The Most Avoided Man in Boxing: Antonio Margarito’s Rise and Fall

By Geno McGahee

I have been a big fan of Antonio Margarito for quite some time. When he headlined the first ever ESPN Pay Per View, his grit and determination were impressive as he chopped down the then undefeated Kermit Cintron. The term “most avoided man in boxing” was often associated with him and rightfully so. He was relentless, aggressive, and large for the welterweight division. Considering his size and similarities in style to Jose Luis Castillo, it was no wonder that Floyd Mayweather, JR., opted to find other challengers rather than risking his place in boxing against Margarito.

Margarito represented the core of boxing, the fighter that would take two punches to deliver one, and came up the hard way. He fought untelevised for much of his career, slowly making his way up the ranks of marketable fighters, and getting knocked down a few times along the way, but never gave up and eventually found his big fight that would put him into the realm of pound for pound best in the game and made him a fighter that the casual boxing fans desperately wanted to see.

On July 26th, 2008, Miguel Angel Cotto would bring his WBA Welterweight Title to the ring, prepared to defend it against the man that most others had avoided. Prior to this bout, Margarito was on a mission of destruction, making short work of Golden Johnson and Kermit Cintron in a rematch. Cotto was a fighter known to break down his opposition, and Margarito had the reputation of a man that was immovable. The recipe was there for a good fight and it turned out to be a great bout, with both men having their moments and gave the crowd and the audience at home a lot of bang for their buck.

To the amazement of most, Margarito walked through Miguel Cotto’s punches, and he took some hellacious punches. As the rounds went on, the Margarito punches began to take their toll. Cotto just couldn’t take any more and crumbled in the corner in the eleventh round. He looked like he had been through a car accident without a seatbelt, completely broken and unable to go on. It was the first defeat on the record of Cotto and the biggest win to date for Margarito. After this fight, a PPV event, Margarito’s future was extremely bright. Most of boxing rejoiced that he had won. He was the common man that showed incredible spirit and resilience both in the ring and outside of it, coping with the promotional problems and lack of exposure to the public. He was now on top of the world and there were even rumors that he was set to face Oscar De La Hoya.

That fight never materialized, but another superstar agreed to step up to the challenge. Sugar Shane Mosley, a man going through a divorce as well as steroids accusations, seemed to bring more name value rather than a true challenge for Margarito. Mosley is a great fighter but his recent outings, he looked stale and lost to the same Miguel Cotto that Margarito had stopped. Also, the very limited Ricardo Mayorga fought evenly over 11 ½ rounds with Mosley before running into a left hook and losing via last second TKO. Margarito was a 4-1 favorite and rightfully so.

The Mosley fight was seen by most as a set up fight for something bigger and better. How Margarito performed would dictate exactly what direction Top Rank went with him. If he stopped Mosley, they would pursue the big fights and he would headline a PPV again. If he struggled and eked by, then maybe another course of action against a fighter less durable than Mosley would be in order. Margarito was a monster and Mosley wouldn’t stop him or so the majority of the “experts” believed…but there was more going on here…

Prior to the fight, Margarito’s trainer, Javier Capetillo, was observed doing something unusual with his fighter’s hand wraps. As a result, the wraps he was using were confiscated and he was forced to rewrap the hands while under close observation. Many thought of this as a ploy by team Mosley, as many times you will see management or promotional teams object to the wrappings of a fighter’s hands or the taping of the gloves. It is merely done to try to get the fighter’s focus to shift and perhaps give their man a slight mental edge going into the ring. Butch Lewis attempted this tactic when Mike Tyson fought his man, Michael Spinks, claiming that a lump underneath the wrist of Tyson could cause his man injury and therefore, they had to be redone. It was a bogus claim but he still had his gloves rewrapped and taped…it didn’t help Spinks though. Bernard Hopkins team also used this tactic with Felix Trinidad, which seemed to really jar him and gave “the Executioner” the edge he wanted. It got Tito’s head out of the fight. Unfortunately this situation wasn’t just a ploy. There was something very real and very sinister going on here.

The fight went on after the hands were wrapped to the satisfaction of all involved. Amazingly, this fight was a mismatch from the opening bell, with Mosley beating the living hell out of Margarito. He kept shoving the right hand down the pike and followed up with some tremendous bodywork. The Margarito that we were used to seeing wasn’t there. His punches didn’t have the effect that they have had on other opponents in the past and even when he landed full force on Mosley’s chin, he didn’t flinch.

After nine rounds, Margarito was in a heap, TKO’d and beaten soundly by a rejuvenated Mosley. Was Mosley back? Was Margarito overrated? What did we just see?

The decision by the California State Athletic Commission was swift. Both Margarito and Capetillo were suspended for one year, as the investigation went forth. Capetillo, under pressure from Arum, I’m sure, took all the blame, stating that he put illegal pads into the hand wraps, but it was an “accident.” Arum said some of the most disgusting things after the suspension, screaming that Margarito was being singled out because he was Mexican. It’s amazing how many people question the business practices of Don King, but fails to mention how Bob Arum does the same exact things.

Last week the announcement was made that the hand wraps were tainted, containing sulfur and calcium, two elements when mixed with oxygen creates Plaster of Paris. Had he went into the ring like that, the wraps would have hardened and he would have been throwing bricks at Mosley for twelve rounds. It’s no wonder that Cintron folded, Golden Johnson crumbled, and Cotto sustained that much damage. Boxing is a dangerous sport as it is, but when you add this element into it, it brings it to another level. It is reminiscent of the Luis Resto – Billy Collins, JR., bout from 1983.

Luis Resto battled Billy Collins, JR., on ABC. It was a bout where Collins, JR., sustained horrible injuries and looked not so different from Miguel Cotto after his loss to Margarito. Collins, JR., had permanently blurred vision and it ended his boxing career and this was due to tampering with the gloves. Resto and his trainer, Panama Lewis, had removed padding from the gloves, basically beating Collins, JR., with taped fists over ten rounds. Thankfully, they were caught and punished, Lewis getting six years, and Resto getting three, but they probably should have gotten a whole lot more. Collins, JR., killed himself shortly after this bout, many contending that his inability to fight anymore had ruined his life and pushed him to suicide.

I have heard that Margarito might be allowed to fight in Mexico, but after these findings, I am hoping that they concur with the ban and keep him away from boxing. I’m sure that I’m not in the minority when I say that Antonio Margarito was somebody that represented what was right with the sport, the spirit of the game, and showed that hard work paid off…and I was a very big fan of his. After this incident, all of that has dissolved. Although Capetillo claims to be 100% responsible, I can’t see how Margarito would not know that this was happening to his hand wraps. Much like the steroid abusers in boxing, Margarito has joined the list of people that will do anything for money and could care less that you are potentially going to kill somebody in the ring. Boxing is a dirty sport and has been for years, but the boxing world has to take a stand and ban both Capetillo and Margarito permanently from the game, regardless of commercial appeal. As it has held its ground with fighters like Tommy Morrison and Joe Mesi, the boxing commissions MUST do the same here and remove this potential hazard from the sport.

The “Most Avoided Man in Boxing” is a title that should probably be attached to Margarito right now but it now has an entire different meaning. Boxing should avoid doing any business whatsoever with him or Capetillo. They are both menaces to the game and I eagerly await the “lifetime ban” that they are sure to place upon them both. I wonder how Bob Arum will defend Margarito this time.