Antonio Margarito Vs. Sugar Shane In January

BEVERLY HILLS-Alongside the swimming pool at the plush Beverly Hills Hotel, the top administrators of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions met on Monday afternoon to discuss a few upcoming events on the horizon and to drop one new bombshell: WBA welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito will be meeting Sugar Shane Mosley early next year.

“We just have to work out the numbers with HBO,” said Top Rank’s Bob Arum.

Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy, said he would be calling HBO to find a date, probably a week before the Super Bowl on Jan. 31.

Ever since Mexico’s Margarito defeated Miguel Cotto it’s been Pomona’s Mosley who has asked the loudest to meet with the Tijuana Tornado. He’s one of only a few prizefighters eager to meet the hardnosed welterweight.

After Mosley knocked out Nicaragua’s Ricardo Mayorga with seconds remaining in the 12-round fight more than a week ago, he disappointedly told reporters that his quest to meet the feared Mexican fighter seemed like a lost cause.

“They have other plans for Margarito,” Mosley said at the Home Depot Center.

But Top Rank and Golden Boy, who have embarked on a few joint ventures and have several more coming up such as Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City in a few weeks, were able to work terms for the two welterweights to engage in a high profile match.

Previous discussions had involved Margarito facing either Joshua Clottey or Miguel Cotto early next year. But now it will be Mosley, who is considered an elite fighter and more recognizable than Clottey and able to garner bigger pay-per-view numbers on a show of this magnitude.

What happens to Clottey and Cotto?

Arum said that plans are underway to negotiate a match between IBF titleholder Clottey and another feared boxer, WBO titleholder Paul Williams, in a unification contest.

The winner between Mosley and Margarito will probably face Cotto in June, said Arum.

Margarito was present at Pechanga Resort and Casino to see his buddy Alfredo “Perro” Angulo defeat Russia’s Andrey Tsurkan. He’ll probably begin training in November for his showdown with Mosley.

Mosley will also begin preparation probably in November too. He will be training a couple of blocks from Oscar De La Hoya’s training site. Maybe they’ll be sparring together?

Other boxing chatter

Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao will hold a public press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 7 on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles to hype their upcoming fight on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas. The public event takes place at noon under the large arch that hangs over the street.

A rumor floating around has Joel Casamayor seeking to break a contract with Golden Boy Promotions so that he can fight Marco Antonio Barrera, who now fights for Don King Productions.  Golden Boy’s Schaefer said, “that fight can easily be made” by Golden Boy Promotions.

Fernando Quintero (5-0-1) meets Luis Cervantes (7-2-3) in a lightweight bout at the Irvine Marriott Hotel on Thursday, Oct. 9. For tickets and information call Roy Englebrecht Events at (949) 760-3131.

Mexico’s Humberto Soto (44-7-2) fights fellow Mexican Gamaliel Diaz (23-7-2) for the vacant WBC junior lightweight title formerly held by Manny Pacquiao. The fight takes place in Torreon, Mexico on Saturday Oct. 11. It will not be televised.

Riverside’s Anthony Villarreal (8-2) headlines the main event against Jaime Gutierrez (3-2) in a flyweight bout on Friday Oct. 17 at the Quiet Cannon Golf Club in Montebello, Calif. For tickets and information (323) 781-4871.