Miguel Cotto Says "Margarito Should Be Banned For Life"

[aztecadq]

Tito just had extra tape not a foreign object or illegal substance. That's why he wasn't banned. You can believe Papa Trinidad's explanation that it was to protect Tito's hands. What explanation can Capetillo give other than: "Both me and Tony are scumbags that will disregard people's safety just to get a win".

Nonetheless, Tito still tried to cheat. Tito didn't even want to rewrap his gloves. The irony in all of this is many people are basing Margarito's controversy on Cotto's fight and his past fights ( meaning the damage he inflicted and fighters never being the same ) Look at what Tito did to Reid, Joppy, Vargas- fighters never the same after they fight with Tito. OUT OF SIGHT- OUT OF MIND. My opinon is ( and don't kill me for it boxing fans ) Tito
is a CHEATER, maybe not as severe as Margarito, nonetheless a CHEATER NEVER EXPLOITED. Sorry to get off the subject , I just wanted to give my take on that.

On the Cotto situation, I have wrote in the past about Cotto. I knew he was at the boiling point. This public outburst is just his feelings taking over. I agree he should be mad and obviously is free to voice his opinion. He is right in that Margarito's career will forever be tarnished by this whole controversy. Margarito made a big mistake. And it might cost him his career. However, the truth we will never know. And the decision is - IT'S A DRAW !!!!

[Doc Holliday]

I think you must have misunderstood what I meant when I said I was using an analogy to illustrate a principle. By principle I meant a logical principle, not a matter of principle. The logical principle that I was illustrating was simply that historically, sportsman who have attempted, but failed, to cheat have been banned.

Nothing has ever been proven in the case of Tito, other than the fact that his wraps were wrapped incorrectly. It has never been proven that the fact that his wraps were wrapped incorrectly gave him any advantage or endangered his opponent. Fisher made that claim but it was never proved.

Resto and Mpofu were banned for life and Margarito was suspended, and a lot of boxing experts (not just me) seem to think he'll never get his licence back. Also, a lot of boxers have been banned because they failed medical tests, e.g. see here.

Boxing tends to be lenient on drug cheats but much stronger on anything they think could potentially endanger life, as long as it's proven - and proven use of plaster falls into that category.

Finally, Olympic athletes do make a lot of money for sponsors, agents, and national federations, although obviously not as much as professional boxers do. Marion Jones made a huge amount of sponsorship money, for example.

No, I understood the logic of your argument, but I'm saying it doesn't apply to Margarito, or even boxing, since you're using amateur athletes and steroid use to prove your point. I'm saying professional athletes usually only get suspended for steroid use and not banned for life, but that still doesn't apply to Margarito's situation. The question is whether Margarito will get a lifetime ban for what happened before the Mosley fight.

You're also using the Resto case and comparing it to Margarito's, which an extreme example. Margarito didn't go into the ring with plaster casts on his fists and the padding removed from his gloves. He had "small, thin pads treated with elements of plaster" on his knuckles, which were removed before the fight, and the fight was allowed to continue. I'm not condoning what team Margarito did, just stating the differences.

The point I'm trying to make is that Margarito could still return because he can still make big money for a lot of people. He headlined the fight with Mosley and you can arguably say that he filled the Staples Center, which had never been done before. Bob Arum is a business man before anything else. Would he invest in a team of high-powered lawyers to try and bring Margarito back if he didn't think he had a good chance of getting a return on that investment?

Finally, you're actually proving my point by defending Trinidad the way you do. I understand that there was no investigation and nothing was proved in his case. (Possibly because he retired after that fight anyway, so a suspension would've been moot?) Still, you admitted that his wraps were illegal (which is cheating), yet you continue to support him as a fighter. It is this type of rationalization that Margarito's fans can use to continue to support him, which means his fights will continue to sell, and he'll eventually fight again in the U.S.

[mazukamba2904]

I totally agreed with you, Cotto haves all the right to say and feel that way, but the best way to find out is another fight. Cotto, if you beleve that you can beat Margachito, wait for the year to end and then get the rematch. Now Cotto cant fight Margo in Mexico at this moment because if he does, he is going against the suspention given, but after that suspention they need to do it but not in Mexico but in PR, that way if MArgo wins again, then all the Puertoricans can beat the crap out of Marg out of the ring

[Pullcounter]

I totally agreed with you, Cotto haves all the right to say and feel that way, but the best way to find out is another fight. Cotto, if you beleve that you can beat Margachito, wait for the year to end and then get the rematch. Now Cotto cant fight Margo in Mexico at this moment because if he does, he is going against the suspention given, but after that suspention they need to do it but not in Mexico but in PR, that way if MArgo wins again, then all the Puertoricans can beat the crap out of Marg out of the ring

to many factors now to know for sure... (marg coming off a long lay off, cotto improving, marg w/ a new trainer, etc...)

besides i don't think margo will be back

[Dave Rado]

Finally, you're actually proving my point by defending Trinidad the way you do. I understand that there was no investigation and nothing was proved in his case. (Possibly because he retired after that fight anyway, so a suspension would've been moot?) Still, you admitted that his wraps were illegal (which is cheating), yet you continue to support him as a fighter. It is this type of rationalization that Margarito's fans can use to continue to support him, which means his fights will continue to sell, and he'll eventually fight again in the U.S.

