Antonio Margarito Applies For California License

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada State Athletic Commission director Keith Kizer told FanHouse on Thursday that he has been informed by Top Rank Promotions' CEO Bob Arum that banned boxer Antonio Margarito has applied to have his license reinstated by the California State Athletic Commission, which revoked it following a hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009.

The 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) is attempting to face WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champion Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title at a catch weight of 150 pounds, a move that would allow Pacquiao to pursue a record eighth crown in as many different weight classes.

But since his exile by the CSAC's is honored by most state athletic commissions, Margarito, whose year-long suspension ended on Feb. 11, has been unable to fight in America, even as Arum has been encouraged by sentiment from states such as New Jersey, Washington and Texas that their organizations will license Margarito.

Although Arum had been also considering Monterrey, Mexico, as well as an offer from Abu Dhabi, if Margarito fails to be licensed in the United States, he told FanHouse on Thursday, "Right now, we're hoping to do it in the United States."

Arum said that the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), a highly recognized record-keeping organization that binds all of America's various boxing commissions, "has empowered state commissions to license Margarito," adding, "they're not telling them to, but they have given them the power to."

"They've [ABC] asked California to do his hearing on an expedited basis," said Arum.

Earlier this month, Margarito applied for a license in Nevada, whose commission ruled that Margarito must reapply in California -- regardless of the result -- and then, return to NSAC for consideration.

During an interview from the Mandalay Bay Hotel while attending Thursday's undercard press conference for Saturday night's lightweight (135 pounds) Golden Boy Promotions' clash between WBO and WBA champ Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, Kizer said that he was informed that the CSAC has agreed to hear Margarito's appeal in August.

"I got a letter from David Marroso, Antonio Margarito's attorney, that he applied for a license in California [Wednesday]. He actually sent me a copy of that letter that he sent to California as well as a letter to me saying that he applied in California, although they still did not think that it was the right move for them, because they don't want to fight in California," said Kizer,

"But they did it anyway as a show of good faith. I heard from Bob Arum today that California is supposed to be having a hearing on Margarito sometime in mid-to-late August. As you know, we also have our own meeting on Aug. 9. I don't know if that will affect his status or not," said Kizer. "That's up to our five commissioners [on the Nevada review board]. But they've at least done that first part, which is that they have applied to California. How that will affect the Nevada Commissions proceedings, we'll have to wait and see."

Prior to his ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009, Margarito was discovered to have a plaster-like substance in his hand-wrappings that was removed and confiscated before the bout.

Margarito has denied knowledge of what was in his wrappings, instead blaming his long-since-fired trainer, Javier Capetillo, who does the wrappings.

Margarito returned to the ring for May's unanimous decision victory over Roberto Garcia that was fought in Mexico, which licensed Margarito for the bout.

Also, Kizer revealed the purses for Saturday night's top four pay-per-view bouts, starting with Marquez's $1 million and Diaz's $540,00. The co-main event features a WBO middleweight (160) bout between Daniel Jacobs and Dmitry Pirog, with Jacobs receiving $200,000. The amount of Pirog's purse was unknown.

In a 10-round bout, junior welterweights (140 pounds) Robert Guerrero and Joel Casamayor will receive $75,000 and $50,000, respectively, while lightweights Rocky Juarez and Jorge Linares will take home $45,000 and $30,000.