Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito is ready to step back into the ring and leave behind an embarrassing one-year suspension for being caught with illegal hand wraps before a fight against Shane Mosley.
The self-proclaimed “Tijuana Tornado” was to face Roberto Garcia yesterday in the main event of a pay-per-view show from Aguascalientes, Mexico. Margarito is moving up to junior welterweight for the bout and weighed 70kg on Friday. Garcia weighed 69kg.
“I am so glad to get back into the ring. I really missed the crowds and all of the fans — but I always kept training,” Margarito said after the weigh-in. “I never left the ring. I feel strong and I am ready.”
Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) hasn’t fought since losing to Mosley on Jan. 24 last year at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Before the fight, Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson noticed a plaster-like substance in Margarito’s wraps and called for them to be redone.
Margarito wound up getting stopped in the ninth round in what was considered a mild upset.
After a hearing before the California Athletic Commission, Margarito and trainer Javier Capetillo were each suspended for at least one year, a decision upheld by other US state athletic commissions. Margarito could have boxed in Mexico, but decided to stay out of the ring in the hopes of fighting in the US in the future.
Margarito says he knew nothing about the illegal wraps and blamed Capetillo, whom he fired as his trainer. He is now working with Robert Garcia.
“Our whole training camp went so well,” Garcia said. “To see Antonio train so hard — it helps our other fighters, seeing how hard he works and what it takes to fight on a high level.”
The fresh coaching might serve Margarito well. He was considered among the most feared fighters at 66kg before taking on Mosley, but the veteran dominated him for most of the fight, using superior speed to hit what essentially became a defenseless, stationary target.
“We worked on Antonio’s stance, his head movement, little things,” Garcia said. “He’s keeping his hands up better. He’s a great listener when we are in the ring training. Antonio is in tremendous shape — he could have made 147 [66.5kg] for this fight. We had great sparring and we are prepared for whatever Garcia throws at us.”
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