There is all the difference in the world between saying that someone is innocent of something and saying that it has been proved that they are guilty of something. I'm not saying the former, but the latter is a fact. I deplore the fact that the Tito hand wrapping issue wasn't properly investigated at the time, but it wasn't. The use of the word "illegal" in this context is misleading, because it just means incorrect - it doesn't necessarily mean that it would have given the boxer an unfair advantage, and it certainly doesn't necessarily mean that it would have created a plaster-like effect and endangered his opponent. If Fisher was right about those allegations and if it had been proved that he was right, then and only then would that incident be comparable with the Margarito case. Nevertheless I have frequently said in these forums (e.g. see here) that there is a major doubt over Tito's career, and that I think it's appalling that he's considered a shoo-on for the Hall of Fame, given that doubt. But doubt doesn't equal proof. There is no doubt that Margarito attempted to cheat in a way that could endanger his opponent's life - that has been proven. Big difference.

And I'm not defending anyone, just pointing out that it's not as straightforward as you claim.

As for your points about Arum and money, we'll just have to wait and see, but quite a few respected boxing writers seem to think Margarito will never get his licence back.

[TRUE WARRIOR!!!]

miguel cotto is a coward. he just doesnt want to take another beating from this mexican bad ass.

[mazukamba2904]

No, I understood the logic of your argument, but I'm saying it doesn't apply to Margarito, or even boxing, since you're using amateur athletes and steroid use to prove your point. I'm saying professional athletes usually only get suspended for steroid use and not banned for life, but that still doesn't apply to Margarito's situation. The question is whether Margarito will get a lifetime ban for what happened before the Mosley fight.

You're also using the Resto case and comparing it to Margarito's, which an extreme example. Margarito didn't go into the ring with plaster casts on his fists and the padding removed from his gloves. He had "small, thin pads treated with elements of plaster" on his knuckles, which were removed before the fight, and the fight was allowed to continue. I'm not condoning what team Margarito did, just stating the differences.

The point I'm trying to make is that Margarito could still return because he can still make big money for a lot of people. He headlined the fight with Mosley and you can arguably say that he filled the Staples Center, which had never been done before. Bob Arum is a business man before anything else. Would he invest in a team of high-powered lawyers to try and bring Margarito back if he didn't think he had a good chance of getting a return on that investment?

Finally, you're actually proving my point by defending Trinidad the way you do. I understand that there was no investigation and nothing was proved in his case. (Possibly because he retired after that fight anyway, so a suspension would've been moot?) Still, you admitted that his wraps were illegal (which is cheating), yet you continue to support him as a fighter. It is this type of rationalization that Margarito's fans can use to continue to support him, which means his fights will continue to sell, and he'll eventually fight again in the U.S.

You cant compare Titos wrap with Margaritos, in fact Titos wraps were not lethal at all, that's why the hall incident was never a big deal, and the fact that Tito couldn't KO Hopkins doesn't prove nothing, only that Hopkins was smarter and all the other big names that Tito lost to, well they were only bigger and scared of Titos power. The only good thing that helps MArgarito is, that he didn't go inside the ring with that stuff and they cant prove he used it in any other fight, but puts a very big ? mark on his reputation and career. The way Cotto feels, is normal because think about it, that could have being Cottos last fight, but I guess Margarito used just the enough amount, not to kill but to make the damage

[mazukamba2904]

to many factors now to know for sure... (marg coming off a long lay off, cotto improving, marg w/ a new trainer, etc...)

besides i don't think margo will be back

Thats true, but just in case

[Pullcounter]

miguel cotto is a coward. he just doesnt want to take another beating from this mexican bad ass.

that's a possibility since cotto threw everything he had at margo and couldn't hurt him...

or he doesn't want margo to get a chance at redemption

[RL_GMA]

miguel cotto is a coward. he just doesnt want to take another beating from this mexican bad ass.

Nah, he's just not trying to give Marg a payday.

You should be mad at your fighter for getting caught cheating. I wonder if McSanchez's are hiring in Tijuana