Investigation of Margarito's hand wraps underway

The California State Athletic Commission is in the process of analyzing the contents of Antonio Margarito's hand wraps, which were removed from the boxer's fists Saturday night, delaying the start of his fight (and ninth-round TKO defeat) against Shane Mosley.

An athletic commission official told The Times today that the results of the investigation will be delivered "promptly," but declined to elaborate.

Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, reviewed the original wrapping of Margarito's hands and asked commission officials to remove the wraps because of excessive thickness. Extra pads and flecks of a "plaster-like substance" upon the pads raised suspicions Margarito and/or his camp had doctored the gloves to become harder as the match proceeded. Instead, the hands were re-wrapped, and Margarito was trounced by Mosley.

Richardson told George Willis of the New York Post he thought the wraps were handled deceptively in a "deliberate" manner.

Mosley's promoter, Richard Schaefer, of Golden Boy Promotions told me Monday he was convinced the athletic commission would investigate "that hand wrap, that cast, that they took in their box. ... They have a responsibility to look into it. Nazim noticed they tried to slip something in there."

Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, which promotes Margarito, said he believed all that was removed was "additional gauze," but Schaefer saw a photo of what was taken away and said, "it's more than additional gauze, that's not a good thing to say. There was a white pad with a substance that was a grayish, concrete color on it.

"The thing is, you wonder now how many times he did it before."

That indeed is on the mind of Margarito's defeated July opponent, Miguel Cotto, who lost by 11th-round TKO to Margarito -- his first career defeat.

My Times colleague Kevin Baxter learned Cotto will appear at a news conference in Puerto Rico Wednesday to discuss a new boxing promotion company he'll oversee. There, he'll also address questions about whether he thinks Margarito cheated against him.

"That's all that anyone is talking about down here," a Cotto camp source told Baxter. That individual could not be identified because he is not allowed by the boxer to discuss the controversy publicly.

-- Lance Pugmire

Photo: Shane Mosley, right, connects with Antonio Margarito, during Saturday's fight. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press

Comments

[EX Margarito Fan]

I think that if he did cheat in the Mosley fight he cheated in the Cotto fight. The punches against Cotto and Cintron seemed way to damaging in comparison to past tougher opponents that each have faced. I think he cheated and his previous fights should be ruled a no contest and he should be suspended for cheating. I lost all respect for him and I sincerely thought at one point he was the best but this confirms my doubts in the Cotto fight that he was cheating some way whether it was steroids or rocks in his gloves. The commision should be honest with fans and give Cotto back his clean record to sustain the trust of the fans.

[Michael O'Hara]

Well one thing is certain (Regarding Miguel Cotto and his fight with Margarito) Apparently he doesn't have the power of Shane Mosley (Or maybe Shane's hands were plastered) because he hit Antonio with his BEST shots for 6-7 rounds and didn't really seem to even stun Antonio. Suspicious substances aside I don't think the Cotto fight is suspect and the Nevada boxing commision agrees and I still can't see Miguel beating Antonio. I also think Antonio (like Kelly Pavlik against BHop) had an off night not the guy who destroyed Kermit Cintron (Twice) and Cotto. Not to take anything away from Shane who more than rose to the occasion.
Michael O'H.

[Fernando T]

In response to Michael O'Hara, get your nose broken in the 2nd round and keeping getting hit with plaster fists for 5-6 rounds and let's see how much power you have in your arms.

[danduke]

when cotto fought margarito, cotto was winning the fight on points and couldn't continue the fight after the 11th rd. When you are getting hit with bricks there is no way you're going to look good. So when they say shane looked better then cotto beating margarito it's because shane was not getting hit with bricks.

[Tijuana Tornando Forever]

antonio has been cleared of any wrong doing in the cotto right and previous fights, so he didnt cheat before. he was just using that to protect his hands.

[Paul]

So Margarito is banned for life for having suspect wraps yet Mosley is suddenly a victim when he is a known drug abuser. Neither of them should be contesting a world title.

