On July 26th, 2008, Antonio Margarito walked through fire over 11 pulsating rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to defeat previously undefeated Miguel Cotto. It wasn’t so much a knockout, but a submission due to a plethora of body shots from the heavy-handed and hard-charging Mexican. On this hot summer night, Margarito didn’t just capture the WBA welterweight belt; he had done something much more significant.
He had arrived.
For years he was ducked, dodged, avoided and ignored by the game?s marquee names and its power brokers. He was the guy who had an underground cult following but never any semblance of mainstream respect. As his ardent followers? cries of being underrated became louder and louder, an inevitable backlash occurred, with equally vociferous voices stating that he was actually overrated and not worthy of the accolades. He had become one of the more polarizing figures in boxing.
That’s no longer the case for Margarito. He’s here. After years of arduous work and largely anonymous battles, he finds himself as one of boxing’s brightest stars. No longer is he the guy that has to challenge or call out anyone. Now, he is the hunted. His name now adorns big billboards and headlines the marquee. Fights he once yearned for (but never received), become a reality.
Case in point, this Saturday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, he faces Shane Mosley, who just a few years ago shunned his advances for more lucrative big-game hunting. Now, not only does Margarito demand a bigger piece of the financial pie (and receive it) he’ll be doing so in front of a sell-out crowd that will be made up largely of fans who are of Mexican descent.
His promoter, Bob Arum, said at the post-fight conference after his victory over Cotto that something had happened that night to Margarito, something that was an intangible, yet tangible, at the very same time. What he was referring to was very simple – Margarito is now the number one Mexican fighter in the world. There will never, ever be another Julio Cesar Chavez – not even his son – but in essence that’s what every fighter from south of the border yearns to be. This special and unique distinction was battled for tooth and nail by Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales for years. Now, it’s Margarito’s crown to wear.
?No question in the world that Margarito is THE Mexican superstar,” agreed Arum. “And what that means, with all the popularity that Julio had, he’s inherited that now.”
Everyone knows of the benefits that come along with this. But with it also comes a special responsibility. The biggest of all, is winning consistently and fighting in a manner that represents his people properly. If he loses against Mosley, he’s just another pretty good fighter that just happened to have one special night or matched up well with a particular superstar. Think Iran Barkley giving Thomas Hearns fits. Buster Douglas shocking Mike Tyson. Or Vernon Forrest and his mastery of Shane Mosley.
So the question is, can Margarito move past July 26th and all the adulation he received in the aftermath?
He admits that the euphoria of that victory still hasn’t worn off.
“I’m still feeling it. I still turn on that fight, I put on the DVD, I watch the fight and it’s just a feeling that will never go away,” he would say last week in Montebello, California, through his manager, Sergio Diaz. Needless to say, the Cotto result was a life-changer. “There’s been a tremendous change,” he admits. “People recognize me everywhere now. They ask me for autographs, they ask me for photos. But the one thing that hasn’t changed about myself, is myself. I’m still the same humble person.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Margarito wouldn’t even have his name announced at the big fights along with the other luminaries in the audience. Now, his name elicits thunderous applause. When he arrived at Mosley’s last bout versus Ricardo Mayorga this past September, he caused a bigger commotion than either of the main event participants or any of the other boxers in attendance that night at the Home Depot Center. Now, NBA standouts like Paul Pierce recognize him. Football players now reference his fight with Cotto before playoff games. He has carved out his own niche in pop culture. ‘The Tijuana Tornado’ is no longer just a catchy little nickname; it’s now a brand.
He has always been an accommodating and friendly figure to fans asking for his John Hancock; the only difference now is that the crowds around him have swelled. In the last 24/7 produced by HBO for the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight, in one of the few authentic moments, Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee, noted how her husband had become ‘public property’.
Margarito goes through a scaled down version of this.
