Notifight reported earlier that HBO came back with a bigger offer on Friday, and now the previously propsed and shot down Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley fight could be back on for January 24. Margarito and team are said to be agreeable to the new terms.
Now, well-known scribe Robert Morales says at BoxingScene.com that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has told him that it's a done deal. Morales reports that Shane Mosley and Golden Boy have signed off on the deal, and we're only awaiting Antonio Margarito's signature now, which will come soon. Problem is, we were only awaiting Margarito's signature before, so not to say I'm doubting, buuuut...well, I'll believe it when he's signed it.
It's still a good fight, a good way to start 2009, and as much as I was OK with Mosley-Berto as a replacement, I think this is the better, bigger fight.
There is one thing I did agree with in Margarito's thought process during this whole thing, and that's that he probably deserved a bit better than a 50/50 split of the purse. He was bringing the trinket that allows Michael Buffer to say "champion of the world," and he's the guy that's going to bring in the majority of the crowd, too. Shane's never been a draw. As great a fighter as he is, he has never been a draw.
Let's hope we get a confirmation before the week is over.