The December 3 HBO pay-per-view rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will likely head to Denver's Pepsi Center should New York choose to not license Margarito today, according to Chris Mannix.
Top Rank officials met with Pepsi Center representatives on Monday. The search for a potential new venue had come down to Denver and Phoenix, and it looks like Denver is going to be the winner if indeed the fight has to move from Madison Square Garden.
As for the licensing situation, I've heard wildly inconsistent talk about what's going to happen today.
Some believe Margarito is going to be licensed, largely due to pressure on NYSAC to keep the fight in New York. Madison Square Garden is suffering right now without the Knicks playing, as only the New York Rangers call the building home at the moment. The arena's workers would be losing a day of work without this, and the city and state would lose major revenue.
But many have said that it's all but a done deal that the fight is moving, too. Top Rank had their own doctor look at Margarito's eye yesterday morning, before Margarito met with the NYSAC-appointed doctor in the afternoon, and are saying that their doctor passed him with flying colors, but of course they'd say that. They aren't canceling the fight, so they're going to place the blame squarely on the commission if indeed he's turned down, by arguing he's healthy enough to fight according to top doctors.
And according to some top doctors -- legit top doctors -- he is, indeed, healthy enough to fight. New York is a notoriously tough commission, though, and it just may not be good enough to appease them.
I am not certain yet what time the commission will be meeting, because it isn't listed as of right now, but the hearing will be viewable online at the New York State Department web site. We'll have up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter, and then a full story as soon as the session concludes.