The first time I ever saw Antonio Margarito fight was when he dismantled the highly touted Kermit Cintron in their first fight. I had never heard of either of them before, but Cintron was viewed as the favorite over Margarito, who was looking for big fights at the time. Margarito seemed rugged and good-natured, a throwback fighter, who reduced Cintron to tears with his Mexican-warrior, come-forward style. Cintron, on the other hand, later proved to have a fragile psyche with a resume of bizarre fights.
Antonio Margarito had an inspirational story, and a rousing battle with Miguel Cotto, that to this day, remains one of my favorite fights of all time. It was a fight more dramatic than any film, with the constant ebb and flow, the unbreakable chin of Margarito, who relentlessly came forward.
The single moment when Cotto willingly takes a knee is a poignant, naked moment of a champion unable to continue. It was a fight where you saw two men waging spiritual and physical warfare on each other. Antonio Margarito emerged a lauded champion, a man’s man in a world of hyper-masculine men.
So imagine my surprise when he was caught using loaded gloves against his fight with Shane Mosley. I believe that he had been loading his gloves prior, and HAD to know that his hands were loaded. I don’t believe him when he says that he didn’t know. I wonder what went on internally within Margarito that made him feel he had to try to snatch this advantage? Was it his fears over being less technically gifted than other boxers? Was it his loss to Paul Williams, that derailed his career temporarily.
After his crushing defeat to Shane Mosley, Margarito never looked the same. Whether it was the wraps, or the perpetual shame he carried with him, his ability to win big fights had left him. Ironically, it was during this period of losses, he was able to secure big fights with Manny Pacquiao and another re-match with Miguel Cotto. Perhaps because he looked bad, Margarito was able to get the million dollar paydays that he always wanted.
And now it’s over. With a permanently damaged eye, Antonio Margarito has announced his retirement. He will most likely remain a ringside figure in boxing, but I believe that he will always be remembered as a tragic figure in boxing. The depths to which his career plunged were truly deep. And, unfortunately, he will be remembered for his cheating as opposed to his rousing victory over previously undefeated Miguel Cotto.
