Those expecting Antonio Margarito?s path back to the ring would be paved with hands-and-knees humility by a man grateful to be returning to a sport he loves might look elsewhere.
In an interview with Miguel Angel Cebreros of notifight.com, Margarito expressed his ability to easily knock out Miguel Cotto if the two should meet again, his insistence that he was not using illegal hand wraps when he fought Cotto or Kermit Cintron and his opinion that the two boxers are sore losers.
?I?m not a dirty fighter and the evidence shows it,? Margarito said. ?They checked the gloves before and after the fight with Miguel Cotto. I fought with clean hands against Cotto and Cintron. They need to learn to be good losers.?
Margarito?s professional boxing license was revoked for at least one-year following a plaster-like substance found in his hand wraps prior to his fight with Shane Mosley in January 2009. A license has subsequently been granted to Margarito by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the former WBO Welterweight Champion is scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao November 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
In the interview, Margarito went on to challenge Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya has recently questioned Texas granting Margarito a boxing license. Margarito attributes De La Hoya?s disapproval to the ?Golden Boy?s? unwillingness to step in the ring with him.
?I can not get Oscar in the ring with me, because I always challenged him,? Margarito said. ?I sometimes worked with him as a sparring partner, and several times I asked him for a chance and he never gave it to me. And another time I challenged him publicly in Las Vegas. If the dog is barking, it?s a sign he wants something. If he wants something with me then we can do it anytime but without stockings on?. hahahaha.?
So this is the path of the ?Tijuana Tornado? on his way back to the ring.
