Speaker 1: Welcome back to playing dirty sports scandals. Step into the
Speaker 1: juice bar, have a seat, and pop the lid on
Speaker 1: your favorite insulated tumbler. I'm your host and Maurista Extraordinary
Speaker 1: Jay Harris. Today, I've got a tail on tap that
Speaker 1: really packs a punch. Because it's about the boxing sensation,
Speaker 1: Antonio Margarito, You're going to need all your energy to
Speaker 1: keep up with Antonio, so drink up and let's go.
Speaker 1: Antonio Margarita was born on March eighteenth, nineteen seventy eight,
Speaker 1: in Torrance, California, but when he was two years old,
Speaker 1: his family moved to Tijuana, Mexico. It was a move
Speaker 1: that would shape young Antonio profoundly. Now, modern day Tijuana
Speaker 1: had a reputation for violence, and with its sky high
Speaker 1: crime rating of eighty two point six nine, largely attributable
Speaker 1: to cartel activities, that's probably not too far off the mark.
Speaker 1: Back in the nineteen eighties, Tijuana was less bloody, but
Speaker 1: still an incredibly tough environment at which to grow up.
Speaker 1: To feel confident, Antonio and his brother started boxing at
Speaker 1: a local gym, and by age eight, Antonio was seriously training.
Speaker 1: Boxing quickly morphed from an escape and survival mechanism into
Speaker 1: a calling for Antonio, who turned professional in nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: four at just fifteen years old. In Mexico, fifteen is
Speaker 1: the minimum age for boxers to go pro versus eighteen
Speaker 1: in the US. It's a big decision that comes with
Speaker 1: some big and brutal swings. Antonio's early, unrelenting professional career
Speaker 1: provided him with a strong foundation for future success in
Speaker 1: the ring. He didn't win every match, but he honed
Speaker 1: his skills against fearsome competition and built a reputation as
Speaker 1: a fighter who could take a punch and keep relentlessly.
Speaker 1: By his early twenties, Antonio was making real waves in
Speaker 1: the boxing world, both in Mexico and in the US,
Speaker 1: and had become known for his iron chin and aggressive style.
Speaker 1: Freddie Roach, who was regarded as one of the best
Speaker 1: boxing coaches of all time, having trained Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Coto,
Speaker 1: Julio Sis, Archavez Junior, and George Saint Pierre, among many
Speaker 1: other champions, described young Antonio Margarito as tough as they come.
Speaker 1: He just keeps coming forward and he's got a great chin.
Speaker 1: He breaks you down over time. As Antonio climbed the
Speaker 1: rank says a young fighter, he proved Freddy Roach's words
Speaker 1: to be true, establishing himself as one of the most
Speaker 1: durable and dangerous welterweights. For you who don't know, welterweight
Speaker 1: is a weight division having a maximum limit of one
Speaker 1: hundred and forty seven pounds, So Antonio Margarito wasn't hulky,
Speaker 1: just hardened. His breakthrough came in two thousand and two
Speaker 1: when he won the World Boxing Organization or WBO welterweight
Speaker 1: title by defeating Antonio Diaz. My proudest moment is when
Speaker 1: I won my first world title, Antonio Margarito later told
Speaker 1: the ring through his co manager Sergio Diz Junior. It
Speaker 1: was certainly a milestone victory and it ushered in the
Speaker 1: beginning of a dominant reign for Antonio Margarito, who would
Speaker 1: go on to successfully defend his title seven times, solidifying
Speaker 1: his reputation as a feared contender and gaining him the
Speaker 1: nickname El Tornado de Tijuana or the Tijuana Tornado. Promoter
Speaker 1: Bob Aram explained what it was like to see Antonio
Speaker 1: in the ring, saying, Antonio Margarito is a warrior. He's
Speaker 1: the kind of fighter that fans loved because he leaves
Speaker 1: everything in the ring. There's no quit in him. It
Speaker 1: was true, there was no quit in Antonio, and throughout
Speaker 1: most of the two thousands, it seemed there was no
Speaker 1: stopping him either. In two thousand and five, he destroyed
Speaker 1: Kermit Centron, a rising star with a perfect record in
Speaker 1: the ring, winning by technical knockout or TKO in the
Speaker 1: fifth round. From there, he enjoyed crushing victories over Joshua
Speaker 1: Claudie and Paul Williams, reinforcing his dominant status as top welterweight.
