30.01.07 – By Michael Marley/Boxingconfidential.com: Bob Arum was on his way to the dentist in Las Vegas when I drilled him with the news that Oscar De la Hoya had just announced on a media conference call that his trainer for the May 5 Superfight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be the ubiquitous Freddie Roach. “He cannot train both Manny (Pacquaio) and Oscar,” Arum said. “It’s impossible. Manny fights April 28 in Macau and Oscar on May 5 in Vegas. It’s an unworkable, impossible situation and I will speak to Manny about this right away.” ..
Now I don’t want to say that the Top Rank bossman was licking his chops for dental action but he seemed to relish the thought of ridding himself and Team Pacquaio of the trainer. It was Roach who all but handed Pacman the pen to sign a promotional contract with Oscar’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“Surprise, surprise, which means no surprise about Oscar and Roach,” Arum told me. “But Roach is an idiot and he makes himself look like an idiot because he shot his mouth off in the Philippines about how we would only train Manny. He said clearly that he would not also train Oscar.”
Arum said he was likely flying soon to Macau where he, Pacman and Manny’s Korean opponent would formally announce their April 28 fight at Steve Wynn’s luxurious hotel-casino.
Switching gears, Arum said that, while he can believe that Antonio Margarito told my sidekick and ace reporter Ricardo Lois that he “will fight either Paul Williams or Miguel Cotto” depending on which fight gets him “the most money,” there will be a June 9 Madison Square Garden showdown between Cotto and Margarito.
“I can understand Antonio making that remark,” Arum said. “But Cotto-Margarito is a done deal. Forget the WBO purse bid because it means nothing. Antonio will make more money, a lot more money, by fighting Cotto in the Garden. If Cotto beats Urkal March 3 in Puerto Rico, then it will be Margarito-Cotto June 9 in New York.