If Antonio Margarito
defeats Roberto "La Amenza" Garcia in Saturday night's 10-round, junior middleweight (154 pounds) clash at La Feria de San Marcos , in Aguascalientes, Mex., the 32-year-old fighter will open himself up to a plethora of career options.At least three of them involve fighters who are his promotional stablemates under Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions.
Arum has said that Margarito "could be a potential opponent for" seven-division titlist, Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), "if Margarito wants to come down to welterweight," possibly at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium, where Pacquiao debuted boxing with a March 13, unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) before 51,000 fans.
There is also the potential for Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) to face the winner of a June 5 WBA junior middleweight title bout between former three-time world champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) and champion, Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) to be fought at the new Yankees Stadium in New York.
Another potential bout involves a rematch with Lou DiBella-promoted, southpaw WBC junior middleweight king, Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), whom Margarito knocked out in the seventh round in February of 2000.
Martinez is coming off of last month's unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), whom he dethroned as WBO and WBC middleweight (160 pounds) champion.Before losing by disputed majority decision to three-time titlist, Paul Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) in December, Martinez had gone 28-0-1, with 18 knockouts since the loss to Margarito.
"I have been working in the gym for over one year, but it is not the same as getting into the ring and fighting before a crowd, and without headgear," said Margarito, who will headline Top Rank Promotion's Latin Fury 14. "Saturday night can't come soon enough for me."
That's because it has been more than a year since Margarito has been in the ring, having been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission after a January, 2009, ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley dethroned him as WBA champion.
Margarito's ring exile resulted from Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson's discovery that the Mexican's fist wrappings included a plaster-like substance that was subsequently removed and confiscated prior to the fight.
A native of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mex., who resides in Weslaco, Tex., Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs) is riding a five-year, 14-bout unbeaten streak that includes 10 knockouts.
"This is a big fight. which is why I left my home in Texas to work with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card in Hollywood, California. I had six great weeks of hard training and unbelievable sparring," said the 30-year-old Garcia.
"Freddie had me in the ring with Alfredo Angulo and other great fighters," said Garcia. "I am ready to get it on in the big bullring in Aguascalientes and play matador to Margarito."
During a recent video interview with Elie Seckback of FanHouse, Garcia, stood next to co-trainer, Eric Brown, held up his bare right fist and extended it toward the camera.
"You see these? These rocks are natural. You see? There's a difference," said Garcia, who has stopped his past four opponents. "These ain't Plaster of Paris. They're natural. They don't need to be loaded."
Margarito claims no knowlege of the illegal wrappings, instead blaming his trainer, Javier Capetillo, for the substance in his gloves.
Still, there is speculation that Margarito's gloves may have been loaded against vanquished rivals such as Cotto, and, Kermit Cintron, whom Margarito savagely and bloodily defeated before scoring knockouts. Margarito stopped Cintron twice.
"I think he had stuff in his gloves, but that's just my opinion," said Cintron, who was stopped by Margarito in April of 2005, and, 2008, in five, and, six rounds. "You look at those losses, and I don't know how it happened. You guys saw what he did before they caught him."
Margarito has been unable to successfully regain his license with the CSAC, whose verdict has been supported by U.S. commissions in general -- hence, his fighting in Mexico.
"I've always had the strength to hit as hard as I do, and I'm just ready," Margarito told Elie Seckback. "I want to prove everybody wrong, without anything in my hands."
Margarito received at least one vote in his favor concerning speculation as to whether or not his gloves were loaded during his July, 2008, 11th-round knockout of Cotto, whom he dethroned as WBA welterweight king after beating him bloody over the course of their bout.
That assertion came from none other than Keith Kizer, director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission which oversaw Margarito-Cotto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"I know that he wasn't rigged during the Cotto fight because we had our inspectors check him out and everything, as did Cotto's people. He was fully checked out. One of our referees, Jay Nady, was back there, we had our inspectors back there. Cotto's guy was back there. They all checked him out and everything was fine," said Kizer of Margarito, whose very next fight was against Mosley.
"They felt the hand wraps and everything, and we have an inspector who I've seen check the hand wraps before, and he checks them out thoroughly," said Kizer. "He watched the hand wraps that night. If you don't have experienced inspectors, you can probably slip something through."
Speaking while attending a press conference promoting last Saturday unanimous decision by Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts) over Mosley, Kizer said he would, nevertheless, proceed with caution before granting Margarito a license to fight in Las Vegas.
"I would not feel comfortable at this point simply granting Margarito a license to fight here in Nevada," said Kizer, adding that he would consider doing so only after Margarito endured a hearing before the commission chairman and a panel that would thoroughly review his case.
"I would have some questions that he would need to answer from me," said Kizer. "And if he doesn't answer them truthfully, then I would recommend not granting a license to him."
Regardless, Garcia's manager, Julio Marines, is confident that his man will emerge victorious.
"Margarito has been off too long and is not going to win this one. Look at what happened to Shane Mosley - off way too long. In fact. Margarito has been off as long as Mosley, and Mosley paid the price," said Marines of Mosley, who ended a 16-month ring absence against Mayweather.
"Sorry, but that's what will happen to Margarito too," said Marines. "Ring rust, that kind of stuff. I know in my heart RobertoGarcia will win on Saturday night."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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