By Brandon Estrict – Fight Prediction Leagues, Inc

Credit to GEORGE WILLIS of the NEW YORK POST for interview with Richardson and Team Mosley

While the proposition of Antonio Margarito’s run at the top coming to a halt is still highly debatable, it has certainly been greatly tarnished.  The real question is, ‘Has it been Shane Mosley BALCO tarnished’ or has it been Barry Bonds BALCO plus asterisk tarnished?’

The controversy began long before Margarito even entered the squared circle this past Saturday to defend his WBA Welterweight Championship.  Prior to his dismantling at the hands of the older, betting underdog Mosley, chief second to Sugar Shane, Naazim Richardson of Philadelphia, entered the locker room of the Tijuana Tornado for the customary overseeing of his fighters’ opponent’s hands being wrapped.  Present were Richardson, Camp Margarito, notably long-time trainer Javier Capetillo.

Oddly, by the time Richardson had gotten there, Margarito’s left hand had already been taped, gloved, and approved by the California State Athletic Commission.  While Capetillo wrapped the right hand, Richardson grew curious as to the amount of tape being placed directly onto the skin and asked for a re-wrapping, which he was granted.  During this re-wrapping, apparently, Richardson then requested he feel the pad being placed across Margarito’s knuckles, to great protest from camp Margarito.  Dean Lohuis, chief inspector for the CSAC, granted this request and Richardson, speaking on what he found during that inspection was quoted as saying, “It was brick-hard.”

After feeling for himself, Lohuis then granted Richardson’s request to have the pad be opened up.  “When he opened it up, a little square block of old wet gauze packed real tight came out,” Richardson said. “It was like it had plaster on it. I think it had an old dried up blood stain on it.”  Margarito was forced to once again rewrap his hands, and once again at Richardson’s request, Lohuis ordered that Margarito’s left hand be “opened up,” as well and the results of that test where more of the same as the foreign object was found in that hand as well.  A defiant Francisco Espinoza, Margarito’s Manager, went on a tirade that ended with him saying he expected something like this from Richardson, to which Naazim replied, “You should expect me to do my job.”

The two samples were collected as evidence and sent back to the CSAC’s offices for inspection sometime this week.  When he got the chance to analyze the material, a doctor for the Mosley camp stated, “This is what we use in hospitals to make casts.”  If not obvious, Richardson goes on to explain the advantages Margarito would have gained without his observation, “As you fight the natural cushion in the gloves wear down, so by the later rounds you’re basically getting hit with that plaster in there. That kind of stuff is ridiculous.”

That is a very interesting statement as, keep in mind; Antonio Margarito was always notorious for starting slow in all of his fights with few exceptions, and coming on strong as the rounds go on.  It is how he was able to blast out Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto last year in Las Vegas, handing the heavy handed boxer/puncher, the first loss of his professional career in devastating come-from-behind fashion.  Unfortunately, the actions of his team last Saturday now leave Margarito a topic of much speculation in regards to his past fights.

Think of how he was being beaten by Joshua Clottey as well, and how after 4 rounds, Clottey almost completely refused to let his hands go.  Now, we all know this was reported to be the case as a result of Clottey injuring either one, or both of his hands during that fight, but that is my point that now nothing is beyond the realm of possibility, and justifiably so.  It is disappointing, because Margarito is a warrior in the ring, and being dominated and stopped for the first time in a pro career that began at age 15, he has enough on his plate going forward as it is.

“I can only imagine what Cotto is thinking now…I’ve never seen somebody not working out, sweating as badly as the guy who was wrapping Margarito’s hands when this was going on. It was like they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.” said Mosley’s lawyer, Judd Burstein.  Richardson further opened up the floodgates, but also placed more blame on the Camp the fighter they support, “Who knows, he may have been doing this for all his fights…this was deliberate.  I don’t want to tarnish nobody’s image. Margarito might not have known what was going on because he wasn’t really objecting to being rewrapped. But somebody did it.”   Lastly, making sure not to take away from how awesome Shane Mosley was that night, Richardson added, “I don’t think anybody would have beaten Shane Mosley that night, but with that plaster in there, it might have made it a little rougher.”

It should be noted that earlier today, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has come out and stated that Margarito has been found guilty of no wrong-doing in his win over Cotto there, last July 26th.  But with only 3 days having passed for investigation since the discovery of loaded gloves in California, on top of the fact that pre-Mosley, one of his hands was already gloved and wrapped, I would assume that statement as open to interpretation as the rest of Antonio Margarito’s run at the top is, and will become.  Whether he is eventually cleared of any and all wrongdoing, it truly is a sad time for Margarito and his great Mexican supporters, as well as boxing in general.