Margarito Tames his Bull!

It goes without saying that I love boxing. Not just the three minutes of controlled mayhem that happens inside a ring but also because of everything that happens outside of it. The controversies, dramas and feel good story of poor boy making good.

Another aspect of why I love boxing is the atmosphere of watching a fight either in the stands, ringside, in the comfort of your home or at a noisy bar.

For the return of the “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27KO), I opted for the noisy Tijuana bar as my choice of venue for the ten round bout for the WBC Continental super welterweight title held at the Plaza Monumental in Aguascalientes, MX.

The 32 year old Margarito faced Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (28-3, 21KO), who coincidentally enough bears the same name as Margarito’s new trainer, Roberto “Grampa” Garcia, former IBF super featherweight champion. Margarito had to seek a new coach after his suspension in February of last year when he and his trainer at the time, Javier Capetillo, were accused of using illegal hand wraps prior to the former three time welterweight’s defense of his WBA title against Shane Mosley. Margarito ended up losing the bout via 9th round TKO.

Prior to his bout against Margarito, Garcia, 31, of Welasco, TX, had not tasted defeat in fourteen bouts in the last five years and who has never been stopped in thirty bouts. Despite the biggest name of Garcia’s ledger being Freddy Hernandez, who he fought to a no contest back in ’07, “La Amenaza” was still considered a formidable foe for Margarito’s return to the ring.

From the announcement of the Margarito-Garcia match up, “La Amenaza” expressed his desire to end the career that the California State Athletic Commission. With every chance that he got, Garcia told everybody that would listen to him that Margarito’s time had passed and it was time for “La Amenaza” to shine. To help him with the task, Garcia hired the trainer du jour, Freddie Roach. Training at the Wild Card Gym, Garcia was able to soak up the southern California fight scene and spar with a former Margarito partner, Alfredo “Perro” Angulo.

While Garcia took advantage of the increased attention, approximetly forty miles northwest of the Wild Card Gym, Antonio Margarito holed up with the other Roberto Garcia and continued his routine of conditioning and answering questions about hand wraps without really answering them.

He also learned how to move.

As my companions and myself settled into our booth at my favorite boxing haunt in Tijuana, El Perro Salado, or the Salty Dog Pool Hall, the image on the flat screened plasma TV cut to a lean 154 lbs. Margarito hitting the mitts while his entourage kept up a steady stream of applause and hoots. Twenty minutes later and after witnessing Jorge Solis cruise to an easy defense of his interim WBA super featherweight title against Jose Santiago, a decent version of the Mexican national anthem and the booing of the “Star Spangled Banner”, the surprisingly less than full Perro Salado, my companions and I were ready to see the return of the favored son of our fair city.

As Margarito landed a hard right hand mid way thru the first round that dropped Garcia to the canvas, it seemed as the Mosley fight, the fifteen month layoff and the tattoos of the koi fish and dragon on his chest had never happened. Margarito kept the pressure up and stood in front of his opponent in a battle of wills in a pretty entertaining scrap.

Then it really got fun.

As Margarito escaped a neutral corner under the punches of Garcia, the over seventeen thousand fight fans assembled in Aguascalientes’ bullfighting plaza began to chant “Ole, Ole“, the familiar expression when a matador makes a successful pass against a bull. From then on, Margarito played to the crowd as mimicked the moves of bullfighters while he took escaped Garcia’s attack with lateral movement never seen before from the “Tijuana Tornado”.

As the fight wore on, it was evident that the bout will not have a dramatic ending of a KO or a stoppage as Margarito cruised to an easy unanimous decision. Margarito still tried to give the crowd what they wanted as he toyed with Garcia displaying some new found skills learned from “Grampa”.

Will this Margarito be able to compete with the elite fighters of the welterweight and super welterweight divisions? That remains to be seen. The fact that the Tijuana native has not been able to secure his boxing license in the U.S. puts a damper on many opportunities that may arise in the United States including a rumored mega fight against a certain newly appointed Filipino congressman.

Whatever the case might be, whether Margarito is still the same fighter with the same chin and determination prior to his Mosley loss and months of inactivity, I do know one thing.

I liked what I saw in Aguascalientes.