Ovación, DyN and Olé. The truth about this matter is that he didn’t want to fight against Bradley and that is the focus of his conflict with me. He had closed a very important money agreement with me, by means of which he would receive $350,000 US dollars in hand, that the people of Golden Boy would pay him to fight against Bradley, and then he should have another fight against an opponent that would be chosen by us for another $350,000 US dollars more in hand for him. And, on top of that, there was the unification with Amir Khan (comment from the editors: it was said that there would be $500,000 US dollars more in hand for the boxer native of Santa Fe). But he didn´t want to fight against Bradley…

-So, why didn’t he fight against him?

-Because he was afraid to be defeated by Bradley.

-Afraid of Bradley? I cannot believe that…

-Now, I've seen Bradley's fight against Abregú on July 17. I believe I was right and tried to convince him that he would defeat him. I think Maidana can beat anyone and the only fool that trusted him and told him he could win was me.

-In relation to numbers, Maidana said you offered him $200,000 US dollars in hand to fight against Bradley…

-No!...

-Did he say that this was not enough money and then you offered him the $350,000 US dollars he asked for, that he did not accept anyway, and he asked you why didn´t you offer that amount of money in the first place?

-I simply negotiated with those who offered the money. Maidana was offered (by Golden Boy) $270,000 US dollars in hand. First, he said yes, and then he said no. Then, I talked to Golden Boy and they raised their offer to $350,000 US dollars in hand, which Maidana accepted. So, I coordinated with him, I informed him about the date of his trip and everything was in order. That same night (May 2), Gilberto Jesús Mendoza (comment from the editors: executive vice-president of the WBA) called him and told him not to accept this money and that he would get him more money by other means.

-So, you are saying that the direct responsible of this conflict is Gilbertico?

-I think it is shameful that a person that presides over an entity turns that entity into a commercial office. Maidana is not the only case; he is managing a lot of boxers and uses this entity as a business and as a means of pressure over those boxers.

-Do you have the names of any of the boxers that he supposedly manages?

-Everybody knows: Jorge Linares, Gusmyr Perdomo, Pablo Vázquez, del Aguacertio Acosta and many more. I do not think his father (comment from the editors: the present president of the WBA), who is an honorable person, is aware of the actions of his son.

-To sum up: you have never told Maidana that you were putting your own money? In that case, I believe it is ridiculous and unbelievable to think that someone, and much less a businessman, in this boxing world is a great philanthropist…

-No, it was not like that, I repeat: when he told me he wouldn’t accept the $270,000 US dollars I spoke right away with Golden Boy and they decided to increase the sum of money up to the $350,000 US dollars I told you before.

I told him about that proposal and Maidana, at that moment, said yes, that he would fight and he would travel to the press conference. I bought the tickets and the next day he said no. Then, I found out that on May 2 at 8:42 PM, we made some research, he had spoken to Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, who recommended him not to accept the fight and told him to get rid of me and that he would handle some business for him.

-This is a very serious accusation; do you have any evidence of it?

-Yes, of course.

 -About the contracts, Maidana said that he does not have any contract and that the only thing that he remembers is to have signed a contract for $180,000 US dollars for an optional defense of the title after fighting against Víctor Cayó, but it was not to fight against Bradley, is that correct?

-Yes, that is correct.

-But did he not sign a contract for the fight against Bradley, that you arranged it behind his back and that it was your business? He also said that if you have that contract to fight against Bradley, you must show it, because his lawyers are handling this issue. In the case this affirmation is true, why Maidana does not have those contracts? He never asked for them? You never gave these contracts to him? He trusted you? What happened?

-He signed a contract for three fights and he acknowledges it…

-With whom?

-With Golden Boy. And then, other contract with me, of representation, but that is another thing.

- And there is your percentage…

-Of what he earns, I get the 33%, and I take care of the 11% of the gross total, which belongs to his trainer, Miguel Díaz, plus the payment to all the assistants and the preparation itself, which is all on me. But in this case, the contract for the three fights included the amounts of money that Maidana would receive in hand…

-Did you arrange those three fights with Golden Boy on your own?

