Los Angeles – A press conference was held in our city yesterday by Top Rank Promotions to announce the return of Antonio Margarito. If you do not know by now, Margarito was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission last year due to the fact that Margarito was caught with hand-wraps containing elements found in plaster before his scheduled fight with Shane Mosley.
Indefinitely suspended by California’s Commission, promoter Bob Arum tried to bring back Margarito on the under card of Manny Pacquiao’s fight at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas earlier this year, only to have the Texas regulating body turn down the request.
So if Margarito is to fight, Arum has to take his show to Mexico, for now, and it has been announced that the tainted fighter will appear in Aguascalientes, Mexico against Roberto Garcia on May 8 with the action carried on pay per view.
You would think with the opportunity in front of Los Angeles’ collected boxing media, Margarito would have given an apology for his action.
No.
Instead Margarito became agitated with the consistent questioning regarding the infamous hand-wraps and let loose this memorable line.
“I am a pretty clean fighter. I will show I don’t need anything to win my fights. If I knew there was something in my wraps, I would ask for forgiveness. But I did not know anything.”
It will be a sad state of affairs if any United States commission regulating boxing allows Margarito to return to fighting in our country due to the fact he attempted to cheat and is now lying about the incident.
