It's been almost three years since former world champion Antonio Margarito entered the ring.
Based in San Diego, the 'Tijuana Tornado' was a three-time world welterweight champion. He just celebrated his 42nd birthday.
The last time Margarito (41-8, 27 KOs) saw action, he won a very tough seven round technical decision over Carson Jones. Many believe Margarito was on the verge of being stopped, but the contest was cut short due to a cut that Margarito suffered around his right eye due to a head clash.
The fight with Jones was the third bout of Margarito's comeback.
He first returned to the ring, to begin his comeback, in March of 2016. The fight snapped a long layoff of over four years.
All three of his comeback fights took place in Mexico, because there were serious concerns regarding his right eye in terms of getting medical clearance in the United States.
After the fight with Jones, Margarito's comeback basically came to an end - but he never announced his retirement or said much of anything. He just quietly walked away from the sport.
"The truth is I had the desire to continue, but my body did not respond to me in the same way when I was young. I think that in my last few fights, I commented to my wife, when I was in the gym, that it was no longer the same... when I blocked the punches with my forearms it hurt. Problems began, it was no longer the same, my elbows were sore, my forearms hurt, younger fighters were coming and it was time to retire," Margarito explained to ESPN Deportes.
"I accomplished things that I never dreamed of, to fight with the best in the world. I beat many of them, not to mention the fights were I also lost, I faced some of the best in boxing in my time. I still have that satisfaction, somewhere As a child, I always mentioned it, my greatest challenge was to be a champion, I managed to do it and the plans were to win more titles. I am satisfied with what I managed to achieve."
Antonio Margarito Reveals Why He Left Boxing in 2017
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: Antonio Margarito Reveals Why He Left Boxing in 2017
He deserves the coronavirus. Hope he rots in hell.
He quit boxing because he sucked when he wasn't padding his gloves.
He quit boxing because he sucked when he wasn't padding his gloves.
Re: Antonio Margarito Reveals Why He Left Boxing in 2017
I was wondering what happened to his comeback.
He never scored another knockout after his special gloves were taken away. Maybe that's why the fights got tougher.
He never scored another knockout after his special gloves were taken away. Maybe that's why the fights got tougher.
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: Antonio Margarito Reveals Why He Left Boxing in 2017
Margarito Admits He Underestimated Pacquiao, Fight Should Have Been Stopped
Back in November of 2010, Manny Pacquiao was going for his eight divisional title when he stepped in the ring with the always dangerous Antonio Margarito.
The contest, which had the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at stake, took place at a catch-weight of 150-pounds.
Standing at 5'11, Margarito had a very big advantage in size and weight, but the much smaller Pacquiao's speed and accuracy was too much for the Mexican fighter to handle.
Margarito took a severe beating that night, which saw him sustain a fractured orbital bone on his right eye. Pacquiao won a very wide twelve round unanimous decision.
The injury to his eye would affect him for the rest of his career, as Margarito required several surgeries and was forced to retire from boxing for four years, before a failed comeback that saw him walk away for good in 2017 after three fights.
"It was a difficult night, that's why I mentioned that you can say many things when you see a fighter, but being up there in the ring is different. In that fight I said that there would be no problems, I said that I did not mind him hitting me six times at a time, because when I caught him I was going to put him away because of this weight limit. But I was wrong because Pacquiao, apart from being accurate, was very fast and had a good shot and hit very hard. The problem was getting a hold of him, but I am happy for what I accomplished," Margarito told ESPN Deportes.
Margarito prevented his corner, led by Robert Garcia, from stopping the fight. Now looking back, Margarito believes the contest should have been stopped.
"The truth was that they mentioned that to me, when I went back to the corner, that [my face] was very bad and I told them not to stop the fight, I hoped I could catch him. I think it was in round seven that I nailed him with a hook down to the body and put him in a bad way... even Pacquiao himself mentioned it. But they did tell me that maybe it was time to stop it and I didn't want to because I was hoping to catch him with a punch, but I was really wrong," Margarito said.
Back in November of 2010, Manny Pacquiao was going for his eight divisional title when he stepped in the ring with the always dangerous Antonio Margarito.
The contest, which had the vacant WBC junior middleweight title at stake, took place at a catch-weight of 150-pounds.
Standing at 5'11, Margarito had a very big advantage in size and weight, but the much smaller Pacquiao's speed and accuracy was too much for the Mexican fighter to handle.
Margarito took a severe beating that night, which saw him sustain a fractured orbital bone on his right eye. Pacquiao won a very wide twelve round unanimous decision.
The injury to his eye would affect him for the rest of his career, as Margarito required several surgeries and was forced to retire from boxing for four years, before a failed comeback that saw him walk away for good in 2017 after three fights.
"It was a difficult night, that's why I mentioned that you can say many things when you see a fighter, but being up there in the ring is different. In that fight I said that there would be no problems, I said that I did not mind him hitting me six times at a time, because when I caught him I was going to put him away because of this weight limit. But I was wrong because Pacquiao, apart from being accurate, was very fast and had a good shot and hit very hard. The problem was getting a hold of him, but I am happy for what I accomplished," Margarito told ESPN Deportes.
Margarito prevented his corner, led by Robert Garcia, from stopping the fight. Now looking back, Margarito believes the contest should have been stopped.
"The truth was that they mentioned that to me, when I went back to the corner, that [my face] was very bad and I told them not to stop the fight, I hoped I could catch him. I think it was in round seven that I nailed him with a hook down to the body and put him in a bad way... even Pacquiao himself mentioned it. But they did tell me that maybe it was time to stop it and I didn't want to because I was hoping to catch him with a punch, but I was really wrong," Margarito said.
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: Antonio Margarito Reveals Why He Left Boxing in 2017
Sounds like Tony has matured.