Antonio Margarito
Margarito in 2008
Born	Antonio Margarito Montiel (1978-03-18)March 18, 1978 (age 47) Torrance, California, U.S.[2]
Other names	Tony El Tornado de Tijuana ("The Tijuana Tornado")
Statistics
Weight(s)	Welterweight Light middleweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Reach	72 in (183 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	50
Wins	41
Wins by KO	27
Losses	8
No contests	1

Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American formerprofessional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiplewelterweight world championships, including theWBO title from 2002 to 2007, theIBF title in 2008, and theWBA (Super) title from 2008 to 2009. He also challenged three times for alight middleweight world title between 2004 and 2011. NicknamedEl Tornado de Tijuana ("The Tijuana Tornado"), Margarito was known for his aggressivepressure fighting style and exceptionally durablechin.^[3][4][5]

In 2009, just before his fight withShane Mosley, Margarito was involved in an incident where he was caught with illegal hand wraps containinggypsum (calcium sulfate) which, when combined with moisture, formsplaster of Paris. His signaturestoppage victory overMiguel Cotto in 2008 was subsequently called into question. Following consecutive losses toManny Pacquiao (a fight in which Margarito sustained career-changing eye damage) and a rematch against Cotto, Margarito retired from boxing in 2012 but returned for three more fights between 2016 and 2017.

Margarito was born inTorrance, California.^[2] From the age of two, he grew up inTijuana, Mexico, where he and his brother spent a lot of time in a neighborhood boxing gym.^[6][2][7][8]

He compiled a record of 18–3 in his relatively brief amateur career, indicating that he may have turned pro quickly due to financial concerns (which he himself confirmed on his personal television segment onHBO:Ring Life: Antonio Margarito).

Margarito made his debut at the age of 15, beating Jose Trujillo inTijuana by decision. On April 25 he achieved his firstknockout, defeating Victor Angulo in the second round. On October 17 he suffered his first defeat, a six-round decision to Victor Lozoya. Over the next six bouts, he went 4–2. Following that, his financial situation dramatically improved (which is what he was trying to achieve early on in his career) and from there he went 28–2–1, with notable wins overAlfred Ankamah, Juan Soberanes, future WorldMiddleweight ChampionSergio Martínez,Buck Smith,David Kamau andFrankie Randall, a former WorldLight Welterweight Champion who became the first man to beatJulio César Chávez in 91 fights.

On July 21, 2001, he got his first world title try against southpawDaniel Santos for theWBOWelterweight title atBayamón, Puerto Rico'sRubén Rodríguez Coliseum. The fight had to be stopped in the first round as a consequence of a clash of heads that opened deep gashes on both fighters and sent them both to a nearby hospital. Because the fight had not gone at least four rounds, a technical decision could not be awarded. The bout was declared ano contest and Santos retained the belt.

Santos then vacated the WBO title to go up in weight and pursue the WBOLight Middleweight Championship and Margarito was assigned to fightAntonio Díaz for the vacant title in front of anHBO Boxing audience. On March 16, 2002, Margarito crowned himself world champion, beating Diaz by knockout in round ten.^[9][10] He defended that crown with a decision in twelve overDanny Perez Ramírez and a knockout in two over former WBA title holderAndrew Lewis.^[11] Lewis was a southpaw and a hard puncher, but had been exposed as having a weak chin, while Margarito proved that he has a world class chin. He publicly asked for a unification bout with thenWBC andWBA ChampionRicardo Mayorga.

At this point, Margarito considered going up in weight to try to lureFernando Vargas,Oscar De La Hoya orShane Mosley into a lucrative fight, or Santos into a rematch at the light middleweight division. On October 17, 2003, Margarito made his light middleweight division debut with a two-round knockout win over Maurice Brantley inPhoenix, Arizona.

On January 31, 2004, back in the welterweight division, he retained his title with a second-round knockout ofCanada's previously undefeatedHercules Kyvelos.

Margarito faced Daniel Santos in a rematch on September 11 of the same year at theJosé Miguel Agrelot Coliseum inSan Juan for Santos' WBO Light Middleweight title. The rematch also ended because of a headbutt, but this time, as the fight had already reached the four rounds mark needed for fights like these to be decided by judges, Margarito lost by a split ten roundtechnical decision. He was down on two scorecards when the fight was stopped.

