"FF: Dan we know Williams really wanted that crack at Antonio Margarito on Dec. 2nd, can you speak about that situation and why it didn’t materialize?
DG: Well it’s the mandatory fight for Margarito for his WBO title. Margarito had the choice to either fight Paul Williams or ask for a voluntary defense which he ended up doing. We know that if he’d chosen to fight Paul Williams he’d have had that higher profile opponent he was supposedly looking for.
It’s beyond me that a fighter sits there and accuses someone else of ducking him when he’s got his mandatory sitting right there staring him in the face with a man who’s been on HBO in his last two fights. If he were to beat Paul Williams it would put Antonio Margarito in a position to get bigger fights. But as long as he keeps doing what he’s doing in fighting these unknowns –like he’s doing on Dec. 2nd- it doesn’t move him forward.
FF: We’ve done several interviews with Paul Williams where he’s been calling for Margarito, so I’ve been listening to how that whole situation unfolded and the only thing I heard them say on the topic was that Williams priced himself out of being an option for Margarito’s December 2nd date. Is there any truth to that whatsoever?
DG: No. We weren’t even able to discuss it with Top Rank. They knew of our desire to fight Antonio Margarito on December 2nd and our calls were never returned.
FF: I know you just touched on this, but is it fair for Margarito to call himself the most avoided man in boxing when he’s overlooking Paul Williams like this?
DG: As I just mentioned Ace, if you’re going to call yourself the most avoided man in the business you’d better make sure you’re not avoiding anyone. There’s a difference if it’s some up and comer trying to crack the top ten calling you out the same way Margarito isn’t really deserving of calling out the top fighter himself, but Paul Williams is ranked number one and is the mandatory challenger for a long over due defense. Williams would give Margarito the opportunity to showcase his talent.
When you call yourself the most avoided man in boxing and then do everything you can –for whatever reason- to avoid your mandatory challenge, you really hurt your claim of being an avoided fighter."
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