The Boxing world is still abuzz with the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao dispute, but creeping slowly closer with each passing day is the judgment hour for Antonio “Tijuana Tornado” Margarito, 37-6, 27 KO’s.
Margarito, a thumping volume puncher with knockout on his mind and fury in his fists, was a long-time favorite of the fight fan community. His relentlessly forward style and willingness to fight anyone earned him accolades as one of the toughest men on the planet. Margarito is deserving of his gritty title; his chin is made of something similar to titanium and only collapsed under the clinical technique of boxing all-star Sugar Shane Mosley nearly a year ago.
Margarito’s image as a card-carrying badass ended that night against Mosley. Sugar’s performance was one for the ages. His eye-popping win was the best of his career. Margarito had never before been knocked down, and Mosley knocked him down so hard and so fast that the world was left awestruck and bedazzled, frozen in picturesque glory. However, the loss to Mosley was hardly cause for shame. Rather, Margarito’s name was soiled that night by what turned out to be true allegations of foul play. Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo illegally wrapped the Tornado’s hands with a substance that was meant to harden with moisture. Obviously, a fighter sweats over the course of the bout, and the sweat would eventually turn Margarito’s hands into iron sledgehammers meant to money shot and destroy the mighty Mosley.
Fortunately for Mosley (and the rest of the boxing world), trainer Nazeem Richardson spotted the illegal hand wrappings prior to the bout and informed an official of the issue. Margarito’s hands were rewrapped properly, and the rest of the story is history…
Or at least it should have been. Realistically, a problem like this can never be laid to rest until the aftermath is fed through scrutiny with grinding, precise focus. The first consideration is what to do with Margarito’s past record. Margarito’s best victories include a barnburner showdown with Miguel Cotto, two smack downs of Kermit Cintron, and a somewhat close encounter unanimous decision victory over fellow rugged man Joshua Clottey. He also put forth a razor thin, respectable performance against tall Paul Williams, and a close technical decision loss against Former Titlist Daniel Santos.
The problem with all of these fights is that they are all questionable. While Mexicans with similar stories to Margarito’s toil in Tijuana as teenagers, working their way to the top by fighting grown men, Margarito may very well have cheated through the significant part of his career. Kermit Cintron stated that Margarito’s punches were the hardest he has ever felt. Miguel Cotto looked like he had been turned to raw meat after their artillery-laden bout. Paul Williams had never looked like he had been hit as hard as Margarito hit him prior to their fight. Looking back on these fights, any truth-seeker will notice the lines of reality being blurred into an indistinguishable mass that suggests that any of these wins could have been a loss, and that any of these losses could have been knockout losses.
Perhaps Margarito deserves more credit than that in the context of his accomplishments, but his entire record has been called deservingly into question. Once a cheater, always a questionable figure. Unfortunately for Margarito and the rest of the world, there is no evidence out there that will directly prove him innocent or guilty.
That is, until a picture of Margarito after his bout with Miguel Cotto began circling media circles. At first glance, the photo appears normal, but his hand wrap does appear to be broken through and discolored. If the boxing world had pictures similar to this left and right, the image wouldn’t make a person think twice. Ignoring such an image is ignorant at best and shameful at worst.
As for the rest of the opponents mentioned here, there is no direct evidence of whether or not Margarito loaded his mitts. What we do know is that he did it against Mosley and Cotto. We also know that he embarrassed Kermit Cintron in a way never before seen. Perhaps this speculation is actually more valuable in consideration of the abilities and grit of the opponents rather than the guilt of the Mexican thumper. Obviously, Miguel Cotto has a much better chin than he has ever gotten credit for. What is sad is that he might have been a first ballot Hall of Fame lock without that fight. If Cotto had fought Joshua Clottey and Manny Pacquiao at full strength, the world might have seen different outcomes in both of those fights. Paul Williams has an incredibly solid chin that has only truly been reached and roughed by Margarito and Sergio Martinez. Margarito got first dibs; he may have softened Williams up a bit for later opponents.
What is known with certainty is that Margarito cheated. What can be supposed is that he did so prior to his bout with Mosley. Even more basic statistical and head-to-head considerations support such an idea. Starting directly after his loss to Santos (whose sole claim to fame is his victory in that bout), Margarito began knocking out everyone who wasn’t a tough fighter with a metal face. His win over Cotto was the Puerto Rican’s first defeat, and even over the course of that fight, Cotto was able to outland his opponent and nearly survive for a decision win.
All of this discussion would only be semantically relevant, but Margarito is still known to the fight world and is on the verge of an appeal of his ban from the sport. Following his loss to Mosley, Margarito was outcast without the possibility of parole for one year. In an effort to make nice with the commission and everyone else, Margarito stayed inactive in other jurisdictions rather than skirting the ban and the decision of the athletic commission.
Now, he will have a chance to state his case and attempt to return to the sport. I hope with all of my heart that the commission makes the right decision and bans him and his trainer from boxing forever.
What Margarito did is completely unforgivable. Risking killing a man in the name of glory might seem a crime for which one can repent if we place the offense in the realm of blood sports, but Boxing must maintain a semblance of dignity. Over time, we have gone from watching bare-fisted gladiators in open arenas to watching gloved pugilists in twenty foot rings. Allowing this violator back into the fold is a putrid display of devolution. If he wants to fight, tell him to join the army.