On April 23, 2005, Margarito retained his WBO welterweight title against anotherPuerto Rican, undefeated world class puncherKermit Cintron, dropping him four times on his way to a fifth-round knockout (this fight was televised byESPN Pay-Per-View Boxing). This was regarded as one of his best wins.

After almost a ten-month layoff, Margarito returned to the boxing ring on February 18, 2006, retaining his title with a first-round knockout ofJaime Manuel Gomez, who had lasted eleven rounds with Mosley for theIBFLightweight title eight and a half years before.

On December 2, 2006, Margarito defeated future championJoshua Clottey by a twelve-round unanimous decision. Margarito set aCompubox all-time record of 1,675 total punches thrown in a twelve-round bout. In the aftermath of the fight, it was revealed that Margarito had injured his ankle a week before the fight, but went on to fight regardless of the injury.

On July 14, 2007, Margarito lost a 12-round unanimous decision to undefeated challengerPaul Williams, losing his WBO belt.^[12] After the bout, Margarito heavily disputed the decision, claiming that he had landed the most meaningful punches.^[13] Williams, however, landed the most punches (outhitting Margarito by almost a 2–1 ratio and throwing an average of over 100 punches per round) according tocompubox.^[14]

On April 12, 2008, Margarito engaged in a rematch with Cintron, who had won the IBF Welterweight title belt following his loss to Margarito in 2005. In the early rounds, Cintron struck Margarito with several flush power shots to the head, but Margarito remained unhurt and continued to execute a game plan of continuously moving forward and pressuring Cintron. In the sixth round, Margarito landed a liver shot, knocking Cintron out and taking the IBF title. As the referee counted Cintron out, HBO cameras captured Margarito from a neutral corner, gesturing upward with his arms and urging Cintron to get up so that the two men could continue fighting.^[15]

Following his successful rematch with Cintron, the IBF ordered him to fight amandatory defense against the organization's number-one contender, Joshua Clottey, whom Margarito had previously defeated in 2006. Rather than agreeing to a rematch with Clottey, Margarito vacated the IBF title and agreed to a fight with undefeated WBA Welterweight ChampionMiguel Cotto ofPuerto Rico. TheCotto-Margarito match took place on July 26, 2008, in Las Vegas.

Margarito won in the 11th round via technical knockout. Margarito had lost almost all the early rounds, but he came back with relentless pace, eventually winning in the 11th round, in what was lauded as one of the best fights of the year.^[16] At the time of the stoppage, Margarito was ahead by two rounds on two judges' scorecards, with one judge having it even. Prior to his fight with Shane Mosley, Margarito had a record of 37 wins, 5 losses and 1 no contest, with 27 wins by knockout.

Margarito foughtShane Mosley on January 24, 2009, at theStaples Center in Los Angeles^[17][18] to defend his WBA title and for the vacantLineal Welterweight Championship ofLineal Champs andCyber Boxing Zone (CBZ).^[19][20]The Ring did not recognize this bout for its vacant Welterweight Championship despite the fact it pittedThe Ring #1 ranked welterweight, Antonio Margarito, vs.The Ring #3 ranked welterweight, Shane Mosley. Coming in the bout, Margarito had just stopped the previousThe Ring #1 ranked welterweight and currentThe Ring #2 ranked welterweight, Miguel Cotto.^[21] In the fight, Margarito was battered and outclassed by Mosley and lost the fight and his WBA title by 9th-round technical knockout.

After the knockout loss, Margarito said he was weight-drained during the fight, and was also suffering from dehydration and back problems.^[22]

Margarito was scheduled to return to the ring on March 13, 2010, againstCarson Jones, pending his relicensing, on thePacquiao-Clottey undercard. But for reasons unspecified, promoterTop Rank announced he would not return.^[23]Margarito expressed interest in fighting Filipino boxerManny Pacquiao if the latter's bout withFloyd Mayweather Jr. did not materialize.

His comeback fight was postponed until May 8 and was held atAguascalientes, Mexico, where he faced light middleweight contenderRoberto García (28–2).^[24] Margarito won a ten-round unanimous decision over García to capture the vacant WBC International Light Middleweight title.^[25][26] The judges' score cards were 99–89, 100–88 and 99–90, all in favor of Margarito.

Margarito knocked García down in the first round, the first time García was knocked down in his boxing career.

