Margarito set to attempt ill-advised comeback
Posted: 29 Oct 2015, 19:10
Antonio Margarito to attempt ill-advised comeback
http://thelivingdaylights.co/2015/10/29 ... -comeback/?
Antonio Margarito’s career to this point has included the highs of being a world champion and one of the most feared welterweights in boxing to the lows of the disgrace that ensued due to his loaded hand-wraps scandal.
By the time Margarito left the sport in 2011 after a bludgeoning at the hands of Miguel Cotto, he was limping with his proverbial tail between his legs. Margarito had lost three of four fights, and his surgically repaired eye had appeared on the verge of being smashed out of its socket in consecutive bouts.
And yet, it will probably come as little surprise that Antonio Margarito is now plotting a return at age 37. Here are some details from Dan Rafael’s report:
But a costly divorce and the itch to compete have him plotting a ring return. Robert Garcia told ESPN.com recently that Margarito has come to the gym to train and was in pretty good shape.
Margarito has also gotten medical clearance for his eye, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. Arum said he sent Margarito to the eye specialist who performed his retina surgery to be examined.
“Tony says he’s returning. He says he is,” said Arum, who said Top Rank is willing to promote him if they can work out a deal. “He has crazy notions of the money he’s worth. We know we can’t put him in with a killer right away. He has to get the rust out. But his eye is OK. I made sure he got a clean bill of health.”
A dire financial situation is never an encouraging foundation for a comeback in any sport, especially one as dangerous and psychically demanding as boxing. That, coupled with the reality that Antonio Margarito is a severely limited fighter prone to absorbing excessive punishment, means this ring-return is one that will leave plenty of fans cringing.
It is unfortunate that Antonio Margarito has gone through a costly divorce. And it’s clear, based on Bob Arum’s soundbites, that Margarito is perhaps a bit delusional in overestimating his value in the sport.
Where does Antonio Margarito fit at junior middleweight or, god forbid, welterweight? The answer is nowhere. The currently landscapes at 154 and 147 pounds are littered with young, slick, powerful and talented fighters. But given Antonio Margarito’s name recognition, he may end up becoming appealing cannon fodder — a fate no fighter, regardless of past transgressions, genuinely deserves at age 37.
http://thelivingdaylights.co/2015/10/29 ... -comeback/?
Antonio Margarito’s career to this point has included the highs of being a world champion and one of the most feared welterweights in boxing to the lows of the disgrace that ensued due to his loaded hand-wraps scandal.
By the time Margarito left the sport in 2011 after a bludgeoning at the hands of Miguel Cotto, he was limping with his proverbial tail between his legs. Margarito had lost three of four fights, and his surgically repaired eye had appeared on the verge of being smashed out of its socket in consecutive bouts.
And yet, it will probably come as little surprise that Antonio Margarito is now plotting a return at age 37. Here are some details from Dan Rafael’s report:
But a costly divorce and the itch to compete have him plotting a ring return. Robert Garcia told ESPN.com recently that Margarito has come to the gym to train and was in pretty good shape.
Margarito has also gotten medical clearance for his eye, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. Arum said he sent Margarito to the eye specialist who performed his retina surgery to be examined.
“Tony says he’s returning. He says he is,” said Arum, who said Top Rank is willing to promote him if they can work out a deal. “He has crazy notions of the money he’s worth. We know we can’t put him in with a killer right away. He has to get the rust out. But his eye is OK. I made sure he got a clean bill of health.”
A dire financial situation is never an encouraging foundation for a comeback in any sport, especially one as dangerous and psychically demanding as boxing. That, coupled with the reality that Antonio Margarito is a severely limited fighter prone to absorbing excessive punishment, means this ring-return is one that will leave plenty of fans cringing.
It is unfortunate that Antonio Margarito has gone through a costly divorce. And it’s clear, based on Bob Arum’s soundbites, that Margarito is perhaps a bit delusional in overestimating his value in the sport.
Where does Antonio Margarito fit at junior middleweight or, god forbid, welterweight? The answer is nowhere. The currently landscapes at 154 and 147 pounds are littered with young, slick, powerful and talented fighters. But given Antonio Margarito’s name recognition, he may end up becoming appealing cannon fodder — a fate no fighter, regardless of past transgressions, genuinely deserves at age 37.