FanHouse spoke to Mexican-born, ex-champion Antonio Margarito by telephone from his training facility in Oxnard, Calif., where he is preparing with trainer Robert Garcia for southpaw seven-time titlist and WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao and an HBO pay per view televised Golden Boy Promotions clash that will take place on Nov. 13 at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) of the Philippines will be in pursuit of his eighth crown in as many weight classes when he meets the 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs) for the vacant WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title.
Margarito will be fighting on American soil for the first time since January, 2009, when he was dethroned as WBA welterweight (147 pounds) titlist following a ninth-round knockout loss to Shane Mosley at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, and a resulting hand wrapping scandal led to the removal of his license by the California State Athletic Commission until last month when Texas licensed him to face Pacquiao.
Margarito discussed the illegal, plaster-like substance that was placed into his gloves by then-trainer Javier Capetillo and discovered in his wraps, removed and confiscated prior to his facing Mosley, his strategy against Pacquiao, as well as his quest to restore his hard-punching image and ring mystique in this Q&A.
Translated by trainer Robert Garcia.
FanHouse: Where are you training and how is training going so far?
Antonio Margarito: We're training in Oxnard, California right now at Robert Garcia's Boxing Academy. Everything has gone very well. We've done our training perfectly. I'm feeling good, my weight is good, and we have nothing to worry about.
Who have been your sparring partners?
This is our first week of sparring, and today was our third day of sparring. We sparred three times this week. We've got four sparring partners. One of them is named [southpaw] Ricardo Williams Jr. [16-2, nine KOs.] The rest of them, we know their nicknames.
We four sparring partners, most of them have nicknames that we don't know. But we have four, good, fast, strong and solid sparring partners, and the work is going very well with them.
How do you expect to counter Manny Pacquiao's speed and mobility?
Cutting off of the ring and just generally applying a lot of pressure and throwing a lot of punches will be a big factor. I will need to throw punches in four- to five-punch combinations.
Will the body shot be critical to your strategy?
Yes, that will be a key to my doing well in this fight. There will need to be a lot of body shots thrown.
Do you believe that you can win a decision in Texas, where Manny Pacquiao has already gained a lot of popularity with his unanimous decision victory over Joshua Clottey, or do you believe that you need to knock out the champion?
I feel as if I have the power to knock out Manny Pacquiao. But if the fight goes to a decision, then it will have to be a decision where I'm the one that threw most of the punches. I have to throw a lot more punches than Manny Pacquiao to win a decision like that.
But I do feel as if I have the strength and the power to knock out Manny Pacquiao.
How damaging was the loss to Shane Mosley to your career and your mystique, spiritually, emotionally, and physically, and how do you explain that knockout loss?
That's in the past, but it definitely affected me because I was the world champion, and after that I lost my title. When I lost, that eliminated a lot of big fights that were part of my future and that could have happened for me with a win. But I lost, and now, I'm focused on this next fight.
I'm very much focused on winning this next fight.
In what ways is it both refreshing and rejuvenating to be working with a young trainer like Robert Garcia?
I am learning a lot from the mistakes that he is correcting in my style from Robert. I'm very comfortable and very happy to be here. I'm feeling better than ever right now. Every thing is going perfect. We're correcting a lot of mistakes that I had been making.
That's what is happening. This is a very positive move for me.
Were you surprised and pleased with the reception and autograph-seeking fans who pursued you, and the reception from the fans, in general there, when you were in Dallas attending the Manny Pacqiao-Joshua Clottey fight?
I was very happy to see all of the Mexican people and all of the fans in general who showed up for the press conference to support me and to let me know that they're behind me, and to let me know that they will be there for the fight.
Can you discuss why you agreed to a catch weight of 151 pounds -- or is it 150 pounds -- and whether or not making the weight will be a factor for you?
Well the catch weight is 150. I believe that the Manny Pacquiao camp thinks that it's going to be a problem for me making the weight. But I know my body, and I believe that they they expect me to have some problems losing that extra three or four pounds.
But I have no problem making 150. I'm already close to it right now, and that will be no problem at all.
Can you assess Manny Pacquiao's performance against Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey, and did you learn anything from those performances that will help you?
More with Joshua Clottey. With Joshua Clottey, the few punches that Clottey threw and landed were effective against Manny Pacquiao. Clottey just didn't follow up. I think, you know, that my key is just going to be to throw and land punches that are critical, but I just have to follow up.