[Anony]

:::::: WHO SAID "MARGACHEATO" ::::::

[Rick K]

To Fernando T - I'm with you bro, I think those who are trying to dismiss this scandal obviously don't understand boxing. Punches to the body take power from a puncher. Compound that with a broken nose and swallowing blood for 9 rounds will take your power too. Hands down Cotto is a stronger puncher; you can't look at this Mosley fight and say he isn't. Something else was going on there. The other thing I look at is this. If Margarito has a Stone head I'm reminded of a quote by Jacob August Riis, ""When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before." Mosley needs to thank Cotto.

[rafael vasquez]

All I know margarito is a fraud I knew it all along he is no good cheat almost certain that he tried the same thing in the cotto fight im talking about the the plaster in his hand>

[macho]

I think he did use plaster in his hand raps on the night of the cotto fight you mean to tell me when he had nothing to lost when he fought cotto he wasnt the champ at the time he didnt use them and now that hes was the champ and had every thing to lost hes gonna be stupided enough to use plaster come on it dosent make scence they should rule the cotto fight a no contest and strip away his boxing licence

[MoisesFG]

No wonder his punch was so devastating. It is really a very deceptive news but it is also good to know it. I hope the commission investigate on the issue and if something illegal is found to ban Margarito from boxing again or at least punish him accordingly.

[Boxing guy]

''Ex Margarito fan" says: I think he cheated and his previous fights should be ruled a no contest and he should be suspended for cheating''.. Mosley cheated in the De La Hoya fight as well... If Mosley cheated once then he probably did so before he was caught. 2 wrongs don't make a right. These guys should hold a no holds barred fight, Margarito concrete hands and Mosley doped up to inhumane strength and endurance..Winner take all.

[Will Ramos]

If the California State Athletic Commission's investigation proves that there was an illegal substance in Margarito's gloves, then it has to be assumed that this same substance was used in the Cotto fight. The damage done by Margarito to both Cotto and Cintron compared to what he couldn't to to Moseley makes me doubt his "real" power. The only proven fact about Margarito is that he can take a punch, what is in doubt is whether or not he has the "real" power to hurt Cotto, Cintron or anyone else.

[George A. III]

The right thing todo is wait for the results of the investigation by the commission. If it is indeed true that Margo used loaded gloves he should be suspended indefinately and the loss on Cotto's record should be removed (no contest). Its almost a gurantee if he tryed it against mosely he used it against Cotto. If anyone thinks that wouldnt effect the outcome of the margo/Cotto fight, youre really cerebraly inept. Cotto was ahead on allcards more than halfway down the fight, He got his nose busted in the earlier rounds and from then on began to lose all stamina and power. Ive never seen Cotto so damaged in any of his past 32 fights, hes fought brutalizers like Torres, and Mosley for that matter, it seemed quite Odd that with one punch to the nose Margo already broke it (no wonder cotto was backing up the whole fight) He kept smashing cotto no doubt with plasterlike substances in his gloves cheating is way to a victory. Not only should the commission suspend, and remove the loss for cotto, I wouldn't be surprised if cottos sues margo. What a disgrace to this great sport.

[George A. III]

The Nevada Boxing Commission agrees not make themselves look bad in saying therey 99.999% sure Margo didn't wrap his hands ilegally. Im sure any state boxing commission would say that in the wake of such an embarrassment. Not only that, the California Boxing commission did a more thorough assessment of the wrapping exploiting the lackluster and lazy practices of the Neveda State b.c. meaning theyre sure he didn't wrap his hands ilegally because they didn't bother to make him re-wrap his hands against cotto because nobody pointed anything out. so if they don't look its all legal. Pathetic NEVADA! Kudos to Mosley's traine N. Richardson for making Margo re-wrap his hands 3 times. maybe if richardson was cottos trainer last year we wouldve known this cheater much earlier.

[Bobby]

micheal o hara ur a trad dude margarito did use them agaisnt cotto did u see cottos face at the end of the fight it was purple margarito doesnt hit that hard man and u do know it. cotto was backing off the whole fight cuase he was getting hit with concrete in a rematch i see cotto winning in desicion.