-Of course. I showed him all the amounts of money as they were and then he accepted.

 -I asked you about the contracts, did you give them to him or not?

-The contracts! I called him ten times to show him all the papers. I have witnesses, and all the people related to him can tell you, except for the interested party, that I told him ten times: “come, look, I can show you everything, everything is at your disposal”. But, imagine, the president of an entity calls the boy and, on top of that, his local representative is continuously putting ideas on his head to see what he can get from him…

-Are you going to say his name?

-Yes, it’s the same… Then, the boy took that decision, he betrayed me and, well, it’s his problem. All the papers are at his disposal, I don’t have any problem. I just say that he must fulfill his contracts: the one that has with me and those he has abroad. He must be responsible for them.

-I ask you again: does he have everything?

-Yes, he does. He has everything.

-The contracts?, but if he told me he didn’t… 

-He has everything! Because I showed him. Then, they convinced him that what I was going to give him was false. He requested those contracts to people in Germany and The United States and they sent them to him.

-Not you, but the foreign promoters directly (comment from the editors: Golden Boy and Universum)…

-Because that was what the local representative of Gilbertico Mendoza and his lawyer recommended (comment from the editors: this site has asked Maidana his name and he told us it was Carlos Pujol). They are very dark people.

-I asked you before: the local representative you are talking about is Sebastián Contursi?

-Yes.

-On June 7, Maidana said that you still owed him $100,000 US dollars for his fight against Víctor Cayó and that you have only paid him a sum of money for publicity, do you owe him that money?

-No. I called him to settle some pending accounts. He bought several houses, owns different cars, and that money came out of my pocket, so we had to settle accounts. There is no person more despicable than the one that has to justify a betrayal. Then, if one person says numbers and lies to justify himself, he is showing that he is despicable. Afterwards, it was published the amount Bradley collected for his fights against Abregú: $400,000 US dollars - and Maidana was going to receive $350,000 US dollars, in hand, after taxes. He can make the calculations he wants. I could make him win a fortune and now he is fighting for the 10 percent. I don’t know what they told him to convince him.

 -So, what is your responsibility in this matter?

-I shouldn’t have let him listen to them. Maidana turned into a great business and an international entity came and captured him. It is very easy to come and take a boxer that is already well-known, who we prepared with a great effort, risk, investment, it doesn’t matter, because the cost of the legal procedure will be paid by the boxer! They didn’t invest a penny; they will take his earnings and that's it! We play, we win what we win and then it doesn’t matter, because we don’t have any legal responsibility. The only one that has that responsibility is Maidana, and he is going to pay for it.

-Where?

-In court. Every time he fights, I will bring a lawsuit in order to be paid my corresponding percentage.

-But, meanwhile, can you bring a legal action to stop him from fighting? Why can´t you cut his freedom to work?

-No, how could I stop him from fighting?! That’s not my intention. Maidana has the freedom to work wherever he wants.

-Are you talking about the old problem: the big fish eats the small fish? Are you saying that someone from the WBA wanted to take Maidana?

-They convinced him to leave me.

-We could say that before 2005, Argentina Boxing Promotions, your company, did the same with the person that managed Maidana then (Guillermo Serra) as Maidana left him and stayed with you. And, following that line of thought, we could say that now you are suffering the same consequences with bigger companies as the previous manager…

-Could it be that Maidana is acting in the same way?

-I don’t know, that is why I am asking you…

-I gave answer to your question with another question. Could it be that Maidana used one person for some time, another for other period of time and now… I have always managed him along with the person that managed him before me. But then, Maidana wanted to get rid of that person and when his contract with him was terminated, he only renewed a contract with me, and that contract is already in force.

-For how long?

-Until July, 2011.

-Do you have all the documents that prove that?

-Yes.

-And Maidana?

-He has everything.

-The paradox is that he says the same about you: that you betrayed him, that you kept his money and that he doesn’t have any documents.

-That’s a lie. He is an excellent boxer in the ring. But, outside of the ring he is not going to do so well, as he is surrounded by vultures. The only thing I have to say is that we have a contract in force. And he must fulfill it. I hope he does.