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Article by German Villasenor
“It’s official, Joshua Clottey will be Antonio's next opponent, on Saturday, December 2nd,” Antonio Margarito's manager, Sergio Diaz, told Maxboxing.com on Tuesday afternoon.
“After looking at all our current options, and seeing how Floyd (Mayweather) avoided Tony at all costs, first by waiting for (Oscar) De La Hoya, then (Ricky) Hatton, (Cory) Spinks and so on, we and Top Rank decided to move forward.”
Margarito who is coming off three impressive victories in the gruesome, ear ripping late rounds stoppage over Sebastian Lujan, the destruction of Kermit Cintron, and a one round blowout of still dangerous Manuel ''*******'' Gomez, will be making his second career appearance at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, with the co-feature being WBO super lightweight champion Miguel Cotto defending his crown against TBA in the Top Rank-promoted / Showtime-televised double header.
''We opted for Clottey because he is the highest available contender that is easy to deal with, as he just recently signed with Top Rank.'' said Diaz. ''Although Paul Williams is currently the number one contender, he is asking for too much money, and he essentially outpriced himself. Paul will become Antonio's mandatory next month, and Top Rank will be have to deal with his people again and try to reach an agreement. If they don't, then the match will go to purse bid. I really don't believe Paul would want this to happen, as he might get paid less than Top Rank's initial offer. Mosley is the number two ranked fighter in the WBO. But with all the hatred between Top Rank and Golden Boy, this is a fight that probably will not happen".
"Clottey wasn't the fighter we were hoping to fight, but considering the short list of possible opponents, we felt he was the best,” continued Diaz. “We haven't had the best of luck with regards to Tony's activity in the ring or being able to get that big fight, but we have faith that 2007 will be a big year for Antonio and Top Rank.”
A tough Ghanaian, Clottey (29-1, 18 KOs), who is coming off a majority decision win over Richard Gutierrez last month, will not be a walk in the park, as his style has posed problems for everyone he has faced. His only loss is a controversial DQ against reigning WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in a fight which by all reports, he (Clottey) was clearly winning.
Margarito (33-4, 24 KOs) will now have to focus on Clottey, knowing that any setback at this point will let many of the named fighters who have been targeted by Team Margarito off the hook.
Clottey is also ranked # 4 by the WBC and # 6 by the IBF.
“It’s official, Joshua Clottey will be Antonio's next opponent, on Saturday, December 2nd,” Antonio Margarito's manager, Sergio Diaz, told Maxboxing.com on Tuesday afternoon.
“After looking at all our current options, and seeing how Floyd (Mayweather) avoided Tony at all costs, first by waiting for (Oscar) De La Hoya, then (Ricky) Hatton, (Cory) Spinks and so on, we and Top Rank decided to move forward.”
Margarito who is coming off three impressive victories in the gruesome, ear ripping late rounds stoppage over Sebastian Lujan, the destruction of Kermit Cintron, and a one round blowout of still dangerous Manuel ''*******'' Gomez, will be making his second career appearance at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, with the co-feature being WBO super lightweight champion Miguel Cotto defending his crown against TBA in the Top Rank-promoted / Showtime-televised double header.
''We opted for Clottey because he is the highest available contender that is easy to deal with, as he just recently signed with Top Rank.'' said Diaz. ''Although Paul Williams is currently the number one contender, he is asking for too much money, and he essentially outpriced himself. Paul will become Antonio's mandatory next month, and Top Rank will be have to deal with his people again and try to reach an agreement. If they don't, then the match will go to purse bid. I really don't believe Paul would want this to happen, as he might get paid less than Top Rank's initial offer. Mosley is the number two ranked fighter in the WBO. But with all the hatred between Top Rank and Golden Boy, this is a fight that probably will not happen".
"Clottey wasn't the fighter we were hoping to fight, but considering the short list of possible opponents, we felt he was the best,” continued Diaz. “We haven't had the best of luck with regards to Tony's activity in the ring or being able to get that big fight, but we have faith that 2007 will be a big year for Antonio and Top Rank.”
A tough Ghanaian, Clottey (29-1, 18 KOs), who is coming off a majority decision win over Richard Gutierrez last month, will not be a walk in the park, as his style has posed problems for everyone he has faced. His only loss is a controversial DQ against reigning WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in a fight which by all reports, he (Clottey) was clearly winning.
Margarito (33-4, 24 KOs) will now have to focus on Clottey, knowing that any setback at this point will let many of the named fighters who have been targeted by Team Margarito off the hook.
Clottey is also ranked # 4 by the WBC and # 6 by the IBF.
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