Speaker 1: But it was on July twenty six, two thousand and eight,
Speaker 1: when Antonio Margarito beat the previously undefeated Miguel Coto at
Speaker 1: the MGM Grand that he was elevated to a boxing legend.
Speaker 1: Antonio absorbed Miguel's best shots and kept going, eventually wearing
Speaker 1: down his famous opponent and securing a TKO victory in
Speaker 1: the eleventh round. Dave Larzelier of Sporting News wrote that
Speaker 1: it quote was unquestionably the fight of the year, and
Speaker 1: Kenny Bayless, the referee for the bout, called it the
Speaker 1: best fight I've ever done. Antonio became the Ring magazine's
Speaker 1: number one ranked boxer in the welterweight division. He was
Speaker 1: on top of the boxing world, enjoying respect, admiration, and
Speaker 1: plenty of money. The Tijuana Tornado stars seemed to be
Speaker 1: ever rising, but his success was about to fall under
Speaker 1: a cloud. I'm just going to wash this glass out
Speaker 1: and refill it with clean water before the dirt starts flying. Okay, now,
Speaker 1: I'm ready. The year two thousand and nine started strong
Speaker 1: with the boxing world buzzing with excitement for the January
Speaker 1: twenty fourth fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley, who
Speaker 1: was in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and who
Speaker 1: was considered by the ring in both two thousand and
Speaker 1: two thousand and one to have been the best active
Speaker 1: boxer pound for pound. Shane was formidable competition for Antonio
Speaker 1: and everyone anticipated an incredible match. The two fighters would
Speaker 1: be facing off at what was then called the Staples
Speaker 1: Center in Los Angeles to the largest crowd the venue
Speaker 1: had ever hosted twenty thousand, eight hundred twenty Adrenaline fueled
Speaker 1: fans packed the stands, eager to see that two greats
Speaker 1: duke it out. But as Antonio and Shane prepared for
Speaker 1: the bout, tension filled the locker rooms, and not for
Speaker 1: the usual reasons. Shane Moseley's trainer, naze Richardson, was overseeing
Speaker 1: the pre fight hand wrapping. This is a standard procedure
Speaker 1: before any major fight and usually goes off without a hitch,
Speaker 1: but Nazin Richardson quickly became alarmed. As he observed Antonio's
Speaker 1: hands being wrapped. Something caught his eye that seemed far
Speaker 1: from right. He would later recall the moment saying, I
Speaker 1: noticed something in the hand wraps that didn't look normal.
Speaker 1: When I touched it, it felt hard, like a cast.
Speaker 1: Of course, any trainer worth their salt wouldn't allow their
Speaker 1: fighter anywhere nearer ring to get pummeled by cast like fists.
Speaker 1: Nazem demanded that the raps be removed from Antonio's hands
Speaker 1: and be inspected more closely. Upon doing so, he discovered
Speaker 1: a substance embedded within the gauze that felt highly unusual
Speaker 1: and far more rigid than the standard materials used in
Speaker 1: hand wraps. It felt like plaster of Paris, Nazim explained.
Speaker 1: When I touched it, I said, no, this ain't right.
Speaker 1: Nazim alerted the officials, who then conducted a thorough on
Speaker 1: site investigation. Their findings were horrifying. Antonio Margarito's hand wraps
Speaker 1: were confirmed to contain a plaster like substance that could
Speaker 1: harden further as it dried and turned the well toweight
Speaker 1: champion's fists into potentially deadly weapons. The gravity of the
Speaker 1: situation was immense. For you to fully appreciate the significance
Speaker 1: of Na Sin Richardson's foul play finding, you need to
Speaker 1: understand just how dangerous the sport of boxing is. Even
Speaker 1: when fighters do play by the rules, Boxing is brutal.
