It was a show trial. Antonio Margarito had to show up in a procedural step that fulfilled, if not satisfied, bureaucratic protocol. The result was almost an after-thought. Margarito had no chance in California Wednesday. It’s a good thing he wasn’t applying for a driver’s license.
The California State Athletic Commission’s predictable denial of Margarito’s application for reinstatement of a boxing license might prove to be more significant for what he said instead of the one-sided, 5-1 decision against him.
In finally saying he didn’t know but should have known about irregular hand wraps before his loss in January, 2009 to Shane Mosley at Los Angeles Staples Center, Margarito accepted some responsibility, which figures to be the centerpiece of Top Rank’s attempt to get him licensed in Texas for a proposed bout on Nov. 13 with Manny Pacquiao at Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas metroplex.
“I am here to make an apology not only to the commission, but to the entire world for not knowing what was in those wrappings,” said Margarito, who for months refused to apologize for wraps loaded with inserts applied by former trainer Javier Capitello.
There is plenty of debate about what and when Margarito did or didn’t know. There is also no evidence. There’s only reasonable doubt. On that one, Margarito, a first-time offender, deserves benefit of the doubt, which by the way was granted to Mosley after his reported use of performance-enhancers as a BALCO customer before his rematch victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.
His chances at reinstatement of a license revoked on Feb. 11, 2009 had been trampled beyond repair by talk seven, eight months ago that he would attempt to get licensed in Texas for a bout on the undercard of Pacquiao’s victory over Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium. Then, there were a couple of appearances before the Nevada Commission, which told Margarito to first go to California.
To the California commission, it looked as if he were executing an end-around in an attempted evasion of accountability. Margarito said the right things Wednesday, but the state’s regulators were going to make him pay anyway for trying to sidestep them. Hence, they slapped him with a denial that in at least one aspect was ridiculous. To wit:
According to state attorney Karen Chappelle, Margarito had illegally trained at Robert Garcia’s gym in Oxnard, Calif., for a victory on May 8 in Mexico. Margarito sparred without a California-issued permit mandatory for all boxers training in the state. Margarito said he didn’t know about that one, either. Other than lawyers and regulators, I’m not sure anybody else did mostly because it’s a rule seldom, if ever, enforced in any state without funding needed to enforce commission rules. To use that one as another reason for a Margarito denial is little bit like withholding a driver’s license because of jaywalking.
In Texas, however, Margarito will be one more step down protocol’s path and another step toward accepting accountability, which has been demanded repeatedly by media and fans in the court of public opinion. It’s an opinion that matters, perhaps more than any other. That was evident in questions and comments from commissioners at Wednesday’s hearing. Despite criticism of Margarito, even Chappelle seemed to like what she heard from the former welterweight champion.
“I think that Mr. Margarito came across as very sincere, which should do him well in the future,’’ Chappelle told Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
The future looks a lot like Texas.
Gesta’s rise continues at Tucson’s Casino Del Sol
Lightweight Mercito Gesta (18-0-1, 8 KOs), called one of the best Filipino prospects by Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, figures to continue on an apparent arc to stardom tonight in Tucson at Casino Del Sol on TeleFurtura card against Mexican Genaro Trazancos (22-11-1, 13 KOs).
The 22-year-old Gesta hopes for a shot at interim World Boxing Organization champion Michael Katsidis, possibly next year. Against Trazancos, the Filipino lefthander has a chance to look very good. The 35-year-old Mexican has lost six of his last seven.
The Don Chargin-promoted card was scheduled for seven fights. A super-bantamweight bout featuring unbeaten Michael Franco (16-0, 11 KOs) of Riverside, Calif., versus Mexican Adolfo Landeros (20-14-1, 9 KOs) was canceled, because of an eye injury to Franco, a Riverside, Calif., prospect who is suffering from a torn retina. First bell is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Arizona time).
Notes, anecdotes
· According to news reports of Wednesday’ hearing in California, attorney Daniel Petrocelli told the commission that Garcia will tape Margarito’s hands in the presence of the fighter “so that Antonio can personally oversee the procedure for himself.” Huh? It would be difficult, if not very painful, for Margarito to be anywhere but present.
· And De La Hoya capitalized on the Margarito denial to lobby for a third Juan Manuel Marquez-Pacquiao fight. It makes sense. Since Pacquiao’s rise to the top of the pound-for-pound debate, nobody has tested Pacquiao more than Marquez. Marquez might be the one fighter who can beat the Filipino Congressman. For the best, there’s always somebody, which is probably the reason Pacquiao won’t agree to a third fight with Marquez any time soon.
Source: 15rounds.com
