Antonio Margarito? A coward? A cheat?

[T-97]

First of all, I just wanna say, I ain't trying to justify Margs attempt to cheat against Mosley. Just before anyone thinks that.

Anyway, before the Mosley fight, he was respected, a man who once fought fully grown men as a boy, a man who would walk through hell to get to you, a man who would never give up, a real all heart warrior. Then, we find out he cheated, and that all goes. Now, fair enough... what he tried to do was bad, but still, don't you find it funny,

A man who would load his gloves to win, would be the same boy who fought fully grown men at the age of 16... a man who came out for the 9th round against Mosley knowing that he would be stopped, but still fighting on.

I still have some respect for Antonio Margarito, he still is a tough guy, he still has heart, I still respect his will of iron, his granite chin... the dude is tough, and he did it the hard way most of his career. Just because he tried to cheat once, doesn't mean we should trash his entire career. Plaster in his gloves didn't help him walk through the punches of huge hitters like Cotto and Cintron, he still showed a great chin against Mosley... how many guys would've lasted that long against such sustained punishment?

I ain't a big fan of Tony, I ain't tryin' to justify him cheating.. but, don't just hate because it's popular to do so. Think about it...

Would a coward have came out for the 9th round?

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

First of all, I just wanna say, I ain't trying to justify Margs attempt to cheat against Mosley. Just before anyone thinks that.

Anyway, before the Mosley fight, he was respected, a man who once fought fully grown men as a boy, a man who would walk through hell to get to you, a man who would never give up, a real all heart warrior. Then, we find out he cheated, and that all goes. Now, fair enough... what he tried to do was bad, but still, don't you find it funny,

A man who would load his gloves to win, would be the same boy who fought fully grown men at the age of 16... a man who came out for the 9th round against Mosley knowing that he would be stopped, but still fighting on.

I still have some respect for Antonio Margarito, he still is a tough guy, he still has heart, I still respect his will of iron, his granite chin... the dude is tough, and he did it the hard way most of his career. Just because he tried to cheat once, doesn't mean we should trash his entire career. Plaster in his gloves didn't help him walk through the punches of huge hitters like Cotto and Cintron, he still showed a great chin against Mosley... how many guys would've lasted that long against such sustained punishment?

I ain't a big fan of Tony, I ain't tryin' to justify him cheating.. but, don't just hate because it's popular to do so. Think about it...

Would a coward have came out for the 9th round?

He's definitely no coward, I just am really sad to see he tried to cheat. I don't know if he used the plaster against Cotto or any other opponent but you can't be mad at people when they assume he did.

IMO I don't think Margarito needed to cheat to be honest with you. The performance he showed against Cotto was a classic and now it's been forever tarnished because he made what is arguably the dumbest decision in modern boxing.

He had the world at his fingertips and now he has thrown all of it away. Sad really because I don't think he recovers from this. His style of fighting is one that will wear any man down and then you couple that with the layoff he will have, I don't see him coming back the same fighter.

[Thread Stealer]

I wouldn't use the word "coward" to describe Margarito.

Of course he's a tough guy with a lot of heart. Unfortunately, he's also a cheat who committed one of the most disgraceful acts in recent memory, arguably the most disgraceful since Luis Resto and Panama Lewis.

I did find it a little ironic though that when he was caught trying to cheat, it came against Shane Mosley, another guy whom has been caught cheating as well (luckily for Mosley, it was well after the fight when his BALCO use got exposed, not the night of the fight).

[Silencers]

I don't like to call boxers cowards, even if they do something illegal they put their lives on the line every time they step into the ring. He is a cheat though and disrespected the sport.

[UKBRAWLER]

excellent post T97

[T-97]

He's definitely no coward, I just am really sad to see he tried to cheat. I don't know if he used the plaster against Cotto or any other opponent but you can't be mad at people when they assume he did.

IMO I don't think Margarito needed to cheat to be honest with you. The performance he showed against Cotto was a classic and now it's been forever tarnished because he made what is arguably the dumbest decision in modern boxing.

He had the world at his fingertips and now he has thrown all of it away. Sad really because I don't think he recovers from this. His style of fighting is one that will wear any man down and then you couple that with the layoff he will have, I don't see him coming back the same fighter.

I dunno, I don't think a lay off will affect I guy like Marg too much. He doesn't have the style that would be affected too much by it IMO. In a way, I could see him coming back more determined, to prove that he isn't the coward/cheat that everyone wants to label him... and Antonio Margarito on a mission could 'cause trouble for a lot of guys out there....

Yeah, I still can't believe he tried to cheat. He just doesn't seem that sort of guy. I'm a huge Cotto fan, and that fight to me, is now in a lot of question. I'm not jumping around screaming that he did cheat against Cotto, but the possibility is there, which will forever taint that win...

[JmtRyan]

He's still one tough SOB! He's probably out all of modern boxers today i wouldn't want to fight.

[Little Killer]

Why do people feel sorry for his joke of an ass. Pacman fought men he was young yet never used plaster and he was usually the smaller guy.

Margarito was the bigger guy and the younger guy. He was heavy favorite over Mosley yet was planning to use plaster against him. All his wins are now questionable from his first fight till Mosley.

I agree Margarito is no coward he is a disgrace and a joke.

If you still respect Margarito, you have a major character flaw

[skullduggery]

marg, weather or not he cheated, landed the shots necessary to beat cotto, and he can take an ass whoopin. So i respect him for that. On the low end, hes a cheating ass *****.

[T-97]

Why do people feel sorry for his joke of an ass. Pacman fought men he was young yet never used plaster and he was usually the smaller guy.

Margarito was the bigger guy and the younger guy. He was heavy favorite over Mosley yet was planning to use plaster against him. All his wins are now questionable from his first fight till Mosley.

I agree Margarito is no coward he is a disgrace and a joke.

If you still respect Margarito, you have a major character flaw

Right, so you've seen all of his fights from his younger days then, yeah? From the clips I've seen, Margarito was not the bigger guy at all. He was a small teenager, fighting fully grown men.