Speaker 1: Beyond the spectacle of punches thrown and dodged their lives,
Speaker 1: the ever present, ever real risk of injuries, many of
Speaker 1: which can have lifelong consequences. The repeated blows to the
Speaker 1: head that boxers endure can lead to traumatic brain injuries
Speaker 1: and chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, a degenerative brain condition.
Speaker 1: Ct can lead to symptoms like memory loss, confusion, aggression,
Speaker 1: and eventually severe dementia. The dangers of traumatic brain injuries
Speaker 1: and CTE are not just theoretical. They've been experienced by
Speaker 1: some of the greatest names in boxing. Muhammad Ali, who
Speaker 1: was widely considered to be the greatest of all time
Speaker 1: was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in nineteen eighty four, a
Speaker 1: condition linked to the repeated head trauma he suffered during
Speaker 1: his career. Ali's painful decline was a stark reminder of
Speaker 1: the price even the top boxers can pay for their
Speaker 1: time in the ring. Another tragic case is that of
Speaker 1: Jerry Quarry, a popular heavyweight in the nineteen sixties and
Speaker 1: nineteen seventies. Jerry developed dementia pugilistica, a form of CTE,
Speaker 1: and by his mid fifties he was unable to perform
Speaker 1: daily tasks. According to The New York Times, when Jerry
Speaker 1: Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: in October nineteen ninety five, he was so disabled that
Speaker 1: he could not sign his name for autograph seekers. Jerry
Speaker 1: eventually died at the age of fifty three, his brain
Speaker 1: ravaged by years of punishment in the ring. More recently,
Speaker 1: the story of Meldrick Taylor, who won the nineteen eighty
Speaker 1: four Olympic gold medal in the featherweight boxing competition, has
Speaker 1: made waves, detailing the long term effects of repeated head trauma. Meldrick,
Speaker 1: known for his incredible speed and skill suffered from slurred speech,
Speaker 1: memory loss, and other symptoms consists with CTE as he
Speaker 1: aged a stark contrast to the vibrant athlete he once was,
Speaker 1: and when Meldrick was arrested on June fourth, twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: after threatening a man at gunpoint and then engaging in
Speaker 1: a ninety minute stand up with police, his irrational and
Speaker 1: dangerous actions were also attributed by many to CTE. Given
Speaker 1: these examples, it's clear that the risk of brain damage
Speaker 1: is already high in boxing under normal circumstances, and that
Speaker 1: if such an injury is sustained, it has the capacity
Speaker 1: to destroy the fighter's life and the lives of those
Speaker 1: around them. It's devastating now understanding that, you can appreciate
Speaker 1: why Shane Moseley's trainer, Nazem Richardson, was so horrified at
Speaker 1: the discovery of Antonio Margarito's plaster wraps. Under normal circumstances,
Speaker 1: the gloves and hand wraps that fighters use are designed
Speaker 1: to protect both the fighter's hands and their opponents head
Speaker 1: cushioning the impact and spreading the force of the blow
Speaker 1: to lessen its impact. Just imagine if that cushion was
Speaker 1: removed and if instead of soft padding, the opponent's gloves
Speaker 1: hid something hard, something that would almost certainly turn their
Speaker 1: punch into a lethal weapon. Plaster of Paris, when wet,
Speaker 1: can be molded and shaped. Once it dries, it hardens
Speaker 1: into a solid mass. If Nazim hadn't caught its use,
Speaker 1: and if Antonio's wraps had been allowed to harden under
Speaker 1: his gloves, it would have been like having his fists
Speaker 1: encased in concrete slabs. Every punch he threw at Shane
Speaker 1: Mosley would have inflicted far more damage than usual, with
Speaker 1: a much higher risk of causing severe injury or even death. Now,
Speaker 1: Antonio Margarito had always been known as a brutal fighter,
Speaker 1: but the idea that he might have intentionally tried to
Speaker 1: weaponize his fists was chilling. It wasn't just about gaining
Speaker 1: an unfair advantage in the ring. It was about putting
Speaker 1: another man's life in jeopardy. As Nazine Richardson explained, if
Speaker 1: that stuff had gone unnoticed, we could have been looking
Speaker 1: at a tragedy. The seriousness of the potential violation couldn't
Speaker 1: be overstated, and the incident was instantaneously scandalous. This wasn't
Speaker 1: just cheating. It was reckless endangerment at the highest level.
