Believe it or not, it could be:

Notifight reported earlier that HBO came back with a bigger offer on Friday, and now the previously propsed and shot down Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley fight could be back on for January 24. Margarito and team are said to be agreeable to the new terms.

Now, well-known scribe Robert Morales says at BoxingScene.com that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has told him that it's a done deal. Morales reports that Shane Mosley and Golden Boy have signed off on the deal, and we're only awaiting Antonio Margarito's signature now, which will come soon. Problem is, we were only awaiting Margarito's signature before, so not to say I'm doubting, buuuut...well, I'll believe it when he's signed it.

I know I was lambasted for suggesting Affliction had no chance to compete with the UFC after their inaugural event, but I seem to notice more and more folks finding that position not so wild after all. Admittedly, my first concerns centered on the specifics of the Affliction MMA product and how exclusively it catered to a narrow demographic. Yet, when we factor those concerns with the structural impediments like the potential problem described above, the economic recession, the position between two major UFC PPV cards, lack of fan awareness, brand identity related to MMA, etc. is there anyone who would like to tell me that the UFC really has a competitor on their hands? And that question is extended to some of the veteran MMA journalists who cosigned on that buffoonery.