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Esteemed boxing coach Emanuel Steward, current trainer of Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto, thinks that a match between “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao and Mexico’s Antonio Margarito will still be a difficult fight to make.
“The strongest move has been made by Top Rank to make the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito. So I guess that’s really the hot negotiation, but to me I’m just watching like a fan or a spectator…I think that’s going to be a very difficult fight to make,” Steward said in a report posted on The Mushroom Mag.
Steward cited that from a boxing fan’s point of view, it looks bad to see Margarito being rewarded to fight Pacquiao despite the Mexican’s involvement in an illegal hand wrapping incident.
Margarito had his boxing license suspended for a year after being caught wearing hand wraps stained with substance similar to plaster of Paris shortly before his fight against “Sugar” Shane Mosley in January 2009.
“The reaction from the fans has been very bad. The man committed a crime and now he’s being rewarded with the biggest purse of his life,” said Steward, who trained the likes of boxing legends Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield and Julio Cesar Chavez.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who handles both Pacquiao and Margarito, earlier said that he has already decided to pit the two boxers because it seems more competitive than having the Filipino champ face Cotto in a rematch
Arum came out with the decision after Floyd Mayweather Jr. ignored the offer to face Pacquiao in a fight between two top pound-for-pound boxers.
“I think Margarito’s just a big question mark… The man did his time but I have to go by the reaction of the public. I don’t think he should be getting a big super fight of this caliber and the public has pretty much picked up on that fact,” said Steward.
He admitted that although he wanted a rematch between Pacquiao and his ward Cotto, who is also a Top Rank fighter, he still likes the idea of the Filipino champ slugging it out with Mayweather.
“I really wanted to see Pacquiao and Mayweather like everyone else. I would have almost bet that the fight would have been made because of the tremendous money that would have been made and the public interest,” he said.
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“The strongest move has been made by Top Rank to make the fight between Pacquiao and Margarito. So I guess that’s really the hot negotiation, but to me I’m just watching like a fan or a spectator…I think that’s going to be a very difficult fight to make,” Steward said in a report posted on The Mushroom Mag.
Steward cited that from a boxing fan’s point of view, it looks bad to see Margarito being rewarded to fight Pacquiao despite the Mexican’s involvement in an illegal hand wrapping incident.
Margarito had his boxing license suspended for a year after being caught wearing hand wraps stained with substance similar to plaster of Paris shortly before his fight against “Sugar” Shane Mosley in January 2009.
“The reaction from the fans has been very bad. The man committed a crime and now he’s being rewarded with the biggest purse of his life,” said Steward, who trained the likes of boxing legends Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield and Julio Cesar Chavez.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who handles both Pacquiao and Margarito, earlier said that he has already decided to pit the two boxers because it seems more competitive than having the Filipino champ face Cotto in a rematch
Arum came out with the decision after Floyd Mayweather Jr. ignored the offer to face Pacquiao in a fight between two top pound-for-pound boxers.
“I think Margarito’s just a big question mark… The man did his time but I have to go by the reaction of the public. I don’t think he should be getting a big super fight of this caliber and the public has pretty much picked up on that fact,” said Steward.
He admitted that although he wanted a rematch between Pacquiao and his ward Cotto, who is also a Top Rank fighter, he still likes the idea of the Filipino champ slugging it out with Mayweather.
“I really wanted to see Pacquiao and Mayweather like everyone else. I would have almost bet that the fight would have been made because of the tremendous money that would have been made and the public interest,” he said.
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