BOB ARUM: This is the second time I have endured a typhoon in the Philippines. The first was last year when I visited Manny before he fought Miguel Cotto. It is simply the typhoon season. What is a typhoon? It is the same as a hurricane, except in Asia they call it a typhoon but to me it looks and acts the same. The winds are strong, the rains came down but the eye of the storm was about 150 miles away from where we were so all in all it wasn’t too bad. Manny, the first day I was there, looked sort of out of shape and sluggish but by the time I left he was looking like the old Manny Pacquiao. There is great spirit in that camp and everybody is pulling together for victory.
The undercard is really not an undercard, it showcases three extremely interesting fighters: Kelly Pavlik, former middleweight champion; Mike Jones, the undefeated top-rated welterweight; and of course Guillermo Rigondeaux, the undefeated Cuban sensation. As far as Rigondeaux is concerned, you couldn’t do what we are doing with any other fighter around today because Rigondeaux has had such a background in amateur boxing, winning two Gold Medals and sweeping the amateur competition he fought. When Guillermo turned pro, he as more advanced than the normal amateur. He has had six professional fights – 22-rounds — and now he’ll be fighting on November 13th, which seems to me to be incredible, to be fighting for a world title in his seventh professional fight. And not just an easy opponent, he is fighting Ricardo Cordoba, who has a record of 37 wins, two losses and 23 of those victories by knockout. And Cordoba owns a win over Caballero, so this is a very competitive fight and we wouldn’t have made it if Ronnie Shields hadn’t given us the OK and he ahs said this is the best kid he has seen in years and could fight anybody in the world. So we are proud to showcase Rigondeaux on November 13th.
RONNIE SHIELDS: Camp is going really well. Guillermo is not your ordinary fighter. A lot of guys come in and the first thing they want to do is run and jump and watch themselves and not learn the proper way to fight, but this kid takes his time and he’s not the type of kid who is going to go out right away and try to throw a million punches. This kid is the kind of guy who sets up all his shots and when I first started training him, as I do with every kid, I watch the way he had learned to fight to see what he is comfortable with. I can tell you this, this is a very tough fight for him, but I think this is a fight that Guillermo is going to knock him out. He is training extremely hard and his conditioning is perfect. If we have to go 12 rounds, he doesn’t have to worry because our conditioning coach, Brain Caldwell, has done a great job showing Guillermo different techniques that will help his conditioning. He feels great right now. Tomorrow he is sparring 10 rounds and next week it will be up to 12 rounds. If they said the fight will be tomorrow, we’d say ‘OK, let’s do it.’ There is no problem, that’s how good his condition is right now. He came into camp at 124, so he can make 122 any time he wants to. We are looking forward to a great night of boxing on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito and I think this fight here is going to be the fight that steals the show because Guillermo Rigondeaux is definitely going to knock this kid out.
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I feel really great. The camp has been going real well and I know this is a great opportunity to win a world championship. My two Gold Medals have opened this door for me so I am looking forward to winning a world championship.
If you win this title, do you feel you would be ready for Caballero?
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I feel I can fight anybody at 122. I understand that Caballero has moved on to bigger weights, but any of the champions at 122 I know I am ready for.
The last fight you didn’t look that aggressive. You just seemed happy to control the fight…
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: That is my style. I boxed him and I am a boxer. I know my style has taken me this far and that’s what I am going to do. My boxing ability along with my power will give me all the wins that I need.
Where does he fit in with the featherweights?
BOB ARUM: There are so many great fights out there especially with the bantamweights coming up like Montiel and Donaire. There are the 126 guys…Lopez and Gamboa. He fits anyplace. Ronnie Shields says he is ready to fight anybody.
RONNIE SHIELDS: He has a plan and his plan is to fight at 122, clear that out and go to 126. It doesn’t make a difference who he fights at 122 or 126. I think Guillermo has enough experience and enough power that will carry him to fight in any division that he wants to. This kid is an exceptional fighter and it doesn’t make a difference who you put in front of him. We’ll put a game plan together and we’ll send him out and I have no doubt in my mind that he can beat anybody.
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I will do either (122 or 126) and I can even go down to 118 if that’s what they want. There is a lot of emphasis on this fight and then there will be many from 118 to 126 that I can have. I would like first to clear 122 and fight all the champions and then move on to other things, but from 118 to 130…bring them on.
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX: I believe that I have been a professional for a long time. I come from a system that there are a lot of expectations of you and I had to work hard to be disciplined and that’s what they expected of me- to act like a professional. I have been a professional for a long time and I am looking forward to people being able to see me for the first time on November 13th and once that fight is on they can see for themselves and think about where I am.
Have you promoted another world title challenger with so few fights?
BOB ARUM: Leon Spinks comes to mind. He had eight professional fights when he fought Ali for the title but this is very unusual. But nobody expected Spinks to win that fight.
I don’t want this to be misconstrued but the Cuban trainers have produced better fighters than anybody else. And the Cuban Olympians are far more advanced than the Olympians from the United States or any other country. It is obvious to me that their program is far superior, at least it has been. Any other fighter who has Olympic experience we wouldn’t be putting him in his seventh professional fight, but this man is special.
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Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cowboys Stadium, MP Promotions and Tecate, PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO will take place Saturday, November 13 in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. The $1.2 billion stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Pacquiao vs. Margarito will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET /
6 p.m. PT.
Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Margarito are priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium ticket office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.
HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning all-access series “24/7” premieres an all new edition when “24/7 Pacquiao/Margarito” debuts Tonight! Saturday, Oct. 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The four-part series will air for three consecutive Saturday nights before the finale airs the night before the super welterweight championship showdown in Texas.
For Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com