The Orange County clothing company Affliction used to sponsor Antonio Margarito in the three fights that ended with the Tijuana boxer’s infamous 2009 loss to Shane Mosley, when plaster-caked inserts were confiscated from inside Margarito’s hand wraps before the bout.
Margarito and his uncle-translator, Fernando Ramirez, re-visited Affliction President Tom Atencio about two weeks ago to inquire about renewing the deal for Margarito’s Nov. 13 bout against Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Anyone in his right mind would be hesitant — I was hesitant given his situation [with the scandal], and the fact he’s fighting Pacquiao,” Atencio said. “Nobody’s coming close to beating Pacquiao. He’s at the top of his game.”
Ramirez said, “Affliction was saying the economy was bad, it wasn’t looking good.”
Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) then made a confident pronouncement.