I have to throw four- to five-punches and to keep busy and to throw punches in general. That's what I learned from the Joshua Clottey fight.
Was the Miguel Cotto who fought Manny Pacquiao and was knocked out in the 12th round in November the same Miguel Cotto who you fought and was knocked out in the 11th round in July of 2008?
No. I truly believe that after Miguel Cotto fought me that he was not the same Miguel Cotto.
Do you have a timetable for how long you will continue boxing?
No I don't. I think that time and the fights that are available are what will be the major factor in making my decision on how long I will continue to fight. At least, that's how it is for me. So time will tell.
If you could line up your next three or four fights, including your fight with Manny Pacquiao, who would your dream fights be against?
Well, after Manny Pacquiao, you know, of course I would like to fight Floyd Mayweather. That's the first name that is on my mind and the first name that I think of. But after that, any champions.
Any fighter, any champion I would like to fight after that. You know, any big names. No names in particular, but any body out there.
Do you believe that Floyd Mayweather ducked you in the past?
I don't know the reasons why Floyd Mayweather didn't take the fight with me. The fight was offered, and he didn't take it, and, instead, he fought Oscar De La Hoya. I'm sure that he had his reasons for doing that ,but I know that he's not scared or else he wouldn't be in this sport. So I'm not saying that he's scared. He must have had other reasons.
I think that Floyd is going to have to fight me with me, of course, being victorious over Manny Pacquiao. Floyd has always talked about fighting Manny Pacquiao, but that won't happen after I beat Manny Pacquiao. And after I fight Manny Pacquiao and beat him, Floyd Mayweather will have to fight me.
When you knocked out Sergio Martinez in February of 2000, and Javier Capetillo was not in your corner, who was your trainer?
Joe Valdez was my trainer at the time.
Does it bother you that Sergio Martinez is gaining all of the attention after beating Kelly Pavlik, and would you like to fight Sergio again?
No, it doesn't bother me at all. He's a good fighter and he's got his own career and he's doing really well. But if the fight is to happen, I'd fight anybody. I'd really be up for fighting him.
What do you say to people, including the fighters themselves, who believe that your gloves were loaded against Kermit Cintron and Miguel Cotto, considering the beating that you gave those two fighters?
I've always been a clean fighter. I've never used or done anything illegally. I can't change what people think, but I'm going to prove to everybody after the Manny Pacquiao fight that I am a very, very clean person in the ring.
Were you surprised or disappointed to hear that Manny Pacquiao believed that you knew about the plaster-like substance that Javier Capetillo place into your hand wraps, and, if so, does that serve as motivation for you going into the fight with him?
Manny Pacquiao can believe whatever he wants. I don't worry about what he's saying or what he's not saying. I could say the same thing about, you know, what people say about him being on steroids, and everything that has gone on with all of the steroid stuff.
But I don't even bring that up, because we're going to fight, and I'm the one who is going to show what I can do in the ring against him.
What would you say to Javier Capetillo today if you could get him in a room by yourselves and talk to him, one-on-one, and, man-to-man?
Nothing, really. I don't even want to think about that anymore. You know, that's in the past. I am with a different trainer now, and we're doing a great job and I'm really happy. I don't even think about that. That's in the past and I don't even want to remember those things.
Do you believe that Oscar De La Hoya, who applauded California's decision not to license you and who believes you should be banned for life, had something to do with your not being licensed by the California State Athletic Commission?
Yes, I do believe and think that the California Commission's final decision had a lot to do with Oscar. Oscar made a lot of comments. Oscar said that he hoped that I don't get my license in California. I just feel that he is very influential here in California.
So, yes, I believe that he had something to do with it, and their decision was influenced by some of the things that he has said about me.
Will you pursue regaining a license in Las Vegas in the future?
I would love to fight in Las Vegas again. Las Vegas is the place where, you know, every body wants to fight. But any other state would be fine as well. I would love to fight here in California also, if they were to give me the O.K. to fight here. But until they do that, then I can't.
But Las Vegas is the place where I really, really want. Everybody wants to fight in Las Vegas. I want to thank everybody who has supported me throughout my career and through all of the bad things that have been a part of my career, lately.
But also, to all of those people who don't believe in me, I want to still thank them and show them that I'm a clean fighter. I want to prove to everybody that I don't need to do anything illegal to win fights. I am planning to show them on Nov. 13 against Manny Pacquaio, and after that, I will make them believers.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