Speaker 1: Officials acted swiftly removing Antonio's hand wraps and then rewrapping
Speaker 1: his hands under careful supervision. The fight would go ahead,
Speaker 1: but the damage to Antonio Margarito's reputation was done. Shane Moseley,
Speaker 1: who was aware of what had happened in the locker room,
Speaker 1: entered the ring at Staples Center determined to prove a point.
Speaker 1: He was myopically focused on his performance, unlike Antonio, who
Speaker 1: seemed uncharacteristically distracted. Shane dominated Antonio throughout the match, and
Speaker 1: in the ninth round, he unleashed a barrage of punches
Speaker 1: that overwhelmed the Tijuana Tornado, leading the referee to stop
Speaker 1: the fight and declared Shane Moseley the winner by technical knockout.
Speaker 1: The loss was a major blow to Antonio Margarito's career,
Speaker 1: and immediately following the fight, the California State Athletic Commission
Speaker 1: launched an investigation into his hand wraps. Plastergate wasn't just
Speaker 1: going to disappear. In meeting with the Commission, Antonio Margarito's trainer,
Speaker 1: Javier Capetillo, attempted to shield his fighter from the fallout,
Speaker 1: explaining that he'd accidentally put the wrong inserts into the
Speaker 1: hand wraps and that he just reached for the wrong
Speaker 1: pads in his equipment bag. I committed a big mistake,
Speaker 1: Javier Capatio told the panel and standing room only crowd.
Speaker 1: I don't want this young man, Antonio Margarito, to have problems.
Speaker 1: I'm here to cover any responsibility. I take full response ability.
Speaker 1: I committed this innocent mistake, but the California State Athletic
Speaker 1: Commission wasn't so sure that it had been an innocent mistake,
Speaker 1: and on February tenth, two thousand and nine, after thorough
Speaker 1: examination and a vote of seven to none, their organization
Speaker 1: announced that trainer Javier Capitio's license was permanently revoked and
Speaker 1: that Antonio Margarito's boxing license was revoked, banning him from
Speaker 1: fighting in the United States for at least a year.
Speaker 1: The conduct of both mister Margarito and mister Capeitia was
Speaker 1: unacceptable and threatened the health and safety of another licensee.
Speaker 1: Carrie Lopez, the director of the state's Department of Consumer Affairs,
Speaker 1: which licensed its fighters, told the Associated Press today's action
Speaker 1: shows that both the Department of Consumer Affairs and the
Speaker 1: California State Athletics Commission take the issue of boxer's safety
Speaker 1: very seriously and will move quickly when a licensee's actions
Speaker 1: threaten the safety of others. The Commission's decision split opinion
Speaker 1: in the boxing world, with some believing that the ban
Speaker 1: on Antonio, who claimed not to have been aware of
Speaker 1: the plaster in his wraps, was unfair, while others felt
Speaker 1: he should have been kicked out of the sport for good.
