Popular boxer Antonio Margarito and his trainer have been stripped of their license and banned from practicing their profession as boxer and trainer respectively in the state of California for a period of one year.
The verdict of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) on the hand-wrapping case involving Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo drew controversy among boxing fans from around the world. Margarito and his trainer was found guilty by CSAC and were stripped of their license to practice their profession in the State of California for a period of one year.
Margarito denied that he has anything to do with the hand-wrapping incident. He did nothing more than hold up his fists for his trainer to wrap before the fight, but his argument failed to move the commissioners. ‘When you are the top dog, you bear some responsibility for your team’, said Commissioner Dr. Christopher Giza in a report by
Los Angeles Times.
Bob Arum who handled Margarito’s promotions said that his ward should not have been penalized as he had nothing to do with the hand-wrapping case.
‘To take a kid who’s done nothing wrong and revoke his license for a year: Are you crazy? Arum said outside the Van Nuys hearing room. If this was anyone other than a Mexican kid, there’d be a different result. The trainer does something wrong and the fighter who knows nothing suffers the consequences? What kind of nonsense is this?’
Many boxing fans expressed their outrage at the CSAC decision. They said that Margarito and his trainer should have been given a harsher penalty for the offense. They said that the substance that was placed inside the gloves of Margarito was placed there for a purpose and that is to gain an advantage in their favor. It could have injured or even killed Shane Mosley, his opponent.
‘I committed a big mistake. I don’t want this man to have problems’ Javier Capetillo said.
Mosley issued this statement: Capetillo was the one that puts the wraps on and knew the rules and knew better’; Margarito shouldn’t be punished as much as Capetillo should be’.
Margarito’s lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli told the Commission: ‘There’s no evidence Margarito knew, participated in, or authorized’ a plan to cheat. Somebody needs to do something wrong to be punished, he added.