[A Perez]

Mosely fought Oscar De La Hoya while he was roided uo and no one is calling Mosely a cheater

[P-nut]

I definitely think that Margarito cheated in the Cotto and Cintron fights, he damn near killed them. Every punch he threw was hurting them, contrast that with the Clottey and Williams fights..big difference. All of a sudden Margarito went from a good puncher to a Trinidad like killer..doesn't make sense. Of course the Nevada commission is going to say everything was ok there, he didn't get caught there. What a scumbag Margarito is,he doesn't deserve any of the glory that he stole from those real fighters.

[Sugar Ray]

I think the issue that people are overlooking is not just that plastering your hands makes you hit harder, it's potentially fatal to your opponent in a sport that's already violent. Boxing in-and-of-itself actually has less serious injuries percentage-wise than sports like hockey and football because it is so carefully monitered and there are doctors and referees looking out for a fighter's health. But you start loading up your gloves with plaster and removing padding like Resto did to Billy Collins and you are crossing a really, really thin line that takes boxing from sport to legalized homicide. Resto and Panama did TIME for what they did to Collins. Furthermore, although Mosley did EPO and steroids, it's a much smaller infraction for several reasons:

1. Mosley is a welterweight, and as such HGH is mostly only going to be useful to help him recouperate in the gym. Adding muscle is probably out of the question because it messes with your weight too much, but you can train harder so that's an advantage.

2. EPO will help your endurance, which will allow you to land more punches longer in the ring, so I actually consider that much more dangerous than HGH because that has a legitimate effect on the health of your opponent. However...even De La Hoya said that the advantage would only be a small one when you are talking about Olympic quality athletes. Sure, it might very well have ultimately made the difference between a win and a loss and that's REALLY BAD FOR THE SPORT, but not so much for De La Hoya's face. Compare that to wrapping a brick in a sock and swinging away at your opponent for twelve rounds.

In short, EPO won't kill your opponent, but plastering your wraps will alter someone's career and their life. Margarito should be banned from boxing if it turns out that's what went down.

[Butch]

I wanted Margarito to win but he didn't. Mosely was the better fighter that night. Let the investigation take its course before you judge. As for Cotto, he also got his butt kicked when Margarito took all his punches and kept coming. I didn't see a face mask on Margarito protecting from Cotto's punches.

[Adam]

Man, if he did indeed plaster his hands that would be an embarassment to himself, his trainer, and boxing. I watched the fight and saw the shots Margarito took. He took some bombs by Mosley, and all he did was smile right back. The reason why mosley won that fight was because he did not get hit with those "bricks" in his gloves. But how are you going to get hit when all you do is hug and hold on to your opponents arm and hold him in a headlock at the first sign of danger and when you get in close. I swear I thought I was watching a UFC fight. I know clinching is a part of the sport, but... come on! There has to be a line drawn somewhere. A warning, points taken away, something. Mosley fought dirty and clinched all night. All that was left for him to do was to give Margarito a kiss and a slap on the behind.
A few weeks ago I saw the Berto fight on HBO. Berto hugged and hugged, until the ref took points away, then we saw a fight! A good one! I believe a boxer should clinch, and fight smart, but if clinching is going to be your major strategy, then points should be deducted. Margarito did not throw the number of punches he normally would because of the constant clinching. Believe me, Mosley felt the bombs, that's why he clinched. Just listen to the post- fight interview, and the breaks after each round. Mosley was breathing heavy and he was hurt. If he was hurt by 70 or 80 punches a round, could you imagine if he did not wuss out and clinch at every sign of trouble, he would have received three times more punishment. By watching the Post-fight interview in the ring... Margarito was not talking like he was hurt, and was not breathing hard... unlike mosley. Margarito did indeed get knocked down by some good solid shots, but he could have continued. I 've seen him get knocked down by shots harder than that an come back and fight a good fight, even win. Just look at some of his fights in the past. Good luck Margarito, you're still the Tijuana Tornado.

[RB]

Cotto is done and in the past...The bottom line is that your trainer is part of your team, and if and I say "If" he used anything against Cotto...Then,They should have caught it...They should not be riding the coat tails of Mosley's team...Win as a team and Lose as a team...COTTO is a LOSER!!!!!