On Thursday afternoon, news broke that former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito had opted to retire from the sport of boxing. Having gone just 1-3 in his last four fights, Margarito appeared to be a fighter on his last legs and perhaps this move was best.
Margarito compiled a 38-8 record with 27 knockouts throughout his nearly eighteen years in the sport but he saw his career take a hit when he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission in January of 2009 after it was discovered that he had plaster-coasted inserts in his hand wraps prior to this loss to Shane Mosley.
Margarito was able to bounce back from the suspension with two high-profile bouts against Manny Pacquiao in November of 2010 and a rematch with Miguel Cotto one year later, but each fight was extremely punishing. Margarito suffered a broken orbital bone in his face after being busted up by Pacquiao and the same damaged right eye was bruised severely by Cotto, forcing a doctor?s stoppage late in their fight. While there were initially rumblings of Margarito returning on May 26th and then later in July, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum revealed that the Tijuana fighter admitted that he no longer felt the same physically.
?Antonio Margarito, last week let us know that he was going to retire,? Arum told me on Thursday from the MGM Grand?s makeshift media center in Las Vegas, where he will be hosting this weekend?s Pacquiao showcase against Timothy Bradley.
?He said his body was breaking down and we wish him all the best,? the shrewd promoter continued. ?He was a great friend of ours. We?re happy that we were able to fight for him and get him his biggest paydays after the Mosley fight. We wish him all the luck in the world.?
If you ask Arum, it was the Pacquiao fight that ultimately did Margarito in.
?I think that the beating that he took with Pacquiao really took a lot out of him,? said Arum. ?And then with Cotto, I think the stoppage was a little too early. He was certainly losing the fight up to that point.?
Throughout scandal and controversy, Antonio Margarito always found a way to entertain inside of the ring. Here?s wishing him the best.
