Cotto vs Margarito 2: Miguel Cotto Says He Won't Fight Outside of New York

With a hearing scheduled today in New York that will finally decide the location of Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito's December 3 HBO pay-per-view rematch, Miguel Cotto held a conference call today, speaking out for the first time since all of the licensing talk became the focal point of the event last week.

Simply put: Miguel Cotto says, point-blank, he will not fight Antonio Margarito outside of the state of New York on December 3.

Folks, this has gone supernova.

"If New York says Margarito is unable to fight because of his eye, then every commission should respect that," Cotto said.

And just to make it clear how blunt he was, the money came here: "I will not fight in another state. ... I signed this fight for New York, I am not going to fight anywhere else."

He later made it very clear by reiterating the point, which led to promoter Bob Arum abruptly ending the call, having previously tried to steer the conversation away from Cotto's "New York or Bust!" announcement.

[ Related: Denver Likely Destination Should NYSAC Say No ]

Guess that rules out the idea of going to Denver -- maybe.

Where this leaves all of this right now is, frankly, anybody's guess. Unless you have direct knowledge of what New York intends to do, this whole thing has become a massive disaster of scheduling. As of today, there's over $2.5 million in gate revenue lined up for Madison Square Garden, and we're not even discussing the real money, which is going to come from pay-per-view.

Real money would be lost here if this fight were canceled, and don't forget all the guys on the undercard who would lose out on their paydays, too.

Sure, there's a chance Miguel Cotto could be talked into Denver. Or is there? We'll know more today, but right now, this is a situation that has spiraled out of control.