Random Flurried Ramblings of Felipe Leon

By Felipe Leon

Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com has his flurries, Dan Raphael of ESPN has his random Thoughts and Edgar Gonzalez of MyBoxingFans.com has Miscellaneous Ramblings so I am going to name my periodic stream of consciousness opinions “Random Flurried Ramblings.” On that note:

**The rumor around town is that Antonio Margarito is definitely coming back in late September or early October to the Plaza Monumental in Tijuana. If so, that might be the biggest event Tijuana has seen since the international border was put up. Margarito has been laying low for quite a while, usually he was seen at many southern California boxing events and in Tijuana. I don’t know if it is a conscious thing or he just wants to stay away for his own sake. Zanfer Promotions will be the promoter of record which is understandable since it is the south of the border arm of Top Rank. Will the California Commission consider this a slap in the face? Although it has not made it official, the commission has let it be known that it is not too happy with the fact that Margarito’s trainer, Javier Capetillo, has worked corners in Mexico and that it will not reinstate Capetillo’s license in January. We will have to wait and see.

**It was recently reported by MyBoxingFans.com that Oscar De La Hoya enjoyed a round a golf with the Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto. Although PrimeraHora.com reported that no business was discussed, it can be easily be understood that De La Hoya is laying the groundwork for a possible signing of Cotto once his contract with Top Rank ends in December. Cotto has made it clear in the past that he is not happy with Arum’s support of his only conqueror, Antonio Margarito’s predicament as far as his suspension from professional boxing in the United States. I would be a bit surprised if Cotto actually signs with Golden Boy unless they make him partner. Cotto has his own promotional company in Puerto Rico and has put on quite a number of events. What I would believe is that Cotto will keep his company and co-promote with Golden Boy his future fights a la Mayweather Jr.

**Speaking of international courting, De La Hoya was in Puerto Rico where he actually lives talking to Cotto and it was known that Shane Mosley traveled to Australia to speak to the “Raging Bull” Vic Darchinyan before his contract with Gary Shaw expired about a possible signing with Golden Boy. Mosley got his answer when Darchinyan’s team put out a press release stating that he was with Shaw for life, contract or no contract. I hope that Mosley at least got a good number of frequent flyer miles for his trouble…

**As far as Mosley and Cotto are concerned, both welterweights have put their name in the hat for the possibility to be chosen as the next Pacquaio opponent. It seemed that Cotto was the front runner until he made it a point that he would not fight at a weight less than 145 lbs. after he had tentative agreed to 143 lbs. As a week ago, Mosley had withdrawn his name from the sweepstakes since he was tired of waiting for an answer from the “Pacman” but just recently has stated that he is willing to make the 143 lbs. mark. I thought that the novelas where only on Televisa… None the less, who ever the Filipinio Phenom fights, the real winners will be us, the fans.

**It is a tragedy that the boxing world has lost two true warriors in Arturo Gatti and Alexis Arguello in the last couple of weeks. What boggles my mind is how these two men could have the mental fortitude to do what they did in the ring, give and receive so much pain, but not have the mental stability to cope with every day life. It is sad the circumstances that each one of them died in and it is a lesson to all of us that although we might admire these two men for their displays of heart and courage inside the ring, the biggest lesson we might learn from them is to avoid and end like theirs.

**Last Saturday, two Tijuana fighters took a step forward in their careers. Antonio DeMarco defeated Agnes Adhajo in Florida to earn the #1 position in the WBC lightweight ranks while Cristobal “Lacandon” Cruz defended his IBF featherweight title for the second time with a unanimous decision over Jorge Solis in his home state of Chiapas. Despite the fact that these two fighters find themselves at the highest level of their sport, I watched the fights in a relatively empty pool hall in Tijuana, the city in which both fighters train and live. Usually when there is a fight which boasts a fighter from Tijuana or a Mexican as a matter of fact, you will find huge banners outside many bars, pool halls and restaurants spread out through out the city advertising the broadcasting of the bout in their establishment. This was not the case this Saturday night. Hopefully in the near future, these two fighters will get a bigger audience in their home city and become a draw.