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Posted by Igor Frank on 07.05.2008
Igor Frank visits with Antonio Margarito at his training camp in Southern California.
Igor Frank visits with Antonio Margarito at his training camp in Southern California.
Antonio Margarito is a legendary figure in California gym circles. His sparring sessions are very spirited to say the least: they actually feature more action than most Floyd Mayweather's real fights.
Most fights are won and lost in the gym and "The Tijuana Tornado" takes this cliché to heart. He decided to hold off on having children so that he can fully dedicate himself to his career. You have to be in great physical shape to be Antonio's sparring partner and even then you might go home with bruised ribs. Last year, Paul Williams tried to destroy Margarito's legend by saying that he hurt Tony in sparring a few years ago and was sent home right away. Whether it is true or not, I guess, we will never know, but Williams had to fight a perfect fight last summer in Carson, California to win a close decision over Margarito, who seemed a stronger man down the stretch.
This summer, the job of destroying Antonio's legend is taken by Puerto Rican superstar, Miguel Cotto, who knows it is not an easy task. Their highly anticipated match up is for all the marbles in welterweight division:
"La Batalla" is scheduled to take place on July 26th, 2008 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and will be televised by HBO Pay Per View, starting at 6:00 pm.
"I do not have to train hard for Tony'" said Cotto during Los Angeles press conference in May. I train hard for every fight."
A week ago I ran into Todd Duboeuf, president of Top Rank and asked him to pick a winner of this battle.
The response I got was: " Miguel Cotto is a very special fighter."
Less than a month away from fight time, I decided to go down to Montebello to check up on Antonio's progress and to see where he trains at Latin Snake Gym.
Antonio was skipping rope vigorously. I came over and introduced myself and then I got a second prediction.
"I will finish Cotto in four," said Margarito through his interpreter. "Put this down in your paper, if he fights, I will finish him in four and if he runs I will finish him in eight."
This was definitely worth driving to Montebello for. Now I wish I could go to Puerto Rico to check on Miguel's training camp and see what he has to say.
Most fights are won and lost in the gym and "The Tijuana Tornado" takes this cliché to heart. He decided to hold off on having children so that he can fully dedicate himself to his career. You have to be in great physical shape to be Antonio's sparring partner and even then you might go home with bruised ribs. Last year, Paul Williams tried to destroy Margarito's legend by saying that he hurt Tony in sparring a few years ago and was sent home right away. Whether it is true or not, I guess, we will never know, but Williams had to fight a perfect fight last summer in Carson, California to win a close decision over Margarito, who seemed a stronger man down the stretch.
This summer, the job of destroying Antonio's legend is taken by Puerto Rican superstar, Miguel Cotto, who knows it is not an easy task. Their highly anticipated match up is for all the marbles in welterweight division:
"La Batalla" is scheduled to take place on July 26th, 2008 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and will be televised by HBO Pay Per View, starting at 6:00 pm.
"I do not have to train hard for Tony'" said Cotto during Los Angeles press conference in May. I train hard for every fight."
A week ago I ran into Todd Duboeuf, president of Top Rank and asked him to pick a winner of this battle.
The response I got was: " Miguel Cotto is a very special fighter."
Less than a month away from fight time, I decided to go down to Montebello to check up on Antonio's progress and to see where he trains at Latin Snake Gym.
Antonio was skipping rope vigorously. I came over and introduced myself and then I got a second prediction.
"I will finish Cotto in four," said Margarito through his interpreter. "Put this down in your paper, if he fights, I will finish him in four and if he runs I will finish him in eight."
This was definitely worth driving to Montebello for. Now I wish I could go to Puerto Rico to check on Miguel's training camp and see what he has to say.
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