On Thursday afternoon, welterweight contender Antonio Margarito and lightweight champ Joel Casamayor addressed the media via conference call prior to their Nov. 10 fights in New York.
Margarito (34-5, 25 knockouts) will take on Golden Johnson (25-8-3, 18 knockouts) in a 12-round fight. Margarito, who hails from Tijuana, Mexico, hopes to land a shot at the winner of the Miguel Cotto/Shane Mosley fight sometime next year. Margarito is coming off a decision loss to Paul Williams in July. It was a fight that Williams controlled early before Margarito came on late to make the fight interesting.
On Nov. 10, he hopes to get back on the winning track to get another crack at a welterweight title. Margarito's promoter, Bob Arum, said if Margarito wins, he'll be in line to get a crack at Mosley or Cotto.
"Golden Johnson is a tough fighter," Margarito said. "He comes to you and he stands right there. This is a big fight for me. The loss to Williams was tough. I hope to fight him again sometime down the road. But I have to take care of this fight against Johnson and I hope to get Cotto or Mosley down the road."
This is a huge fight for Margarito, who didn't fight a bad fight against Williams, he was just too cautious early on. If he would have been more aggressive early on, he might have stopped Williams late in the fight. But Margarito is still a major player in the welterweight division and will be a tough opponent for any of the welterweight champions.
Of note, Arum took a shot at welterweight Floyd Mayweather, who fights Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8. Mayweather was once promoted by Arum.
"Mayweather fights guys he can beat," Arum said. "He won't fight Margarito, Mosley or Cotto. Floyd has a choice. Forget Mayweather."
Casamayor (34-3-1) has taken on some of the biggest names in boxing, including the late Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo and Acelino Frietas. On Nov. 10, he will defend his interim World Boxing Council championship against the always tough Jose Armando Cruz, who fought and won in Las Cruces on Jan. 5.
The 36-year-old Casamayor hopes to land big fights down the road against Juan Diaz or David Diaz, but he can't overlook a tough Santa Cruz, a former sparring partner.
"Jose has a good jab, he's tough, but I don't have to worry about opponents, they have to worry about me," Casamayor said. "We know each other well. I fully expect to win and I look forward to bigger fights down the road. I will show who is the best lightweight in the world."
— Felix
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