?It?s part of the career that I’m in. I do love to go to the movies; unfortunately, I can’t go to the movies anymore because people recognize me and I can’t actually sit down with my wife and watch the show,” he says. “But it’s part of the business and y’know what? I love it.”
After all, this is what he’s wanted. Following years of seeing his Mexican colleagues getting all the shine, now it’s his turn. It’s a small price to pay versus being unknown and underpaid.
In the following weeks and months after the knockout of Cotto, Margarito took a bit of a victory lap that had him traveling to various fights and functions, and receiving plaudits from well-wishers and the like. But during this stretch he took perhaps his longest period away from the gym and put on a few more pounds than usual. But his camp insists there will be no hangover from their previous bout.
“No, not at all,” claims Diaz. “Y’know what, it’s been great and I still walk around and people continue coming up to me, ‘That was a great fight.’ It makes me happy, and Tony deserved this time. He finally got his opportunity, he took advantage of it and he’s where he’s at because of the hard work and dedication.”
Diaz was not concerned about the few extra pounds his man had put on.
“It’s just the time off from the ring. We were concerned how much time he was going to be out of the ring and I say that’s always been a problem with Antonio. It’s always shown where he’s out of the ring for awhile. It shows when he fights. So that was a concern,” Diaz admits. “Top Rank, the best thing they ever did for us was to fight us back-to-back-to-back, so going into that Cotto fight, it was perfect for us. Tony wasn’t out for a long time; you have a little break and come right back into the gym.”
The original plan called for Margarito to return on November 1st. But when a deal couldn’t be reached on the opponent and his purse, those plans were scrapped. But perhaps that wasn’t the worst thing in the world. For all the talk of the punishment Cotto took, Margarito also went through the meat grinder himself.
“I think it was the right thing for all of us,” Diaz says. “It was the right thing for Margarito, for our promoter. It was a fight. Cotto-Margarito was a fight. Both of them got hit with great punches, yes, there was a TKO in the 11th round, but y’know what? We were ready and willing to go into November but maybe it was a blessing, maybe it was blessing we didn’t get in that soon. The possible opponent was (Joshua) Clottey, who is a tough guy. Their first fight was a tough fight. So maybe it was a blessing in disguise.”
Going into mid-November, the focus shifted on a showdown with Mosley. Originally Margarito had called out for some ‘Sugar’ and then came under heavy criticism as he balked over the 50-50 split. The guy who was once perceived as the fighter willing to do anything to get to the top had suddenly become the very personification of the misguided and greedy boxer. The blue-collar factory worker had won the lottery and joined the country club. For shame.
“We were both aware,” Diaz says, of the stinging words sent their way by the masses. “I read the stuff, it’s going to be out there and Tony was aware of it. It bothered all of us because they really didn’t know what was actually happening inside closed doors. But for some reason I know it would happen – well, I don’t want to say I knew – but I was optimistic it would get done. Top Rank and myself, we always communicated, working towards getting this done.”
As more money was moved in his direction, the fight was signed and then all there was left was to get back into the gym and do what he does best – work hard. Margarito isn’t about great natural talent that is fawned over by the analysts. His success is fueled by a stout work ethic that allows him to get every single ounce from his God-given talent. He’s an overachiever in every sense of the word. Guys who begin their careers 9-3 in this era aren’t supposed to be where Margarito is today.
But can he stay hungry? As corny as Rocky III may have been, the beginning montage of the movie is something that is very accurately depicted. As Rocky Balboa becomes the content champion, there is an angry, smoldering Clubber Lang who chases him relentlessly and puts him in his crosshairs. Every fighter who gets to the top goes through this transition in some form (save perhaps Marvin Hagler and more recently Bernard Hopkins). Can Margarito stay a Clubber Lang?
Arum, who promoted Hagler, doesn’t worry about that one iota.
“Nah, Margarito’s a hungry kid. He really is a hungry kid. That’s his greatest strength, his determination, his will power and his courage and the fact that, ‘Hey, screw you, hit me with everything you have. You can’t beat me.’ If he loses that, he loses everything. But I don’t think he will. I think he knows that. I don’t think he’s going to lose it.”
