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"The regulations are clear and pretty basic," said State Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Lembo, who is legal counsel for the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. "It's not rocket science."
Pre-fight inspections
The California State Athletic Commission revoked the licenses of Margarito and Capetillo on Tuesday and banned them from fighting in that state for at least one year for tampering with Margarito's hand wraps before his ninth-round knockout loss to Mosley. The penalty also prevents him from fighting in any state that belongs to the Association of Boxing Commissions, which includes New Jersey.
According to published accounts, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, visited Margarito's dressing room - a common practice in major fights - and took offense to the way Capetillo was wrapping Margarito's left hand. When it was cut off, commission officials found a plaster-like substance inside the knuckle pad, then found another one on his right hand.
Che Guevera, the inspector responsible for supervising Margarito's hand wrapping, apparently did not see the pads until Richardson objected.
In the aftermath, skeptics began to wonder whether Margarito's trainer had given his fighter the upper hand in previous fights. The 30-year-old Mexican has fought three times in Atlantic City, gaining a 10th-round TKO over Sebastian Lujan (Feb. 8, 2005), a unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (Dec. 2, 2006) and most recently, a sixth-round knockout over Kermit Cintron (April 12, 2008).
Lembo said he was confident there was nothing questionable about those bouts.
"First of all it would be impossible to prove now," Lembo said. "But more than that, I would be shocked if anything like that happened in New Jersey or Nevada just because we are so strict about enforcing the rules."
Lembo and new Control Board commissioner Aaron Davis assign between six and 12 inspectors for boxing cards. The major fights, like those staged in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, typically have close to a dozen.
All taping must be done in the locker room in the presence of an inspector. When it is completed to his satisfaction, the inspector autographs the tape and then gives a set of gloves to the trainer to put on the fighters' hands. Once the gloves are on and secured by duct tape around the wrists, the inspector also autographs that tape.
If some time passes between the wrapping and when the gloves are put on, the inspector examines the wraps again for lumps and hardness.
"I've seen mistakes made in wrapping in New Jersey, but there were all innocent mistakes," said Lembo, who did not want to comment specifically on Margarito's case.
"The regulations are clear and pretty basic," said State Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Lembo, who is legal counsel for the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. "It's not rocket science."
Pre-fight inspections
The California State Athletic Commission revoked the licenses of Margarito and Capetillo on Tuesday and banned them from fighting in that state for at least one year for tampering with Margarito's hand wraps before his ninth-round knockout loss to Mosley. The penalty also prevents him from fighting in any state that belongs to the Association of Boxing Commissions, which includes New Jersey.
According to published accounts, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, visited Margarito's dressing room - a common practice in major fights - and took offense to the way Capetillo was wrapping Margarito's left hand. When it was cut off, commission officials found a plaster-like substance inside the knuckle pad, then found another one on his right hand.
Che Guevera, the inspector responsible for supervising Margarito's hand wrapping, apparently did not see the pads until Richardson objected.
In the aftermath, skeptics began to wonder whether Margarito's trainer had given his fighter the upper hand in previous fights. The 30-year-old Mexican has fought three times in Atlantic City, gaining a 10th-round TKO over Sebastian Lujan (Feb. 8, 2005), a unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (Dec. 2, 2006) and most recently, a sixth-round knockout over Kermit Cintron (April 12, 2008).
Lembo said he was confident there was nothing questionable about those bouts.
"First of all it would be impossible to prove now," Lembo said. "But more than that, I would be shocked if anything like that happened in New Jersey or Nevada just because we are so strict about enforcing the rules."
Lembo and new Control Board commissioner Aaron Davis assign between six and 12 inspectors for boxing cards. The major fights, like those staged in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, typically have close to a dozen.
All taping must be done in the locker room in the presence of an inspector. When it is completed to his satisfaction, the inspector autographs the tape and then gives a set of gloves to the trainer to put on the fighters' hands. Once the gloves are on and secured by duct tape around the wrists, the inspector also autographs that tape.
If some time passes between the wrapping and when the gloves are put on, the inspector examines the wraps again for lumps and hardness.
"I've seen mistakes made in wrapping in New Jersey, but there were all innocent mistakes," said Lembo, who did not want to comment specifically on Margarito's case.
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