PRESS RELEASE: In 2006, SHOWTIME continued to live up to its billing as America’s No. 1 Boxing Network by televising the most compelling championship fights on the first Saturday of every month. The memorable 20th anniversary year of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING will conclude in sensational style on Saturday, Dec. 2, with an outstanding world championship doubleheader.

 

The telecast’s opening bout on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) will feature exciting, hard-hitting Antonio Margarito (33-4, 1 NC, 24 KOs) defending his WBO welterweight title against dangerous WBO No. 5 contender Joshua Clottey (30-1, 1 NC, 20 KOs). In the second half of the co-featured main events, Puerto Ricans Miguel Cotto (27-0, 22 KOs) and southpaw Carlos Quintana (23-0, 18 KOs) collide for the vacant WBA 147-pound crown.


ANTONIO MARGARITO
“Everything is great. I am very pleased and quite relieved. Today was a big day for me and I passed all the tests. I ran 45 minutes in the morning, and I just had a really good, hard workout.   It was my first serious run and my first true workout since I twisted my right ankle last Tuesday.

 

“During sparring, I was definitely thinking about the ankle so I did not go quite 100 percent. But I went plenty hard enough to test it and know now it is going to be fine. It is still a little tender so we taped it for support. Thank goodness, it held up great. It is hard to describe how happy I am.

 

“I am looking forward to defending my title on SHOWTIME. Clottey is tough and comes right at you. I am giving him the opportunity of a lifetime so you know it is going to be a great fight – for as long as it lasts. My weight is perfect. I will be more than 100 percent ready to go on Dec. 2.

 

“When I twisted the ankle, my first reaction was, ‘oh, NO! My fight is gone.’ But I stayed off it for three straight days. It was pretty swollen that first day, but after icing it for three days the swelling went way down. Now, you can hardly tell that I had hurt it all.

 

“Even when I was staying off my foot, I was doing upper body exercises to stay loose. So, really, my conditioning is close to where it should be. The days off did not hurt me.

 

“I plan to spar eight rounds tomorrow (Tuesday), 10 rounds on Wednesday and then 12 rounds on Thursday.

 

“There is no way I will look past Clottey. It is frustrating when you cannot get the kinds of fights you want. But I am done worrying about it. The fights will come.

 

“Right now, my total focus and concentration is on Clottey and putting on a great show on Dec. 2.’’