Cotto, Arum spar over Margarito

Miguel Cotto could only hold his tongue so long.

The former world welterweight champion, whose displeasure with promoter Bob Arum was obvious during a conference call with the media earlier in the week, lashed out at Arum on Friday for his decision to defend Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito.

Margarito, who is also a member of Arum's Top Rank stable, had his boxing license revoked Tuesday by the California State Athletic Commission. That decision angered Arum, who promised to circumvent the ruling by having Margarito fight in Mexico. Cotto, whose only professional loss came against Margarito last July, sees that ploy as a blow against the sport.

"I'm very angry [with Top Rank]," Cotto, speaking in Spanish, told a reporter in Puerto Rico.  "In the name of boxing, Margarito and his group have to comply with the penalty. Every boxer is very aware of what is being put on them. Everyone in his group was aware."

Margarito, along with his trainer, Javier Capetillo, was found guilty of trying to place an illegal, plaster-like substance in his gloves before last month's welterweight title defense against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center. Mosley won the fight with a ninth-round TKO and three weeks later Margarito and Capetillo had their licenses revoked for a year. They can apply for reinstatement next February.

Cotto and Arum, on a media conference call Wednesday, the day after Margarito's license revocation, agreed to disagree over Margarito's innocence with the promoter claiming Capetillo was the only one at fault and Cotto insisting everyone in Margarito's camp bore responsibility for an action that could have resulted in serious injury to Mosley.

"Miguel is certainly entitled to his opinion," Arum said on the call.

It was "a lack of consideration for the health of a human being," Cotto said of Margarito later.

Cotto (32-1), who will meet Briton Michael Jennings (34-1) at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 21, has refused to support speculation that Margarito's gloves might have been loaded the night he battered Cotto to take the Puerto Rican's world title, although he didn't rule out the possibility of legal action against the Mexican.

"That's for the fans, that line of questioning," Cotto said earlier this week. "The only people who can answer that question are Margarito and his group. I don't want to think about that. In that fight Margarito had a great performance. I'll leave it at that."

-- Kevin Baxter

Photo: Miguel Cotto, a former world champion from Puerto Rico, in training for his WBA welterweight title fight against Antonio Margarito. Credit: Miguel Maldonado / For The Times

Comments

[Ed]

If Mr. Arum thinks it is a "stretch" to believe that the trainer, Mr. Capetillo, "Accidently" applied a hardening substance to the wraps of Mr. Margarito, it is even a bigger stretch to think that Mr. Margarito was unaware of his trainers intent. Mr. Sulaiman who is heading up another fraudulent boxing organization is also trying to protect a financial interest in a fighter that was attempting to gain an unfair and dangerous advantage in an already dangerous sport. If we had any reluctance to believe that this could cause a dangerous and catastrophic outcome for his opponents, we need to speak with Panama Lewis and Luis Resto(recently admitting he was aware of tampering) who faced criminal charges and prison. There was also the enforced ban from boxing.
The fact that there was blood on this wrap, may also indicate that the hardening substance was used either against Mr. Cotto, Mr. Cintron or sparring partners. One sparring partner has come forward to indicate that that may have been the case. Both Mr. Cotto and Mr. Cintron took quite a beating at the hands of Mr. Margarito. Of course, this creates suspicion about how long this has been going on in the career of Mr. Margarito. Going from a fringe contender to a superstar seemed to be quite a jump without the aid of underhanded or illegal activities.
If Mr. Arum and Mr. Sulaiman proceed with their plans to separate Mr. Margarito from his trainer and then plan a fight in Mexico, the boxing public and especially those directly involved in the sport either at the professional or amateur level should be outraged. Mr. Arum should not be allowed to promote another event in the United States and the WBC should be dissolved. If the fight materializes, please call your cable company or your dish Network and object to it being carried as a pay-per-view event. I know HBO wouldn't touch it and hopefully all the other networks would follow suit.

[PNUT]

It's obvious that Cotto is taking the high road. He's a class act. Bob Arum is too greedy to care whether Margarito is a despicable cheater or not. He should, he knocked off his cash cow,Cotto. Margarito had to know what was on his hands,my guess is that he used it on Cotto and Cintron both. He might have beaten Cintron anyway but he had to cheat to beat Cotto and still lost most of the fight.

[Lenny Nipples]

Cotto needs to realize he got his ass handed to him in the first fight by pressure. If Margarito's gloves were loaded in that fight, why did it take 11 rnds? He should stick to thinking about Jennings, who is going to shock the word and win by KO in round 9. Cotto is shot, he is Buster Douglas.

[Ryan]

Miguel Cotto is a complete guide to how a sportsman should conduct himself in and out of the ring. He has talent, heart, skills, and most of all a dam straight head on his shoulders. I think we often fail to see the bright men in the sport of boxing and I must agree with Cotto on the Margarito case. We are not talking about Cotto being angry or vengeful but a man concerned for his sport and most importantly the well being of his adversaries. He doesn’t talk about himself losing the fight cuz someone might of cheated that cannot be proven but what he does claim is the full price of a serious crime against the sport. I like Margarito I like better Mosley and the fact Mosley won the fight gives me a sense of relief he was not injured by the illegal substance that was noticed b4 the fight. Even if Margarito is saying the truth he still should pay the fine for committing a crime that could put the life in danger of a fellow athlete. why is their a commissions, for it to prevent this from reoccurring and if Margarito is able to fight in Mexico maybe more boxers will try to use the same advantages Margarito had, and that would be a permanent black mark on the sport of boxing. We should all appreciate the honesty of a Miguel Cotto and his approach to his sport he is a fine example of an exemplarily athlete.