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FROM PILLAR TO POST: MARGARITO HAS PACQUIAO IN SIGHT, BUT DE LA HOYA ON HIS MIND

By Danny Howard | September 03, 2010
FROM PILLAR TO POST: MARGARITO HAS PACQUIAO IN SIGHT, BUT DE LA HOYA ON HIS MIND

"The Master of Plaster" Antonio Margarito sure has said a lot about Oscar De La Hoya in the past few days. If you didn't know that he was set to fight Manny Pacquiao next, you'd swear he was fighting the Golden Boy himself. Margarito is obviously ticked off about De La Hoya's comments that he got a light punishment and he should have be banned for life from boxing. While it's understandable that he may be upset, Margarito really should be much more concerned about his impending doom against Pacquiao in November.

What I think Margarito might be trying to do is to score two mega paydays with one stone. First, he'll collect a nice paycheck in a couple of months after Pacquiao wipes him out. Then, he'll try to goad the 37-year-old Golden Boy out of retirement for what would undoubtedly be another huge paycheck. De La Hoya hasn't said anything regarding this matter. He's virtually become a hermit since retiring and he really never has anything interesting to say to begin with. That being said, even if Margarito did look terrible against Pacquiao, a De La Hoya fight would clearly be one of the biggest fights of 2011.

Hopkins-Pascal Inbound. Hosting Network Unknown.

Bernard Hopkins is very close to agreeing to terms for a fight that would pit him against WBC Light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on December 18th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Hopkins himself said that he'll officially sign the contract before Labor Day. The initial issue at hand is if it'll actually be on the air. HBO usually schedules as few fights as possible during December and it isn't clear whether or not Showtime will have the money to meet the purse demands of the usually stubborn Hopkins.

HBO would only make an exception if Hopkins-Pascal goes to pay-per-view, which is odd since Hopkins has been a continuous ratings disaster in his pay-per-view appearances through the years. Not to mention, Pascal doesn't even have enough exposure to sell the fight on the paid circuit. Don't put it past HBO to do that, however. After all, they are bankrolled by Golden Boy Promotions until at least 2011, and are incredibly easy to satisfy when it comes to pay-per-view buyrates, especially considering that Marquez-Diaz II only pulled in between 100-200K.

I wonder what Gary Shaw, promoter of ex-light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson, who has been calling out Hopkins for nearly three years, is thinking right now considering that Pascal vs. Hopkins was made with ease and no resistance from Golden Boy Promotions or Hopkins, whereas both claimed no network would be interested in Dawson vs. Hopkins following the Jones debacle.

Tarver Set For Heavyweight Debut On October 15th.

When Antonio Tarver was soundly outpointed by Dawson in their second go round last year, it looked like it was the end for boxing's biggest one-hit wonder. Now, it looks like boxing still has room for the delusional, as Tarver prepares for his Heavyweight debut against Nagy Aguilera next month. Tarver, 42, is best known for knocking out Roy Jones Jr. in the second round of their first rematch. It was a KO so devastating hat it sent Jones into a downward spiral that ultimately ruined his career. Tarver's next memorable appearance? Getting spanked for 12 rounds by Hopkins in a fight where Tarver was a big favorite.

While Aguilera probably won't amount to much in his career, he should be able to spring the upset, seeing as how Tarver hasn't fought in almost a year and a half, is way past his prime, will be terribly undersized at Heavyweight, and hasn't shown the same hand-speed and footwork that made him champion. His intentions are clearly to win the Heavyweight crown, but I'm sure he'll have to seriously reconsider that goal if he's going to perform as bad as I think he is.

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