Tweet
Antonio Margarito: Should he become a key player in the welterweight division?
Time passes quickly. In a few months we will probably begin hearing of the next Antonio Margarito fight. Sentenced to a year's suspension , his parole is now right around the corner. Thoughts race through my mind. What if he didn't know? How could he not know?
The story is old. Shane Mosley's trainer busted Margarito and his trainer , Javier Capetillo , prior to their bout in January. Loaded handwraps , the kind that can ruin a career , were being used by Margarito.
Margarito fans say move on. He will have done his time and be a better fighter for having been caught. We hear stories of Tony crying and saying that he didn't know. Some boxers say it may have been possible that he didn't know exactly what was going on. Others say there was no way that he couldn't have known.
Either way , the damage has been done to boxing , fighters and fans. My dad told me a long time ago , "son , everyone is sorry when they get caught. They're not really sorry they did what they did. Just sorry that they got caught."
Maybe Sebastian Lujan's ear wouldn't have fallen off if the wraps were legal.
So I don't know if I should believe those tears or not. Some boxing experts believe that the damage he inflicted on Miguel Cotto may have changed the way that Cotto fights now and in the future. Cotto would be better served by thinking that he wouldn't have beat anyone that night that was armed with two bricks. Kermit Cintron might have similar thoughts.
And yet Margarito's future may be as rich as anyone in boxing. Mosley can't secure a superfight. Margarito is quick to say he wants a rematch.
Cotto has a date with Pacquiao in November. If he wins or looks good losing , don't think for a second that he wouldn't want revenge on Margarito. Cintron also wants another shot.
As far as the others , Margarito may become that division's stepping stone. He had a great chin until Mosley beat him down. He applied constant pressure , but Mosley and Paul Williams showed the world two ways to beat that. So Margarito may be a name on Berto's list of future opponents. Many thought that Mayweather was once scared to fight him. I don't think that would be the case anymore.
It was always the accumulation of punches that made Margarito victorious. The stories of him beating up sparring partners is legendary. He was never a great fighter. Just a very good fighter with a fan friendly style.
But what happens when you take away Superman's cape? What happens when you take away Tony's wraps? He punched a little awkwardly anyway. If the wraps helped that much then the fights with Mosley and Cotto may have led to Antonio's downward spiral. Make no mistake about it , Cotto landed some vicious shots of his own.
I've tried to be a good fan , but something about this irks me. It is like a convict getting paroled. People say that the con has done his time and should be allowed to have a clean slate. I say we ask the victims and their families if everything is fine and dandy with them. That innocence is lost and I'm sure some of them won't feel as happy about the proceedings as the do gooders will.
So if the former Margarito victims are fine with the decision , then I guess I will have to be also. To be sure , lets go back and ask his last fifteen victims. If the vote isn't unanimous , he isn't allowed to fight.
I want to be fair , but I can't. I believe that somewhere in the past there is a former boxer that Margarito beat so bad , using illegal wraps , that that boxer never fought again. And so I think that is where we ought to leave Margarito , in the past.
Sorry Tony , but you said that you and Javier were like father and son. I have a hard time believing that he didn't share some illegal secrets with you. I was once a Margarito fan. But I'm a bigger boxing fan and I just don't think the sport I love needs you around anymore.
http://www.examiner.com/x-8557-Norfo...eight-division
The story is old. Shane Mosley's trainer busted Margarito and his trainer , Javier Capetillo , prior to their bout in January. Loaded handwraps , the kind that can ruin a career , were being used by Margarito.
Margarito fans say move on. He will have done his time and be a better fighter for having been caught. We hear stories of Tony crying and saying that he didn't know. Some boxers say it may have been possible that he didn't know exactly what was going on. Others say there was no way that he couldn't have known.
Either way , the damage has been done to boxing , fighters and fans. My dad told me a long time ago , "son , everyone is sorry when they get caught. They're not really sorry they did what they did. Just sorry that they got caught."
Maybe Sebastian Lujan's ear wouldn't have fallen off if the wraps were legal.
So I don't know if I should believe those tears or not. Some boxing experts believe that the damage he inflicted on Miguel Cotto may have changed the way that Cotto fights now and in the future. Cotto would be better served by thinking that he wouldn't have beat anyone that night that was armed with two bricks. Kermit Cintron might have similar thoughts.
And yet Margarito's future may be as rich as anyone in boxing. Mosley can't secure a superfight. Margarito is quick to say he wants a rematch.
Cotto has a date with Pacquiao in November. If he wins or looks good losing , don't think for a second that he wouldn't want revenge on Margarito. Cintron also wants another shot.
As far as the others , Margarito may become that division's stepping stone. He had a great chin until Mosley beat him down. He applied constant pressure , but Mosley and Paul Williams showed the world two ways to beat that. So Margarito may be a name on Berto's list of future opponents. Many thought that Mayweather was once scared to fight him. I don't think that would be the case anymore.
It was always the accumulation of punches that made Margarito victorious. The stories of him beating up sparring partners is legendary. He was never a great fighter. Just a very good fighter with a fan friendly style.
But what happens when you take away Superman's cape? What happens when you take away Tony's wraps? He punched a little awkwardly anyway. If the wraps helped that much then the fights with Mosley and Cotto may have led to Antonio's downward spiral. Make no mistake about it , Cotto landed some vicious shots of his own.
I've tried to be a good fan , but something about this irks me. It is like a convict getting paroled. People say that the con has done his time and should be allowed to have a clean slate. I say we ask the victims and their families if everything is fine and dandy with them. That innocence is lost and I'm sure some of them won't feel as happy about the proceedings as the do gooders will.
So if the former Margarito victims are fine with the decision , then I guess I will have to be also. To be sure , lets go back and ask his last fifteen victims. If the vote isn't unanimous , he isn't allowed to fight.
I want to be fair , but I can't. I believe that somewhere in the past there is a former boxer that Margarito beat so bad , using illegal wraps , that that boxer never fought again. And so I think that is where we ought to leave Margarito , in the past.
Sorry Tony , but you said that you and Javier were like father and son. I have a hard time believing that he didn't share some illegal secrets with you. I was once a Margarito fan. But I'm a bigger boxing fan and I just don't think the sport I love needs you around anymore.
http://www.examiner.com/x-8557-Norfo...eight-division
Comment