Antonio Margarito will return to the ring May 8, Top Rank announced Wednesday. Margarito will fight Roberto ?Amenaza? Garcia in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
What Top Rank didn?t announce was Nonito Donaire?s appearance on that card. But look for the Bay Area super-flyweight to fight a tune-up bout or a match somewhat better than that as he gears up for an Aug. 7 rematch with Vic Darchinyan, arguably the most attractive flyweight rematch since Michael Carbajal-Humberto Gonzalez in 1994.
And it that weren?t enough, my sources say the Bay Area is a strong candidate to host Donaire-Darchinyan, a bout for which there has been much clamoring since Donaire?s milestone knockout of Darchinyan in 2007. Although Staples Center in Los Angeles is the favorite to host the rematch, the San Francisco Giants won?t be using AT&T Park that night, so maybe . . .
As for the May 8 fight, Team Donaire was touting a big announcement a couple of weeks ago, but no match has been announced.
It?s not likely Donaire?s fight will eclipse Margarito?s on the May 8 card unless Jorge Arce emerges as the opponent (not impossible), but the bill could use someone of Donaire?s stature.
Margarito (37-6, 27 knockouts) is coming off a one-year suspension incurred at Staples Center when his handlers were caught adding a form of plaster to his hand-wraps before his bout with Shane Mosley. Margarito, who was coming off his July 2008 upset of Miguel Cotto, was thrashed by Mosley, who stopped him in the ninth round.
Garcia (28-2, 21 knockouts) is a South Texan, from the Rio Grande Valley, and seems like a credible opponent for Margarito at super-welterweight. The card, billed as Latin Power 14, also has Jorge Solis against Mario Santiago in a featherweight match. Some of us felt Santiago outpointed Bernabe Concepcion last month in Las Vegas, the night Donaire knocked out last-minute replacement Manuel Vargas in three rounds.
But the other fights on the Aguascalientes card are less inspiring. The May 8 card is pay-per-view, produced by Top Rank much as it produced Donaire?s February fight. Top Rank needs to showcase Donaire, and it will.
