The 32-year-old Margarito (38-7, 27 knockouts) fought Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt, which Pacquiao has since vacated even as he defends his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title against Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) on May 7 in a Showtime pay per view televised bout that is being promoted by Top Rank Promotions.
Last Friday, Margarito was at the Mandalay Bay Hotel during the weigh in for last Saturday's HBO televised bout featuring WBA interim super flyweight (115 pounds) titlist, Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts), of the Philippines, scoring a second-round knockout over WBO and WBC king, Fernando Montiel (44-3-2, 34 KOs), of Mexico, to earn Montiel's belts.
Margarito said that he already is in training for a potential June bout opposite WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs), assuming Cotto gets beyond a March 12, Showtime pay per view televised encounter with former world champion Ricardo Mayorga (29-7-1, 22 KOs).
Margarito dethroned Cotto as WBA welterweight king with an 11th-round knockout in July of 2008.
FanHouse: What is your prognosis of recovery from your injury?
Antonio Margarito: Well, thanks to God, everything has gone well. We have an appointment again next month with the doctors, and they will tell me more.
But so far, things are progressing very well.
FanHouse: What have you been able to do to begin to get into shape once again?
Since January 5, when the doctors cleared me to start working out, that's when I started. The only thing that I'm not doing is sparring. I'm doing everything else.
Running, push ups, sit ups, hitting the bags, and I'm doing that on my own. Sparring is the only thing that I haven't been doing.
When do you expect to be able to begin sparring?
We have an appointment for another examination next month, and, hopefully, by then, the doctor will give me the green light to begin sparring.
Can you clear the air for your fans and the media and the critics concerning whether or not you thought that your fight with Manny Pacquiao should have been stopped as a result of the damage that you were absorbing?
We wanted to finish on our feet. Every minute during the break between rounds, [trainer] Robert Garcia would ask me how I felt. My answer was always, 'I feel great.'
There was no reason to stop the fight. We always knew that one punch could make the difference and maybe turn the tide and the momentum of the fight.
We were looking to land that punch in the fight, but, unfortunately, we were never able to land that momentum-changing punch.
How did that fourth-round punch that opened the cut beneath your right eye affect the course of the fight?
That's what changed the fight. That punch. The uppercut from Manny Pacquiao in the fourth round is what changed the fight. Up until then, I thought we were fighting the right strategy.
We were going to break him down. But that punch changed everything. After that, all that I could see was blurry.
Why weren't you able to capitalize on that sixth-round body shot that hurt Manny Pacquiao?
I tried, but the bell ran. Plus, Manny Pacquiao is just an excellent fighter and he was able to maneuver away from me. I would have kept on trying if we had more time.
But the bell rang, so there was nothing that I could do.
What was said when Manny Pacquiao came to your dressing room after the fight?
Manny just came into the dressing room and gave me a nice hug we told each other that we both put forth a great effort in a great fight and that we should both be very proud.
When do you expect to be back in the ring and when do you want to fight Miguel Cotto?
When I get the green like from the doctor. But I think that Bob Arum is already talking about a rematch against Miguel Cotto. That's a fight that [Top Rank Promotions CEO] Bob Arum already has mentioned.
I would love to have that fight, but we have to get cleared by the doctor.
Do you anticipate taking a tuneup bout or do you want to go straight into a rematch with Miguel Cotto?
It all depends on Bob Arum. If Bob Arum feels that we might benefit from a tuneup and that we have enough time to do a fight in between the Cotto-Mayorga fight and my fight with Cotto, then we can do it.
But if not, then we'll go straight to Miguel Cotto. If it was my choice, then I would go straight into the Miguel Cotto fight. I would love to go right into that fight, probably in June.
What is your relationship with your trainer, Robert Garcia?
I am very happy with him. He's a very good friend and a great trainer.
How long will you continue fighting?
I'm going to allow my body to tell me when enough is enough. I think that if, when I fight Cotto, my body tells me that's enough, then that will be end.
But if I feel strong and I feel healthy during and after the fight, then I will continue fighting. I will continue in this game until my body tells me that that is enough.
When you say, 'Enough,' how do you mean that the state of having had 'Enough' will manifest itself?
Right now, my body responds well to hard training and it responds to all of the things that I do in the gym. The simple fact is, in my last fight, I lost to Manny Pacquiao.
Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter, but it was just another loss. I feel that I'm healthy enough to keep fighting right now, and that I can come back and do it again.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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