By Lem Satterfield
Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, is already working on the planned July 16 rematch between WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29KOs) of Puerto Rico, and his Mexican rival Antonio Margartio (38-7, 27KOs). In 2008, Margarito handed Cotto the first loss of his career with a stoppage victory in the eleventh round.
Two locations are being considered, but it appears that Las Vegas is slightly ahead of the pack to land the fight. Arum was impressed with the thousands of Puerto Rican fans who crowded the MGM Grand for Cotto's recent victory over Ricardo Mayorga.
"Right now, we're thinking of two places for the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight. One is in Las Vegas, and the other is in the Meadowlands. But right now, we feel that Las Vegas might be the better fit because we had a considerable number of Puerto Ricans at the fight on last Saturday," Arum told BoxingScene.com.
"And when you add to them, the Mexicans, who are heavily supportive and represented both in Nevada and California and Arizona, then it should be a full house. We're looking at July 16."
Margarito has yet to be licensed in the state of Nevada. Arum doesn't expect any issues with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Since the 2009 hand-wrapping scandal, Margarito has only been licensed in the state of Texas.
"No, I think that we've talked to some of the commissioners, and we feel that we'll be alright. And we'll get their assurances before we settle on Las Vegas as a site," Arum said.
As far as the pay-per-view undercard, one of Top Rank's newest signees - Kermit Cintron (32-3, 28KOs) - is going to appear in a major fight. Another strong possibility is former three division champion Marco Antonio Barrera (67-7, 44KOs).
"We're planning to do another great show to do another great show on July 16. We're expecting to have Kermit Cintron on the show in a major fight. Maybe Marco Antonio Barrera on the card as well. So it will be a real fiesta," Arum said.
