By Rick Reeno
On Wednesday afternoon, former three time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito appeared for a licensing hearing before the California State Athletic Commission. Margarito was attempting to get approval for a license to box in the state of California.
Margarito is scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13, with Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas as the venue of choice. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Margarito, has been assured that his fighter will be licensed in the state of Texas, regardless of the ruling by the state of California.
Last February, Margarito's license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission for a period of one year. The CSAC found Margarito liable for the use of illegal hands wraps. Prior to his fight with Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009, two hard inserts containing a plaster-like substance were discovered in Margarito's wraps.
Margarito's ability to apply for a new license began on February 11. He unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada. The athletic commission in Nevada ruled that he must re-apply in California and have his case re-tried there before attempting to fight in Las Vegas.
"Has he shown remorse?" "Have you ever issued a public apology to boxing?" "Has he admitted to any wrongdoing?" "What has he done?" Those were some of the questions raised by Karen Chappelle, the state attorney general. Chappelle would later establish that in preparation for his May comeback in Mexico, Margarito had illegally sparred in the state of California - because he was never issued a permit to spar in the state.
Daniel M. Petrocelli, the head counsel for Margarito's legal team, countered Chappelle, and said the "permit rule" for sparring was barely followed by any fighter in the entire state. Petrocelli's position was backed by commission chairman, John Frierson, who said he did not believe that even "10 boxers" in California knew of the sparring permit rule.
Petrocelli focused on several points to establish an argument that Margarito was deserving of a new license. He placed much of the blame on Margarito's former trainer, Javier Capetillo. Margarito has long claimed that Capetillo had secretly placed the inserts in the wraps.
Some of those points included:
1. Margarito severed all ties with ex-trainer Capetillo
2. Margarito hired new trainer Robert Garcia
3. Since the start of his pro career, Margarito had a clean record without any issues [until the Mosley incident].
4. Neither Garcia, or any member of the team, are allowed to make knuckle pads without Margarito being present and watching the entire process.
5. Margarito sat out for the full one year period while his license was revoked. And during that period he turned down several lucrative offers to box in Mexico.
6. Several trainers, including Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson, said they are capable of slipping inserts in the wraps of a fighter without the actual fighter detecting the inserts.
In his own defense, Margarito said "anything that is in the wraps that is illegal would be cheating and an unfair advantage. I did not know [about the illegal wrappings]. I'm not arguing with you. I'm being completely honest with all of you. That's why I broke my relationship with Capetillo. It was hard to do, but that's what had to be done."
Chappelle made a plea, asking the commission to deny Margarito's request because the "petitioner has been given every chance to come clean" and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Petrocelli once again countered. He said Magarito had already stated during the CSAC's hearing in February 2009, that he didn't know anything - and by forcing Margarito to change his story in order to get a license, Petrocelli says the fighter would be forced to commit perjury.
While the commission members found Margarito to be sincere, they didn't see enough evidence of his rehabilitation to merit the issuance of a new license. As a result, the commission denied Margarito's request for a license to box in the state of California. The commission voted 5-1 in favor of the denial. Margarito can re-apply in a year.