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By Tim Smith
Miguel Cotto got his face re-arranged and had his nose re-adjusted by Antonio Margarito when they fought last July in Las Vegas.
Cotto doesn’t know whether Margarito was fighting with loaded gloves that night, but he has no sympathy for Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo.
They had their licenses revoked for one year by the California State Athletic Commission this past Tuesday for using illegal hand wraps during Margarito’s match against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 24.
Bob Arum, who promotes Cotto and Margarito, didn’t agree with the revocation against Margarito because he said the commission didn’t have any real evidence that the hand wraps were loaded.
Arum had been planning to do a rematch between Cotto and Margarito.
Now he said he will attempt to get Margarito licensed someplace else, including Mexico. Margarito was born in Tijuana, but now lives in Los Angeles.
Cotto and Arum don’t see eye-to-eye on Margarito’s punishment.
"I think if it’s up to me, we should all abide by the rule that was made,” Cotto said during a conference call Wednesday.
“He was suspended for one year, he should be suspended everywhere. He has to abide by the rules and I think if he can’t fight in the United States, he shouldn’t be able to fight at all.”
I agree with Cotto, who returns to the ring against Britain’s Michael Jennings for the WBO welterweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York on Feb. 21.
If Margarito’s license has been revoked, he shouldn’t be allowed to ply his trade anywhere. It’s supposed to be a punishment.
Arum brushed aside his difference with Cotto over Margarito’s punishment.
“Miguel is certainly entitled to his opinion,” he said. “I have expressed my opinion. I don’t say everybody has to agree with me.”
Arum said Margarito is an innocent victim of whatever scheme Capetillo was hatching.
He said Margarito didn’t know what Capetillo was doing with the hand wraps, and that the California commission doesn’t have any solid evidence because the U.S. Justice Department hasn’t tested the hand wraps to see if they contained the plaster-like substance that was allegedly on them when Mosley’s trainer ****m Richardson complained that too much tape was being applied to Margarito’s knuckles.
The Commission said the results of the test probably won’t be back until mid-March.
But because the hand wraps were wet, which is a violation of California commission rules, the revocation will stand regardless of what the Justice Department tests reveal.
Cotto isn’t buying Margarito not knowing what the trainer was doing with the hand wraps.
“All I know is when everybody gets their hands wrapped, they know what’s in them,” Cotto said.
“They know if there’s something in their hand wraps or not. As a fighter, you know if there’s something in there.”
Capetillo claims he merely reached into his training bag and pulled out a gauze padded wrap and put it on Margarito’s hands.
He said it could have been one he had used with one of his other boxers when they were sparring. He said he didn’t know.
He said it was a mistake and that he had no intention of doing anything illegal. Yeah, right.
With so much at stake against Mosley, I can’t believe that Capetillo would be so haphazard with something as vital as protecting his fighter’s hands.
It does raise an interesting question as to who is more culpable – Capetillo or Margarito.
I believe they both knew what they were doing and they both knew what the potential outcome would be.
For that they must both share the same punishment. I don’t think they should ever be allowed to box again, because their actions could have resulted in permanent damage to a boxer or worst, loss of life.
A boxing license is not a right. It’s a privilege.
And if you violate that privilege, you should have it revoked. If you do it with something as serious as tampering with the hand wraps, then you should never get a chance to exercise that privilege again.
“You go into the ring thinking you’re all playing by the same rules. This is sport, this isn’t a slaughterhouse. This is about fighting at the best of your abilities,” Cotto said.
“We should all go in the ring and be ready to fight with what we have, our own abilities and our own preparation.”
Amen, brother.
Miguel Cotto got his face re-arranged and had his nose re-adjusted by Antonio Margarito when they fought last July in Las Vegas.
Cotto doesn’t know whether Margarito was fighting with loaded gloves that night, but he has no sympathy for Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo.
They had their licenses revoked for one year by the California State Athletic Commission this past Tuesday for using illegal hand wraps during Margarito’s match against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 24.
Bob Arum, who promotes Cotto and Margarito, didn’t agree with the revocation against Margarito because he said the commission didn’t have any real evidence that the hand wraps were loaded.
Arum had been planning to do a rematch between Cotto and Margarito.
Now he said he will attempt to get Margarito licensed someplace else, including Mexico. Margarito was born in Tijuana, but now lives in Los Angeles.
Cotto and Arum don’t see eye-to-eye on Margarito’s punishment.
"I think if it’s up to me, we should all abide by the rule that was made,” Cotto said during a conference call Wednesday.
“He was suspended for one year, he should be suspended everywhere. He has to abide by the rules and I think if he can’t fight in the United States, he shouldn’t be able to fight at all.”
I agree with Cotto, who returns to the ring against Britain’s Michael Jennings for the WBO welterweight title at Madison Square Garden in New York on Feb. 21.
If Margarito’s license has been revoked, he shouldn’t be allowed to ply his trade anywhere. It’s supposed to be a punishment.
Arum brushed aside his difference with Cotto over Margarito’s punishment.
“Miguel is certainly entitled to his opinion,” he said. “I have expressed my opinion. I don’t say everybody has to agree with me.”
Arum said Margarito is an innocent victim of whatever scheme Capetillo was hatching.
He said Margarito didn’t know what Capetillo was doing with the hand wraps, and that the California commission doesn’t have any solid evidence because the U.S. Justice Department hasn’t tested the hand wraps to see if they contained the plaster-like substance that was allegedly on them when Mosley’s trainer ****m Richardson complained that too much tape was being applied to Margarito’s knuckles.
The Commission said the results of the test probably won’t be back until mid-March.
But because the hand wraps were wet, which is a violation of California commission rules, the revocation will stand regardless of what the Justice Department tests reveal.
Cotto isn’t buying Margarito not knowing what the trainer was doing with the hand wraps.
“All I know is when everybody gets their hands wrapped, they know what’s in them,” Cotto said.
“They know if there’s something in their hand wraps or not. As a fighter, you know if there’s something in there.”
Capetillo claims he merely reached into his training bag and pulled out a gauze padded wrap and put it on Margarito’s hands.
He said it could have been one he had used with one of his other boxers when they were sparring. He said he didn’t know.
He said it was a mistake and that he had no intention of doing anything illegal. Yeah, right.
With so much at stake against Mosley, I can’t believe that Capetillo would be so haphazard with something as vital as protecting his fighter’s hands.
It does raise an interesting question as to who is more culpable – Capetillo or Margarito.
I believe they both knew what they were doing and they both knew what the potential outcome would be.
For that they must both share the same punishment. I don’t think they should ever be allowed to box again, because their actions could have resulted in permanent damage to a boxer or worst, loss of life.
A boxing license is not a right. It’s a privilege.
And if you violate that privilege, you should have it revoked. If you do it with something as serious as tampering with the hand wraps, then you should never get a chance to exercise that privilege again.
“You go into the ring thinking you’re all playing by the same rules. This is sport, this isn’t a slaughterhouse. This is about fighting at the best of your abilities,” Cotto said.
“We should all go in the ring and be ready to fight with what we have, our own abilities and our own preparation.”
Amen, brother.
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