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The highly anticipated bout between welterweights Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto could be headed out to the desert after all. As the Nevada State Athletic Commission has agreed to meet with promoter Bob Arum and discuss their rule which mandates that all fighters over 136-pounds must wear 10-ounce gloves.
According to Arum, Cotto would balk at wearing anything other than his customary 8-ounces of leather.
" There is a hearing on Thursday," said Arum, on Friday afternoon. " It would be disgraceful if they didn't. Because I've been asking for it, there's a tremendous revenue for the state. It's a fight, I assume, would be great for the casino and everybody. And to not even have a hearing to determine, to discuss whether to do it would be almost criminal."
If the bout were to take place in Las Vegas, it would be staged at the MGM Grand.
" I know their doctor is going to testify, the commission doctor," stated Arum." Who has apparently concluded there's no damn difference."
Arum, who's Top Rank offices are located in Las Vegas, would prefer to have this fight out west, although ultimately he will leave that up to the fighters and their camps.
" I think Vegas because of the proximity to the west coast and more media would come up from the west coast. I think it would do much better on pay-per-view out of Vegas, plus it would do a bigger gate in Vegas," he points out. Arum says that location of the fight will affect just how much media coverage this event will generate." Because the buys for Cotto have pretty well been established, the Mosley fight and so forth. And the eastern writers like Tim Smith and George Willis will come to the fight if the fights is in Las Vegas.
" The same can't be said for the western writers. Now, the LA Times did have coverage because of Mosley in November at the Madison Square Garden, but will they have coverage in July, in New York for Margarito? I don't know if they'll come to New York."
It's his hope that the state goes back to using 8-ounce gloves for fighters below 148-pounds
According to Arum, Cotto would balk at wearing anything other than his customary 8-ounces of leather.
" There is a hearing on Thursday," said Arum, on Friday afternoon. " It would be disgraceful if they didn't. Because I've been asking for it, there's a tremendous revenue for the state. It's a fight, I assume, would be great for the casino and everybody. And to not even have a hearing to determine, to discuss whether to do it would be almost criminal."
If the bout were to take place in Las Vegas, it would be staged at the MGM Grand.
" I know their doctor is going to testify, the commission doctor," stated Arum." Who has apparently concluded there's no damn difference."
Arum, who's Top Rank offices are located in Las Vegas, would prefer to have this fight out west, although ultimately he will leave that up to the fighters and their camps.
" I think Vegas because of the proximity to the west coast and more media would come up from the west coast. I think it would do much better on pay-per-view out of Vegas, plus it would do a bigger gate in Vegas," he points out. Arum says that location of the fight will affect just how much media coverage this event will generate." Because the buys for Cotto have pretty well been established, the Mosley fight and so forth. And the eastern writers like Tim Smith and George Willis will come to the fight if the fights is in Las Vegas.
" The same can't be said for the western writers. Now, the LA Times did have coverage because of Mosley in November at the Madison Square Garden, but will they have coverage in July, in New York for Margarito? I don't know if they'll come to New York."
It's his hope that the state goes back to using 8-ounce gloves for fighters below 148-pounds
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