Speaker 1: Promoter Bob Aerram told ESPN that the commission's ruling was
Speaker 1: the most bizarre thing I've ever experienced and that it's
Speaker 1: not going to hold up. The commission determined that Antonio
Speaker 1: knew nothing and did nothing wrong, but that he is
Speaker 1: head of his team, so he is responsible for the trainer,
Speaker 1: and therefore it is appropriate to revoke his license. How
Speaker 1: can you revoke somebody's license when they didn't do anything
Speaker 1: wrong or attempt to do anything wrong. Javier Capatillo admitted
Speaker 1: that he made an inadvertent mistake and said Antonio knew
Speaker 1: nothing about it. Antonio Margarito is a nice guy and
Speaker 1: deserves better than this. But legendary coach Freddie Roach took
Speaker 1: the opposite opinion of Bob Aaron, saying, the Commission gave
Speaker 1: Antonio one year suspension, but deep down, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: the kind of person who thinks that if you do
Speaker 1: something like that, you should be suspended for life. I
Speaker 1: thought the sentence was light. Regardless of conflicted opinions on
Speaker 1: the Commission's ruling, one thing was for sure in the
Speaker 1: boxing community, Antonio Margarito had gone from a champion to
Speaker 1: a pariah overnight. Many fighters stepped up to express their
Speaker 1: doubts about previous matches, questioning the legitimacy of his past victories.
Speaker 1: Among the boxers demanding a look at Antonio's historic wins
Speaker 1: was Miguel Coto, who had been undefeated before his contentious
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight fight with the Tijuana Tornado, questioning
Speaker 1: the match that he was most proud of for its legitimacy.
Speaker 1: Must have been a blow to Antonio's ego that win
Speaker 1: at the MGM grand had been the pinnacle of his career,
Speaker 1: but Miguel Coto insisted that the match added up for
Speaker 1: him then and that it certainly didn't now. His defeat
Speaker 1: had been so physically devastating, with his face battered and
Speaker 1: swollen from the relentless punishment delivered by Antonio. At the time,
Speaker 1: many had marveled at Antonio Margarito's seemingly superhuman power, and now,
Speaker 1: in the wake of Plastergate, that power was being scrutinized.
Speaker 1: Was it possible that Antonio had used illegal hand wraps
Speaker 1: in his two thousand and eight fight with Miguel Coto,
Speaker 1: giving him an unfair and dangerous advantage. Miguel Coto's trainer,
Speaker 1: Joe Santiago, certainly thought so. When asked by The La Times,
Speaker 1: Joe said, quote, there's no doubt Antonio used illegal raps.
Speaker 1: Look at Miguel's face after that fight. Miguel Coto's father,
Speaker 1: Miguel Cotos Senior, was also convinced of Antonio's wrongdoing. There's
Speaker 1: a picture after the two thousand and eight fight where
Speaker 1: there appears to be a split in Antonio's Such a
Speaker 1: split would have been unlikely to happen with just normal gauze,
Speaker 1: and according to Miguel Coto Senior, that photo therefore provides
Speaker 1: overwhelming evidence that his son's two thousand and eight opponent cheated.
Speaker 1: The only people who can tell you for sure if
Speaker 1: those inserts were in there is Antonio Margarito and his trainer.
Speaker 1: But you have the picture now so people know, Miguel
Speaker 1: Coto Senior said. Miguelkoto himself was also enraged, saying, playing
Speaker 1: with the health of somebody else, of a human being,
Speaker 1: playing with his health is attempting to kill because he
Speaker 1: used plaster on his wraps. To me, that's really like
Speaker 1: a criminal because he used a weapon in this sport.
Speaker 1: You can only use your skills in your conditioning. If
Speaker 1: you have another name to call Antonio besides criminal, please
Speaker 1: tell me what kind of words I can use. Kermit Centron,
Speaker 1: remembering his face off with Antonio Margarito in two thousand
Speaker 1: and five, through similar shade this old world boxing news
Speaker 1: that two days after the fight with Antonio, both of
Speaker 1: my eyes were closed shut. No other fighter in my
Speaker 1: fifty fight career could have done the same. Why why? Indeed,
Speaker 1: since the fights were historical, no direct evidence could be
Speaker 1: brought forward to prove that Antonio Margarito himself had loaded
Speaker 1: or been aware of loading his wraps in previous matches.
