Antonio Margarito and his handlers have gotten downright mean now.
Addressing the seemingly failing negotiations for de la Hoya-Pacquiao, Margarito has said again that he'd be glad to fight Oscar on December 6 at the MGM Grand. But he's starting to make it personal. Margarito's co-manager, Sergio Diaz, had this to say:
"(Oscar) can wear head-gear. Margarito can wear 14-ounce gloves. Whatever (Oscar) wants to avoid getting hurt. Margarito told me that what Oscar needs to do is take off the fishnets that he still wears underneath his clothes, step up, and become a man by accepting the fight. If he wants, he can fight with the fishnets. Whatever he wants to get the fight done."
Woof.
This is harkening back to the golden age of "The Golden Boy," when his opponents routinely questioned his manliness and machismo. Margarito is in many ways the epitome of the Mexican man's man warrior in the ring; Oscar has never been that guy.
Though I have long since grown tired and disgusted by the homophobia and gay-bashing that runs rampant in the boxing community, those real-or-not photos are not going away, and they're going to fuel the fire. They will haunt him and influence his detractors and opponents forever. Margarito is going to the depths of desperation here in hopes of landing the fight, but if Pacquiao falls through, Oscar may just not have any other options.
Apparently, Pacquiao has advised his team to start negotiating with representatives for Humberto Soto, which could come off on November 15. Hopefully Arum and Top Rank learned their lesson with Pacquiao-Diaz and the bad numbers there, and they won't press this thing onto pay-per-view.