For now vendetta's get in the way of Margarito-Williams II

By Robert Morales

From a practical standpoint, even Paul Williams admitted that no one can blame fellow welterweight world champion Antonio Margarito for wanting to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Anyone who steps into the ring with De La Hoya makes his biggest payday.

"Business-wise, I understand that," Williams said.

But Williams said that doesn't mean Margarito-De La Hoya would be a better fight than one between he and Margarito.

"It's not a good fight," he said, referring to a possible, yet improbable, Margarito-De La Hoya fight. "Everybody knows Oscar puts on a good fight, but he fades late. But with me, we going to fight the whole 12 rounds."

In short, Williams said Tuesday, he would like to see the two best welterweights in the world square off to see who indeed is the top dog in the division. To him and many experts, that would be he and Margarito, who is coming off an 11th-round technical knockout of Miguel Cotto on July 26.

"We the two biggest names out there at 147 since Floyd Mayweather left, so why can't we fight to see who the best is?" Williams said.

Alas, there is one big obstacle getting in the way of a $4 million offer made by Team Williams to Team Margarito for a rematch of their July 2007 fight won by Williams via decision. And it's not De La Hoya, who appears headed toward a farewell fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Representatives of those respective fighters - meaning Richard Schaefer of De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and Bob Arum (who promotes Pacquiao) of Top Rank Inc. - are scheduled to meet today to try and make De La Hoya-Pacquiao a done deal for Dec. 6. The chances of that fight being made are good, meaning Margarito is free to try and avenge his loss to Williams.

But Arum - who also promotes Margarito - and Team Williams recently went through unsuccessful negotiations for a Kelly Pavlik-Williams fight that left Arum with a sour taste in his mouth. And late Tuesday night, Arum said that taste still exists and that he will not do business with the Williams camp again.

First things first. Arum, who promotes Pavlik as well, told this reporter after a hoped-for Pavlik-Williams accord blew up that in his mind Williams and his team never had any intention of fighting Pavlik.

"I think my chain was being jerked the whole time," Arum said last month. "And I'll remember that if they ever want to fight Cotto or Margarito, whoever wins that fight ... because no one is going to jerk my chain like they did. When you agree to everything that they ask for and then they don't want the fight, you have to believe that your chain was jerked."

Arum and Williams' promoter, Dan Goossen, each had his different side of the story as to why Pavlik-Williams fell apart. Arum said he offered the Williams camp all it wanted, but Goossen at the time said that was not the case, that Team Williams wanted $2.5 million and was initially offered $1.5 million. Goossen said during a press luncheon Tuesday at a Los Angeles-area restaurant that the sides ended up about $250,000 apart.

Williams is managed by George Peterson and advised by Al Haymon. Peterson was on deck at Sisley Italian Kitchen on Tuesday, and he said there was an additional reason why Pavlik-Williams did not get made.

"They realized Paul was a threat to (Pavlik) and they were looking for a way out," Peterson said, putting the blame on Team Pavlik.

Well, guess what? Unless Arum has a big change of heart, Margarito-Williams II is not going to happen. Hours after Tuesday's gathering at the aforementioned restaurant, Arum returned a phone call. He said he sent a letter to Goossen later Tuesday afternoon letting him know that he has no intention of making this fight because of what transpired during the Pavlik-Williams parley.

"Absolutely not," Arum said. "I wrote a letter today telling him I will not be involved with the Williams camp after the way they jerked me around and screwed around for two weeks. I will never forget that. A Margarito-Williams fight will never happen."

Arum, however, was quick to add that he does not hold Goossen accountable for what went on during the Pavlik-Williams talks.

"I don't blame Goossen," Arum said. "He is the puppet, he is not the puppeteer. Goossen got played, too."

Arum was asked if he was saying that Haymon was the "puppeteer."

"That's what I'm implying," Arum said.

Well, that blows all to heck what Goossen said earlier Tuesday during a festive event. Goossen said that promoters should not let personal vendettas prevent them from making fights the public wants to see. And he's right when he says the public would want to see a rematch between Margarito and Williams, especially if it can't get Margarito-De La Hoya.
Of course, Goossen knew that Arum had hard feelings stemming from the Pavlik-Williams fiasco. What he didn't know at this time was that Arum was drafing the letter that would, at least for now, crush Margarito-Williams II.

"I'm sure there is," said Goossen, when asked if there was an issue with Arum's indignation. "But that issue, there is no issue. What, is George Steinbrenner not going to play the L.A. Dodgers because the Dodgers' GM signed somebody George Steinbrenner wanted?"

In other words, Goossen said, this is not about Arum being peeved at Williams' people, it's about giving the public the best fight available in the welterweight division.

It would be three-time champion Margarito against two-time champion Williams. Both have come back to redeem themselves - Margarito from Williams and Williams from Carlos Quintana - and they are inarguably the two best in the division. Mix in Williams' victory over Margarito 13 months ago, and the ingredients are there for a terrific event.

It shouldn't matter, Goossen said, "that he doesn't like me or Al. I just offered him four million reasons why he should love us."

Well, Arum has enough money, so he can tell Team Williams where to put that $4 million. Apparently, that's what he's doing.