CBC-Sports

Arum's advocacy reaches absurd levels

February 13, 2009 01:29 PM | Posted by   Chris Iorfida  

Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo were sanctioned earlier this week for the use of illegal hand wraps in his one-sided loss to Shane Mosley in last month's bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles, but once again it was Bob Arum who made a bid for most shameless.

The octogenarian promoter let loose a string of ridiculous statements and threats after the penalty was handed down on his fighter, par for the course for the man who in the past has admitted to a less-than-faithful relationship with the truth.

To recap: Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, noticed something amiss while witnessing the wrapping of Margarito's hands prior to the Jan. 24 bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The California Athletic Commission would reveal at its meeting Tuesday that they found firm gauze pads that had been smeared with a substance. They are awaiting lab results in several weeks to find out exactly what the substance was (this ain't CSI).

The commission knew enough that the substance shouldn't be there and was in fact hard, something that Capetillo confirmed. Capetillo fell on his sword, saying he mistakenly grabbed for the pad, which is used to protect a fighter's hands while training with sand or heavy bags.

His attempt didn't spare Margarito from punishment, however. The fighter won't be able to fight in the state for at least a year, and other commissions in the United States are expected to honour the penalty.

For those with the gut instinct that Margarito should be tossed altogether for such a potentially harmful incident, the commission said it could only by law revoke a license - it can't ban someone outright for life. Therefore, Margarito, could apply again and be reinstated as early as next year, although there's no guarantee he would be.

"It's something that I never thought would happen in the United States, where somebody who is totally and completely innocent, has no knowledge what happened, and didn't do anything wrong, gets his license taken away because his trainer allegedly did something wrong," said Arum.

Arum held to the view that because Capetillo took all the blame, his fighter should get off scot-free, which is preposterous. Having fought for half of his 30 years, Margarito is no pliable naïf.

While it's conceivable he didn't feel anything untoward while being wrapped, it would have been his fists potentially causing Mosley harm.

Arum told the Fan 590 in Toronto two weeks ago that were wasn't any substance to begin with - a clear case of denial given that he was speaking one day after the commission scheduled the meeting precisely because a substance had been found.

Arum shamefully said that Tuesday's verdict had a lot to do with the fact that Margarito was Mexican - even though the fighter, born in California, was the heavy crowd favourite at the Mosley fight. He also threatened not to promote anymore in California, ludicrous posturing given that former protégé Oscar De La Hoya would just fill the void and strengthen his company, Golden Boy Promotions.

Arum said he would bring Margarito back to Mexico for a bout, a country where the fighter hasn't competed in nearly a decade. It would be extremely counterproductive for his fighter because a) no world class opponent is going to go down to Tijuana to fight Margarito and b), the optics in the States will be even worse for Margarito if he essentially thumbs his nose at the suspension by continuing to fight.

Margarito should just take a year off and try to appeal again. It's probably best he rest anyways as he has taken a lot of punches over the past 10 months in bouts with Mosley, Miguel Cotto and Kermit Cintron.

He hasn't been invincible, and much of what he achieved has been due to an anvil-like chin (at least until Mosley dented it) and incredible will.

While Margarito's image may be tarnished, I don't subscribe to the view that everything he has accomplished in the past has been negated by this.

Arum, of course, has seen a potential summer rematch between Cotto and Margarito go poof. Certainly that had nothing to do with his viewpoint this week.

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