On July 23, 2010, Bob Arum announced that Margarito would face Manny Pacquiao for the WBC Light Middleweight championship that was vacated by thenMiddleweight champion Sergio Martínez.^[27][28] The fight took place on Saturday, November 13, 2010, inCowboys Stadium inArlington, Texas, as Margarito had a licence to box in Texas.^[29][30] In his camp for this fight, Margarito had four southpaw sparring partners: Karim Martínez,Cleotis Pendarvis,^[31] number one mandatory for the WBA Light Middleweight title,Austin Trout, and U.S. Olympic silver medalistRicardo Williams.^[32][33] Five weeks before the fight, Margarito and Lightweight boxerBrandon Ríos were interviewed byElie Seckbach and the video taken showed both of them (Margarito and Ríos) mockingManny Pacquiao's trainerFreddie Roach who hasParkinson's disease.^[34][35] On the Thursday before the fight, Margarito publicly apologized to Roach and to everyone suffering from Parkinson's.^[34] Margarito had a 17-pound weight advantage (weighing 165 to Pacquiao's 148), a 5.5 inch height advantage, and a six-inch reach advantage. Despite this, he was dominated by Pacquiao and endured a savage, brutal, relentless beating for 12 rounds, and suffered serious eye damage.^[36] On the fourth episode of HBO reality show 24/7, it was observed that one week before the fight, Margarito weighed in at 154 lbs with the fight scheduled at a catchweight of 150 lbs. The fight wound up being a unanimous decision loss for Margarito, with the judges' scorecards being 120–108, 119–109, and 118–108.^[36][37] Margarito was taken to the hospital directly after the fight where it was discovered that his left orbital bone had been fractured. Surgery had to be postponed to two days later as his face was too swollen to operate on.^[38]

On December 3, 2011, Margarito was defeated by Miguel Cotto viaTKO by doctor stoppage in the 10th round. The fight was stopped at the start of the 10th round because of the condition of Margarito's right eye, which was swollen shut.^[39] This was the same eye that was badly damaged in his previous fight with Manny Pacquiao and the one that almost kept theNew York State Athletic Commission from granting him his boxing license because of the special procedure that was performed on it in 2010.^[40] Margarito retired following this fight.^[41]

Margarito came out of retirement in 2016, winning two bouts that year. He facedCarson Jones on September 2, 2017, winning a slugfest by seventh-roundtechnical decision after a cut opened up on Margarito's eye in the early rounds.^[41][42]

BeforeMargarito vs. Mosley, Mosley's trainer,Naazim Richardson, observed that Margarito had a pasty white substance in his handwraps.^[43] One doctor described this material as plaster hidden in the wrapped hands of Margarito, leading to accusations that he may have been trying to cheat. At Richardson's insistence, California State Inspector Dean Lohuis called for Margarito's hands to be rewrapped. According to Judd Burstein, the attorney for Mosley, Margarito had wet pads in the wrapping. Mosley's doctor, Robert Olvera, likened the material to the type of plaster used to make casts. Burstein said he seized the pad removed from the wrapping and another pad found in Margarito's dressing room. Both were placed in a sealed box that was given to Lohuis for further study.^[44] TheCalifornia Department of Justice laboratory later confirmed the substance to be similar in nature toplaster of Paris.^[45]

In late January theCalifornia State Athletic Commission suspended Margarito and his trainer, Javier Capetillo, pending investigation.^[46] At the hearing, Margarito claimed he did not know what was in the wraps, while Capetillo admitted to making "a big mistake" by placing the wrong inserts into Margarito's hand wraps. The commission voted unanimously to revoke Margarito and Capetillo's licenses for at least one year. While it found Margarito did not know about the gloves, it took the line that as head of the team, he was responsible for Capetillo's actions.

Since state boxing commissions generally honor suspensions imposed in other states, this action effectively banned Margarito from boxing in theUnited States.^[47]

In November 2009, it emerged that red stains on the hand wraps Margarito used in the Cotto fight were similar to the stains on the inserts seized before the Mosley fight. This has raised suspicions that Margarito's gloves were loaded for that fight and possibly others as well.^[48]

Margarito resides inLos Angeles, California,^[49] with his wife Lorena, whom he married after his first marriage. He was first married to his childhood sweetheart Michelle in 1999,^[6] came to an end.^[50]

• Notable boxing families
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• Antonio Margarito profile atAbout.com

• Boxers from Tijuana
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