Los Angeles, CA (August 5, 2008) – Could there be a “Pride and Punishment II” in the near future? That is the question promoter Bob Arum and his promotional firm Top Rank must ponder following a written offer presented to them by Goossen Tutor Promotions’ Dan Goossen last week following Antonio Margarito’s destruction of unbeaten Miguel Cotto in capturing the WBA Welterweight Title by an 11th round TKO..

Last July, the prideful Mexican hero – ignoring conventional wisdom of accepting a million dollar plus fight with then WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto – risked his WBO Welterweight Title against mandatory challenger, the dangerous Paul “The Punisher” Williams (34-1, 25 KOs). In what was an epic toe-to-toe battle in front of a sold out Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the gallant Mexican lost a close but unanimous decision – and his title – to Williams, a native of Aiken, South Carolina.

“The offer to Top Rank for the Williams-Margarito rematch is quite simple,” Goossen said. Goossen Tutor would guarantee $4,000,000 to Top Rank/Margarito against a 50% split of net revenues. This is a major fight for our sport and one that would draw tremendous fan and media interest.”

“Williams shows his confidence in being the “most feared fighter in the World” today by his willingness to fight the man he beat a little over a year ago. There’s nothing for Williams’ to prove against Margarito, he already did that on July 14, 2007 in the ring. But Paul is always about the biggest and most compelling fights. It’s Margarito’s turn this time to do his best to change the verdict and Paul is saying ‘you gave me the chance, and now I’ll be happy to give you the same opportunity.’”

“When Margarito said he wanted a rematch right after our fight on July 14th, I said I was happy to give him one, so of course I’d be just as happy to give him a rematch in November,” Williams stated.

When asked about the possibility of the rematch not happening, Williams said, “His promoter knows that if me and Margarito get in the ring again, I would win. They know I know how to fight him and I’m as tough. Of course he has a chance to upset me, but the chance is slim.”

Ever since that war on that hot 2007 summer night in which Williams defeated Margarito by outworking and outlanding him with a constant onslaught of head and body shots, fans of both champions have been clamoring for an encore of what in many eyes was the 2007 “Fight of the Year.”

“I’m sure Margarito’s fans want to see him redeem himself against Williams,” observed Goossen, “and I know fans of Paul Williams want to see him put Margarito in his place again while unifying the WBO and WBA welterweight titles.

“For this fight it’s winner take all in my eyes. Our sport thrives with compelling fights and it’s hard to imagine that their second fight would be better than the first but I believe it would break all records for actual number of big time punches thrown in a fight,” Goossen said.

If the rematch isn’t made, Williams plans to continue toward every conceivable meaningful challenge toward greatness.

“I’m top heavy, so it’s easy for me to get down to 147 when I start training. I walk around about 160 so I can go up and down between 147 and 168,” Williams said. “I just want to fight. I want to fight people who are on the same level with me or on a higher level than me in their mind. That’s what boxing is all about, risk. My fans always tell me they love that about me.”

Added George Peterson, Williams’ trainer, “These guys are afraid of Paul, even the middleweights, but it makes no sense with the money they can make fighting him they still have to be dragged into the ring … the boxing fans want to see good fights and we’ll do our part to take on the riskiest fights presented to us. When I think about it, if I put myself in that situation of having to fight Paul, I probably wouldn’t want to fight Paul Williams’ either,” he chuckled.

“SHO Sports Presents” Features A Spectacular August Line Up

NEW YORK (August 5, 2008) – SHO Sports Presents, a nightly series featuring replays of thrilling SHOWTIME Sports telecasts from the network’s vast arsenal, will feature an incredible month of fights and features in August. (see full schedule attached).

SHO Sports Presents airs every weeknight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME® 2 and includes event telecasts from the flagship franchise SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, the newest sports television phenomenon EliteXC, as well as both prospect-oriented series ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series and the acclaimed ShoBox: The New Generation.

SHO Sports Presents highlights for August include:

* You don’t have to wait for the heavyweight showdown between Sam Peter and Vitali Klitschko on Oct. 11 to see the “Nigerian Nightmare” in action. Tune in on Aug. 28 to see the wild fight between Peter and Jameel McCline that Peter won despite being knocked down three times in two rounds.

* Tune in for highlights of two of the best light heavyweights in the world, Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson. Tarver and Dawson have been on a collision course for the past year while the two have dominated opponents in the light heavyweight division. To preview their highly anticipated showdown, also on Oct. 11, SHO Sports Presents will air championship battles featuring Tarver vs. Clinton Woods/Dawson vs. Glen Johnson on Aug. 27 (9:30 p.m. start time), among others.

* The explosive rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith for the EliteXC middleweight title originally aired live on CBS. Catch the encore on SHO2 August 14.

* Some of MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock’s most recent bouts will be featured throughout August. See Shamrock dismantle Phil Baroni on Aug. 12 (9:45 p.m. start time) followed by his instant classic battle with Cung Le the next night (9:50 p.m. start time). Plus, the inaugural EliteXC event and SHOWTIME debut from Feb. 2007 featuring Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie will air on Aug. 29 (9:30 p.m. start time).

* Don’t miss the tribute to one of boxing’s best trilogies between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Vazquez-Marquez: The Trilogy will re-air Monday, Aug. 25

SHOWTIME® 2 is the network’s primary multiplex channel.

SHO Sports Presents has been airing weeknights since Nov. 3, 2007, when it premiered with a replay of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Rocky Juarez vs. Jason Pires from Feb. 1, 2003.

About SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING

In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler defeated John “The Beast” Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport’s long history.

About ShoBox: The New Generation

Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young, talented fighters matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise crowd-pleasing and competitive fights while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Rick Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero and Kelly Pavlik.

About EliteXC

ProElite Inc., the parent company of EliteXC, delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, network television programming on CBS Television Network, cable television programming on Showtime Networks Inc., and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA on the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem, all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters.

For the complete July schedule of SHO Sports Presents see attached. For more information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video, photo galleries and complete telecast information, please visit http://www.SHO.com/Sports.