Interview with Antonio Margarito

Ever since the biggest win of his storied fourteen year pro career over Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto this past July, WBA welterweight super champion Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27KO) has been logging in the frequent flyer miles as he has traveled all over the western hemisphere to various fight cards  in Las Vegas, Puerto Rico and Mexico City and boxing events including the WBA annual convention in the Dominican Republic.  Along the way he has met thousands of fans who he does not hesitate to attend with a smile, an autograph and a photo opportunity “the truth is the fans have treated me very well.  Where ever I go the fans are happy to see me and that makes me happy.  I am glad I am in the position that I am in, that I have demonstrated who I am and to keep showing the fans that I will be a champion for a long time.”

A week after his eleventh round stoppage of the former undefeated Cotto, Margarito was in Las Vegas to take in the championship bout for the IBF title he vacated between Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey.  Clottey stopped Judah in the ninth and it was rumored that with the win, Clottey had set up a rematch with the only man that has beatedn him in the last seven years.  The bout never materialized “what happened was that they offered me that fight but I told Top Rank that I would be ready until December.  Since I have been traveling, I haven’t been training so I asked if we could do it in December but there wasn’t any TV dates.  It wasn’t to be so now we have a date for the end of January, we don’t have an exact date but its for the end of January.”

In his last trip, Margarito traveled to the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic to receive his new belt and title of super champion from the World Boxing Association as part of their annual convention, a ceremony that brings a smile to his face when mentioned “I am very happy.  Supposedly that belt was for Cotto, that is how they had it planned but I won the belt with my will and now I am the super champion.”

With all his promotional obligations squared away, Margarito now has to concentrate on that date at the end of January.  The fighter at the top of the list, the thirty seven year old Shane Mosley “that is the fight that is being negotiated but we have to wait to see if it will be against Shane Mosley.”

Within his travels, Margarito sat ringside for Mosley’s KO of Ricardo Mayorga this past September, a performance that impressed the “Tijuana Tornado”, “Mosley demonstrated once again that he is a good fighter.  I think he did great in that fight.”

While many boxing critics believed that Cotto’s speed and boxing skill would be too much for the Mexican warrior, Margarito proved the ringside pundits wrong as he was able to systematically slow down the Puerto Rican.  A strategy that Margarito feels would work against his next possible opponent, “their styles are very similar.  I think that Mosley is a little faster than Cotto but we will work hard and come up with a good strategy for Mosley.”  But as always, Margarito does not take anything for granted and he does not believe that Mosley’s speed is the only variable he needs to be ready for, “no, I have to be ready for everything in the ring.  We know that he is a fighter with a lot of experience but we will have a good strategy for whatever he brings.”

But just as Margarito prepares for everything inside the ring, he is also ready for everything outside of it, including the chance of meeting inside the squared circle his last opponent “they have mentioned the possibility that if a fight against Mosley couldn’t be made it would be the rematch against Cotto, I am willing to grant the rematch.  I just have to wait and see what my promoter Top Rank says.” 

But wouldn’t a fight in between a rematch with the tough Puerto Rican with much to prove be the most prudent step?  “I am ready for anything, I am an employee of the company and if they want to do the rematch, we are ready.”