In three of his last three four fights, against Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao, Antonio Margarito has endured inhuman amounts of punishment. Three of the toughest, most highly skilled boxers in the world have, in essence, had free reign to pummel him about the face and head.
He’s been battered and beaten so badly in those fights, it’s fair to ask if he’ll ever be the same boxer. Every fighter, no matter how tough, can take only so many punches.
Margarito, though, is adamant that, physically, at least, he’s fine. He’s a fighter, and he’s going to come to fight as hard as he can. He loves the macho aspect of the game, the toe-to-toe, me versus you simplicity of it. He’ll rematch Cotto on Saturday in front of what is expected to be a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and a worldwide pay-per-view audience in a fight that figures to be equally as violent as those other three.
Margarito, though, laughs at the thought that he may shy away from the battle because of the punishment he’s absorbed.
“Never,” he scoffs. “This is what I do. I don’t quit.”
For the last nearly three years, though, there has been a curtain of pain and hurt that has enveloped Antonio Margarito and his wife, Michelle. He’s become boxing’s greatest villain and has been branded as a criminal and a cheater by other fighters, other promoters, media and the fans.
