By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
On May 8, in Aguascalientes, Mex., former welterweight (147 pounds) titlist, Antonio Margarito, of Tijuana, will return from a more-than year-long ring exile when he competes in a 10-round, junior middleweight (154 pounds) clash against Texas toughman, Roberto "La Amenza" Garcia as the headline to Top Rank Promotion's Latin Fury 14.
The 32-year-old Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission after being dethroned as WBA super world welterweight champion following his ninth-round knockout loss to 38-year-old Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) on Jan. 24, 2009, and has been unsuccessful in attempts to regain his license with the CSAC and U.S. commissions overall.
The ring banishment of Margarito was the result of Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, discovering that the hard-punching Mexican's fist wrappings included what Richardson and Mosley's attorney, Judd Burstein, described as a plaster-like substance that was subsequently removed and confiscated prior to the fight.
Margarito claims no knowlege of the wrappings, instead blaming his trainer, Javier Capetillo, for the illegal substance in his gloves -- even amid speculation that Margarito's gloves may have been loaded against vanquished rivals such as Kermit Cintron and Miguel Cotto, whom Margarito beat savagely and bloodily before scoring knockouts.
"He's [Capetillo] the one that wrapped the hands. So he's the one who does the job," Margarito told FanHouse last month. "All that I do is put my hands out there so that he can wrap them, and that's what I did."
During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Margarito's assertion was backed up by his promoter, CEO, Bob Arum, of Top Rank, and his Los Angeles-based attorney, Dan Petrocelli, who are planning to appeal on Margarito's behalf to clear his name.
"No one's ever suggested such a thing [as long-term knowledge and use of the wrappings by Magarito,] and there's zero evidence that it has ever happened. No one brings any issue about his hand wraps," said Petrocelli.
"When you bring them [hand wraps in,] they're inspected right there. There was something wrong, and they were immediately detected on the spot," said Petrocelli. "To me, that suggests that this was an accident and not something intentional. To suggest that this has been going on for years and no one's caught it, I think that that's just sheer speculation."
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, however, Cintron disagreed.
"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."
Capetillo contended that the inserts were accidentally placed into the gloves. And since Capetillo is an independent contractor, like all trainers, Petrocelli said that it is unreasonable that Margarito should be held accountable.
"About the contracts, Capetillo wasn't an employeee of Tony. You can't be penalized because somebody did something without your knowledge or participation, let alone something as severe as taking away your right to earn a living," said Petrocelli. "That's just unconstitutional, and that's why I think that this decision is so unjust and that's why I'm so hopeful that it's going to be overturned on appeal."
Exactly what the substance was in Margarito's gloves and how it was discovered depends on whom you ask.
Richardson told FanHouse that, upon his inspection, a square-shaped block had slipped out from beneath Margarito's hand tape of his gloves, adding that one of the blocks hit the floor, making a sound similar to that of chalk hitting a hard, cement surface.
Richardson said that he reached down and scooped the block from the floor. When asked to turn the substance over to a commission member, Richardson refused, instead, summoning Burstein from ringside to allow him to inspect the material.
"In the dressing room, in front of the commission, and in front of me, and in front of all of Margarito's people, Naazim said, 'I found this,'" said Burstein. "He said 'It's plainly Plaster of Paris, and it's illegal.' He said that he found it, and nobody disputed him at the time."
Petrocelli described the wrappings as being a two-inch long, one-inch wide gauze pad "with another piece of gauze bedded inside" which he called, "the gauze insert that the inspectors thought was irregular."
"[Richardson] asked for him to start all over again with the left hand," said Petrocelli. "That's when the inspector looked at the knuckle pad, and then looked inside, and then saw this little insert and they took them out, and then they took them away."
The wrappings "were pre-made" by Capetillo, said Petrocelli, adding that the "gauze insert" had some "irregular chemical substances on them" according to the goverment's tests report, the attorney added.