Margarito says that getting back to work in the proper state of mind was no problem.
“No, not at all, this is my job,” he insisted, after another hard day at the Montebello PAL Gym. “I knew once we accepted the fight, I need eight weeks to train – and I knew I was within that time to start my training camp. So it wasn’t a problem whatsoever.”
This newfound respect has come hard-earned. It wasn’t long ago that he was just an afterthought in Top Rank’s stable beneath the likes of ‘El Terrible’ Morales, Jose Luis Castillo, Jorge Arce and Cotto. And he still has less HBO appearances than relative newcomer Andre Berto. But that’s in the past, a rocky road where the journey is every bit as satisfying as arriving at this destination. Now he has reached the top of the mountain.
But is he willing to put in the work to stay there for awhile?
“This is something Antonio has always been working for. He’s always wanted to put himself in this position – to be known as the best welterweight. And he’s here, he’s here right now in this moment. But he knows he has to work even harder to keep that status,” says Diaz of the new challenges that lay ahead.
Being the signature Mexican fighter of the moment is something Margarito relishes. “No pressure whatsoever, I’ve fought to be in this position,” he says calmly. “I’ve always wanted to be in this position and now I’m going to give my very best to my fans.”
Despite hitting the big 3-oh last May, Margarito believes the best is still yet to come.
“I’m not finished yet. I know there are a lot of great fights out there after this one and those are the ones that I want. That’s what I want to give my fans. I want to give my fans the fights they’re asking for.”
BERTO-COLLAZO
HBO’s 2009 got off to a very good start as Andre Berto edged out Luis Collazo to hold onto his WBC welterweight strap. This is a fight that screams for a rematch, as a case could be made that Collazo won more rounds in addition to a point deduction for holding that was assessed to Berto in the early rounds. A few other thoughts as I watched this fight unfold…
– I actually thought referee Keith Hughes was a bit hasty in taking a point from Berto for excessive clinching. But y’know what? I applaud his ruling. The bottom line is this, in boxing, holding is illegal. And in any other sport, you get penalized for breaking rules. Imagine basketball if everyone was allowed to stay in the key for 15 seconds. Or if every pitcher was allowed to balk over and over again in baseball? Well, for some reason boxing has allowed holding to take place unabated for the most part.
I’ve said this before – take a hard line, like Hughes did, against this, and then boxers will be forced to move their hands and fight, not just wrestle and hold all night. I believe this contributed to Berto-Collazo being the fight it was. Leave the grappling to MMA.
– I know some will use the dreaded ‘E’ word (exposed) with Berto, but while I’ve thought for some time that perhaps Berto has already reached his ceiling as a fighter, I think he actually showed something in the late rounds in digging deep and dealing with a live opponent that wasn’t intimidated by him. Many big punchers simply don’t deal well with fighters who have the temerity to stick around. Regardless of who you thought won this battle, you get the sense that Berto comes out of this a better fighter.
– It looked like a lively atmosphere at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS, but if there is a Berto-Collazo II, let?s hope it takes place at a venue like the Theater at Madison Square Garden or in Florida, near Berto’s hometown.
That’s where it belongs.
FINAL FLURRIES
Speaking of strong starts for 2009, ShoBox got off to a rousing start itself. It’s too bad this isn’t a weekly series….For the record, I had Collazo edging Berto….It’s pretty clear, no NFL coach is safe this off-season (unless you’re in the Super Bowl)….OK, it’s safe to assume that Oscar De La Hoya (who’s been in hiding since December 6th) will be in attendance at the Staples Center this Saturday night since his company is co-promoting that event and Mosley is one the partners in Golden Boy Promotions and HBO is one of their ‘strategic partners’, right?….The Lakers need a defensive guard. Derek Fisher is a sieve….
