By Ian S. Palmer
Antonio Margarito may have his name in boxing’s history books as a three-time welterweight champion, but there’s a good chance he’s going to be remembered by many fans as nothing much more than a cheat. Margarito earned a reputation as being one of the most feared men in the ring early in his career, but that became tainted when he was caught loading his gloves before a bout with Shane Mosley in January 2009.
Some people aren’t surprised that Margarito retired on June 8 as cynics will point out that he simply can’t compete anymore without the aid of loaded gloves. The 34-year-old Mexican-American, who was born in Torrance, California, released a statement regarding his retirement which said that he promised his family and team he’d retire when he felt he no longer had what it takes to be successful in the ring.
He claimed he still has the drive and passion needed for boxing, but has come to terms that it’s time to hang up the gloves. Margarito added that he might be leaving the blood, sweat, and tears behind, but he’s not going to walk away from boxing completely and plans on giving back to the sport he loves.
Promoter Bob Arum said Margarito told him recently that his body could no longer hold up to the extreme physical demands of the sport and he encouraged the boxer to retire especially since he’s financially secure.
Margarito was originally set to fight in late May, but suffered an Achilles injury and the date was postponed to July 7 and then July 21. Now the fight’s been called off for good. Margarito walks off into the sunset with a 38-8 (27 KO) pro record in a career which was launched back in January 1994 with a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Trujillo.
After being caught with illegal hand wraps, Margarito was beaten decidedly and brutally by Mosley and stopped in the ninth round. He was then suspended and didn’t fight for 16 months before making a comeback in Mexico against Roberto Garcia in May of 2010 and won a 10-round unanimous decision.
He attempted to get his license back in California, but the state’s athletic commission turned him down. However, the state of Texas granted him permission to fight and in November of 2010 he took on Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Margarito suffered another beating at the hands of the Filipino star and suffered a broken orbital bone in the process of his 12-round unanimous defeat.
Surgery was needed to repair the damage and Margarito then fought Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in December of 2011 in a rematch of their 2008 bout which margarita won by an 11th-round TKO. But again, Margarito was just a shell of the great fighter he once was, and was easily beaten, bloodied, and bruised by Cotto and was stopped after the 10th round.
Margarito’s heart and courage will never be questioned, but his morals will be. Nobody but Margarito himself knows for sure how many times during his career his gloves were doctored. What is known is that ever since being found to have illegal hand wraps, which were designed to harden into a plaster-type substance to add punching power, he never displayed the same power he had earlier in his career. He also lost three of his four fights after being caught, and was stopped in two of them.
Margarito never shied away from any of the sport’s big names and took on some of the best boxers of the era, such as Mosley, Pacquiao, Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Daniel Santos, Paul Williams, and Joshua Clottey. He held the WBO welterweight championship for five years and was also a former WBA and IBF welterweight champion.