"The notion that this was some small gauze thing found by the commissioners is just a lie, and the notion that Naazim had a problem in the way that the hands were being wrapped is also a lie," countered Burstein.
"Naazim saw the illegal substance, and he complained," said Burstein. "This was not a piece of gauze. It was something that had hardened already."
The blocks, Richardson believed, had been meant, over the course of the fight, to harden while also molding themselves to the shape of Margarito's fists -- much as a cast does in support of an injured arm, leg or limb.
"I preserved the chain of custody because I took [the block] right in front of them, and it was put into a box," said Burstein. "And it was taped over with my signature over the tape so that it could only be opened knowing that there had been no tampering with it."
Margarito, who fought in California more than a dozen times during his career, was unable to return to the ring for the undercard of a March 13, clash between WBO welterweight king, Manny Pacquiao, and, Joshua Clottey, at The Dallas Cowboys' Stadium for a proposed bout against Oklahoma City resident Carson Jones (26-7-1, 15 KOs).
Margarito will, instead, face the 29-year-old Garcia (28-2, 21 KOs), a native of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mex., who resides in Weslaco, Tex., and who is riding a five-year, 14-bout unbeaten streak that includes 10 knockouts.
But Arum boldly stated that he believed Margarito's next fight "will be in the United States," mentioning, last month, to FanHouse, that he hoped "to get Margarito licensed in various states, as he should be," mentioning, "Nevada, or Texas, one of those places" as possibilities.
"I believe that a lot of these commissions have very decent people on them, and I have the fundamental faith that they'll do the right thing," said Arum. "I could be wrong, but that's what I believe."
Although Capetillo's license was revoked in America, Arum confirmed that he has continued to work with fighters in other countries.
"[Capetillo] engaged in his livelihood outside of the country, and that's something that Tony, a law-abiding citizen, resfused to do. Tony gave up over a year now of his career, and he decided not to fight outside of the United States, where he could have fought," said Arum, of Margarito, who is pictured below, at right, opposite Cotto.
"That's because of his respect for the United States law and the ruling of the commission, no matter how erroneous that ruling is, and we should give him credit for doing that," said Arum. "Instead, I'm seeing a lot of stuff that really makes me sick. People who know really know little about the facts would like to sentence this guy to pergutory for the rest of his life, and that's just absolutely outrageous and wrong."
Arum said he believes that, nationwide, the Nevada State Athletic Commission rules "should be adopted, where they have the trainers supply all of the gauze, and all of the knuckle pads and so forth the night before the fight" for inspection.
"The idea in California that these knuckle pads are prepared by the trainer the night before and are then inserted into the gauze wraps really leads to what could be what happened in this case," said Arum. "It's a problem that could affect the lives of a lot of people, and that's wrong."
As for Margarito's future, should he get past Garcia, Arum said that Margarito "could be a potential opponent for Pacquiao," possibly at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium "if Margarito wants to come down to welterweight."
There is also the potential that Margarito could face the winner of a June 5 WBA junior middleweight title bout between Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) and champion, Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) to be fought at The Yankees Stadium in Foreman's residence of New York.
Arum said that he would first consider matching Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) if Mayweather defeats Mosley in their May 1 clash for Mosley's WBA crown.
"If Mayweather wins, then, obviously, if we can make a Mayweather fight, then that's the fight that we will make against Pacquiao," said Arum. "If it can't be made, then Margarito is a potential opponent for Pacquiao."
If Mosley wins, however, there is an automatic rematch clause in favor of Mayweather.
"Obviously, Pacquiao would be happy to fight Mosley if he won," said Arum, "But Mosley wouldn't immediately be in position to do the fight."
Burstein said that he at first believed that Margarito had been punished enough, but that he has since changed his mind.
"I personally had believed that Margarito had done his time, and should be permitted to fight again," said Burstein. "Now, however, in light of his representatives' absolute and undoubtedly knowing mis-representation about the true facts, he has demonstrated that he's not ready to rejoin the sport."
Source:
boxing.fanhouse.com
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