Speaker 1: But the credibility of Antonio's entire career was now at stake,
Speaker 1: with many suspecting that he'd used illegal tactics throughout his
Speaker 1: winning streak. Freddie Roach, who once viewed Antonio as an
Speaker 1: up and coming talent on the boxing scene, now viewed
Speaker 1: him with disgust, telling The New York Times that he'd
Speaker 1: gone so far as to try to hide plaster in
Speaker 1: one of his own fighters wraps to prove that it
Speaker 1: would have been impossible for Antonio not to know about
Speaker 1: the cheating. As soon as my fighter closed his hand,
Speaker 1: he knew, Freddy Roach said he could feel the plaster.
Speaker 1: While plaster Gate certainly turned the boxing world on its head,
Speaker 1: Antonio Margherito wasn't the first boxer to be accused of
Speaker 1: using illegal gloves. One of the most infamous cases occurred
Speaker 1: in the nineteen eighties involving boxer Luis Resto and his
Speaker 1: trainer Panama Lewis. During a fight against Billy Collins Junior
Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty three, Luis's gloves were found to have
Speaker 1: been tampered with. Much of the padding had been removed,
Speaker 1: and his wraps had been soaked in plaster of Paris,
Speaker 1: leaving his opponent, Billy Collins Junior, to absorb the full
Speaker 1: force of his hardened punches with little protection. The brutal
Speaker 1: fight left Billy Collins Junior with permanent injuries, ending his
Speaker 1: promising career. Luis Resto and Panama Lewis were convicted of assault, conspiracy,
Speaker 1: and criminal possession of a deadly weapon. Both men served
Speaker 1: time in prison for their crime. Had Antonio Margharito dared
Speaker 1: to follow in their criminal footsteps, even knowing the possible
Speaker 1: repercussions were other fighters flying under the radar and playing
Speaker 1: dirty two, the boxing community decided that more rigorous enforcement
Speaker 1: needed to be implemented. Immediately, recognizing that dangerous boxing history
Speaker 1: might well be repeating itself, Athletic commissions across the United
Speaker 1: States introduced more stringent protocols for the inspection of hand
Speaker 1: wraps and gloves on the heels of Antonio Margarito's exposure.
Speaker 1: The new measures mandated that both the fighters hand wraps
Speaker 1: and gloves be inspected not only by the commission's officials,
Speaker 1: but also by a representative from the opposing fighters camp.
Speaker 1: This dual inspection process was designed to ensure transparency and fairness,
Speaker 1: making it much more difficult for any illegal tampering to
Speaker 1: go unnoticed. Additionally, the California State Athletic Commission introduced tougher
Speaker 1: penalties for fighters and trainers found guilty of using illegal
Speaker 1: substances or engaging in other forms of misconduct. This included
Speaker 1: longer suspensions, much higher fines, and, in some cases, as
Speaker 1: they had done with Antonio Margarito, the revocation of licenses.
Speaker 1: The goal was to create a stronger deterrent against cheating,
Speaker 1: reinforcing the message that such behavior would not be tolerated
Speaker 1: and would be met with severe consequences. While the changes
Speaker 1: that have been introduced since the Antonio Margarito scandal have
Speaker 1: undoubtedly improved oversight and accountability in boxing, plaster Gate remains
Speaker 1: a cautionary tale about the need for constant vigilance. The
Speaker 1: integrity of boxing depends on the strict enforcement of its
Speaker 1: rules and the ethical behavior of all its participants. Okay,
Speaker 1: so what happened to our dirty player in this scandalous sip.
Speaker 1: Well After serving his one year suspension, Antonio made a
Speaker 1: determined effort to revive his boxing career. His return to
Speaker 1: the ring came on May eighth, twenty ten, when he
Speaker 1: faced Roberto Garcia, who held the IBF Junior lightweight title
Speaker 1: from nineteen ninety eight to nineteen ninety nine, in Agua Calientis, Mexico.
Speaker 1: The match was widely anticipated as Antonio's chance to prove
Speaker 1: that he was still a legitimate contender. In the moments
Speaker 1: before the fight, Antonio addressed his suspension in an interview,
Speaker 1: saying that the year had not altered his perspective. He
Speaker 1: still saw no reason to apologize for the illegal hand
Speaker 1: wraps discovered at the two thousand and nine fight against
Speaker 1: Shane Moseley because he hadn't known his former trainer, Javier Capatillo,
Speaker 1: was breaking any rules by using forbidden substances in the raps.
