Body Blows 2.12.09

Columns, News

The biggest news in boxing so far this year has been the Antonio Margarito hand-wrap saga. The California State Athletic Commission has suspended Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo, for one year. Since all other states uphold another state’s suspension, this means Margarito will be banned from fighting anywhere in the United States for one year.

This means bad news for the tentatively scheduled summer rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto. The fight was being shopped around Las Vegas and New York but neither will happen after the suspension. It does, however, open the door for Shane Mosley to get another shot at Miguel Cotto. Mosley wants to avenge his loss to Cotto but knew he would have to wait as Cotto would be tied up with Margarito. That’s no longer the case. If Mosley can’t lure Floyd Mayweather Jr out of retirement (I’m not holding my breath) then I would fully expect to see Cotto-Mosley II later in 2009, provided Cotto gets past Michael Jennings on Feb 21st.

Antonio Margarito’s next fight will be far less glamorous. He will likely take fights in Mexico for the rest of 2009 before reapplying for his California license when eligible in 2010. It’s an unfortunate spot for Margarito to be in but the entire situation now casts a dark cloud over his career. Were his gloves padded when he bludgeoned Miguel Cotto? I certainly hope not, but the possibility is now brought up. Margarito lost far more than his welterweight title to Shane Mosley. He lost his Cotto rematch. He lost his license in the United States. And he possibly may have lost his credibility.

Mayorga is El Matador For a Reason

Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga pulled out of his February 14th fight against Alfredo Angulo. According to promoter Don King, it was simply an instance of Mayorga being Mayorga. Ricardo thought that he was worth more money than he was being given and threatened to pull out of the fight if not compensated the extra amount. Mayorga’s demands were ignored and the Nicaraguan fighter pulled out ten days before the fight. Mayorga did something similar in his bout with Oscar De La Hoya but that was too substantial of a payday to bluff away.

Now Angulo is looking for a new opponent. A replacement was found but that fell through a few days later. The HBO tripleheader was looking as though it would turn it to a doubleheader. The Mayorga-Angulo fight would have been fun and had the most intrigue, but fight fans will still see three solid fights on Valentine’s Night. Nate Campbell defends his lightweight titles against Ali Funeka. Sergio Gabriel Martinez takes on Kermit Cintron. And Alfredo Angulo found an opponent in Cosme Rivera.

Vic the Destroyer

Vic Darchinyan looked great against Jorge Arce. Like Shane Mosley, Darchinyan put to rest any notions that his career was in a downturn with a dominating performance. His next fight, however, will be an interesting choice. Darchinyan wants Nonito Donaire in order to avenge a 2007 loss. Darchinyan’s promoter, Gary Shaw, was quite adamant after the fight that he will not deal with Donaire. Shaw used to promote Donaire and is still holding a grudge from how things ended. Darchinyan will likely be denied the fight he wants because Gary Shaw is a baby. Since when did loyalty play so strong with boxing promoters? Hopefully this is all just an act by Shaw in order to drive up interest. It would be a shame for this fight not to happen because Gary Shaw had his feelings hurt.

HBO Gets Pacquiao-Hatton

In news just about as shocking as Brett Favre’s second retirement, HBO won the rights to the May 2nd fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton. The fight will be produced by HBO and broadcast on pay-per-view. Showtime was made to feel like they had a chance and did the best they could be offering some CBS exposure, but this is a big fight and big fights end up on HBO.