Speaker 1: All these people that say things about me don't know me,
Speaker 1: don't know my history, Antonio insisted, through a translator, The
Speaker 1: way I box has always been clean. Nobody has a
Speaker 1: clear idea what happened that night, and now I'm going
Speaker 1: to show who I am. The Tijuana Tornado was back,
Speaker 1: but perhaps downgraded to a tropical storm. While Antonio won
Speaker 1: his comeback match against Roberto Garcia, the fight lacked the
Speaker 1: dominance and ferocity that at once defined his career. The
Speaker 1: scandal and time away from the sport had clearly taken
Speaker 1: a toll. Still, Antonio pressed on towards the most high
Speaker 1: profile fight of his attempted comeback the November thirteenth, twenty
Speaker 1: ten WBC Super Welterweight Championship match against Mani Pacquiao at
Speaker 1: AT and T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This fight was huge.
Speaker 1: It generated sixty four million dollars in revenue and boasted
Speaker 1: an attendance of forty one thousand, seven hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: four spectators. There's no question I can beat Manipaqiao, a
Speaker 1: puffed up Antonio told anchor Karen Bryant as he prepared
Speaker 1: himself for one of boxing's biggest stages. But his grandiose
Speaker 1: words did nothing to rattle Andy Pachiel, who delivered a
Speaker 1: definitive win, taking the WBC's super Welterweight title and leaving
Speaker 1: Antonio Margarito severely injured with a fractured orbital bone and
Speaker 1: significant damage to his right eye. The match ended in
Speaker 1: a unanimous decision, and many questioned whether Antonio should continue
Speaker 1: his career given the extent of his injuries. Manny revealed
Speaker 1: that he hadn't even brought his top game into the
Speaker 1: ring against Antonio, saying he held back during the final
Speaker 1: round of the fight because quote boxing is not for
Speaker 1: killing unquote, but Even in the face of resounding defeat,
Speaker 1: Antonio Margarito, whom promoter Bob Arrom had once described as
Speaker 1: having no quit in him, did not give up. He
Speaker 1: was determined to regain his place in the sport, so
Speaker 1: in twenty eleven, Antonio faced Miguel Coto in a highly
Speaker 1: anticipated rematch. This fight was particularly significant because of the
Speaker 1: suspicions that it clouded these two fighters first encounter in
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight. It was also particularly brutal. Miguel
Speaker 1: Coto delivered a commanding performance and the fight was stopped
Speaker 1: in the tenth round due to severe damage to Antonio's eye.
Speaker 1: The match effectively marked the end of Antonio's attempts to
Speaker 1: return to the top of the boxing world, had he
Speaker 1: only ever risen to the top because of his loaded
Speaker 1: gloves or worth. These humiliating comeback losses attributable to stepping
Speaker 1: away four year during suspension and losing his edge. By
Speaker 1: twenty twelve, Antonio Margarito had largely stepped away from boxing,
Speaker 1: and after briefly attempting to resuscitate his career in Mexico
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, he officially retired from the sport. In
Speaker 1: twenty seventeen. Today, Antonio Margarito is married to professional model
Speaker 1: Lorraina Vidalas, is a father of two children and lives
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. While some fans remember him for his
Speaker 1: many accomplishments, his legacy is forever marred by the Plastergate
Speaker 1: scandal that defined the latter part of his career. That's
Speaker 1: it for today's Tale on Tap. Join me your host
Speaker 1: in Brave Marista, Jay Harris next week for another episode
Speaker 1: of Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is
Speaker 1: a production of Dan Patrick Productions, Never Ever Productions and
Speaker 1: Workhouse Media from executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, Nick Panela,
Speaker 1: Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Clary. Hosted by Jay Harris, Written
Speaker 1: and produced by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks, Maya Glickman, and
Speaker 1: Jennifer Clay.