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WBC: Margarito is innocent

Official statement: [Note this is only to make an appeal] 

World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman, announced today that the Mexican Federation of Boxing Commissions, the Boxing Commission of Tijuana, and the WBC Offices in Mexico, have agreed to face up together the situation of Mexican fighter, Antonio Margarito, who has had his boxing license revoked (suspended) for a year by the California State Athletic Commission, and defend him; such Commission was one of the Commissions that founded the WBC back in February 1963, and is a Commission with which the organization has had excellent relations and reached agreements of mutual cooperation.

The WBC, founded 46 years ago and formed by people who have vast experience in boxing, can not conceive that a boxer is suspended because of a bandaging, as the only people responsible for it, are the managers, the ones who solely execute such an important responsibility without ever receiving instructions from their fighters on what to use in the bandaging or how to use it. The fighter always trusts his managers widely, and he only extends his hands and moves them the way the manager tells him to do it.

On June 16th, 1982, in the fight between Luis Resto and Billy Collins, in New York, just to give an example from many there are, some banned substance was found in the gloves worn by Resto, who won the fight, and due to that fact, manager Carl “Panama” Lewis was suspended for life, but Luis Resto was not involved at all, and not only that, his win was confirmed as such, without any modification.

WBC President, Jose Sulaiman, in order to confirm or modify his own experience regarding bandaging, as a fighter he used to be in his early youth, and after being in the locker rooms of thousands of bouts throughout his 60 years in boxing and 33 as WBC President, decided to personally call several great champions, being Vitali Klitschko, Larry Holmes, Tommy Hearns, Michael Spinks, Gerry Cooney, Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales, Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor, among many others, ALL of whom confirmed without exception, that during their careers they had nothing to do with their being bandaged, and that their managers were exclusively responsible for such action.

Based on the previous facts and many more pieces of evidence that will be obtained, the Mexican boxing authorities, in a very respectful and amicable way, will request the California State Athletic Commission to extend the courtesy of sending all the prescriptive documents of the case, to immediately proceed to submit a respectful but firm appeal against the suspension that Antonio Margarito, who is ABSOLUTELY INNOCENT without a doubt, was placed on; Margarito shall be restored his damaged prestige and dignity.

The World Boxing Council totally rejects the use of materials that illegally alter the bandaging, turning the fists of a fighter into dangerous weapons, as bandaging was instituted to protect the hands of the fighters, and not to hurt the opponent, as it was used in the roman Circus, centuries before Christ; that is why the WBC does hope that, provided such strange matter that the California State Commission (which we congratulate for their intervention) is accusing Margarito´s camp of having used is confirmed, a serious and strong penalty is placed on the one who is to blame, since these degrading stains can not be accepted in the sport of boxing, as they hurt a lot the integrity of the sport of boxing,,,,,,,,, but never placing such suspension on a fighter, Margarito in this case, as he is absolutely innocent, as all boxers throughout history have been.

The fight Margarito vs. Mosley was not sanctioned by the World Boxing Council, but by other organizations, and it could be thought that we are getting into something that is none of our business, but we have been required by the National Federation of Boxing Commissions of the Mexican Republic, also by the Boxing Commission of Tijuana, both affiliated with our organization, as well as by the honorable Mayor of Tijuana, Don Jorge Ramos Hernandez, who we join hoping that this case is addressed within a high-class level with no distinction or discrimination whatsoever, as the World Boxing Council has always solidly been on the fighters´ corner, since its creation 46 years ago. If Luis Resto and many other boxers were treated with justice, why shouldn´t Margarito be treated in the same way??

We hope and demand that a penalty is placed on the guilty one, that must be done, but the fighter, who is the least guilty one, must be totally lifted his suspension, concluded Jose Sulaiman, WBC President.

Now seriously, if you were Mosley, Clotey, Cintron, Cotto, even Lujan, what must they be thinking and will they ever fight this guy again?

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Yeah… and Bill Clinton didn’t have sexual relationships with that woman…

by Zocalo on Feb 14, 2009 11:54 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Add Sulaiman to the list of people that think we’re all idiots.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."

"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."

by SC on Feb 14, 2009 12:41 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

If Margarito wasn't Mexican

Sulaiman wouldn’t give a shit.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 14, 2009 6:16 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

according to Arum

If Margarito wasn’t Mexican, THIS NEVER WOULD’VE HAPPENED. Which is among the most pathetic things Arum has said in recent days.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"I was trying to rob him. And he took my gun from me. And the gun was full of blanks. And he shot a blank into my eye. And now I cannot see from this eye ever again, the doctors say."

"Well to be honest it sounds like it's all your fault."

by SC on Feb 14, 2009 7:56 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Resto

went to Prison for 2 1/2 years and never fought again in the US. Margo should be in prison til further notice.

by lcollins1 on Feb 15, 2009 11:06 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I don't know about that

Plus the lab results haven’t come back. Resto physically assaulted Collins. Thank God Richardson was on the ball here or maybe the same thing happens, or something similar. Now there are conspiracy charges or something should there be a “plaster-like substance” indeed found on the pads. Brick, what could they actually do with Margarito legally in this case?

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 15, 2009 12:06 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Resto

actually went into the ring and punched the hell out of someone with loaded gloves. All we know with Margo is that he tried to enter the ring with loaded gloves. From a suspension standpoint, I’m with you (I think loading your gloves should give you the ‘death penalty’ in the sport), but from a legal standpoint I don’t think what he did was nearly as bad as what Resto did.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Feb 17, 2009 9:29 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

'...should be...'

should be not ‘will be’. I doubt he’ll serve time. I think that this should be a strict liability offense. A boxer should be held to know what’s being wrapped on their hands and should be held liable for any violation, regardless of their bullshit ignorance defense. We do it in other areas, do it here too. The consequences are plenty grave to the other boxers and lesser to the public to treat it just like a speeding ticket.

If we do what this goofy ass article/appeal suggests, a boxer could alleviate liability by simply hiring a different guy to tape his hands before every fight.

This whole story is misleading. Resto has since admitted to casting his hands in three prior fights to the one vs. Collins, all of which he won. He did know what was going on, he was beyond complicit, he was part of the operation. You can parade a bunch of current fighters up there who have never experienced having their hands wrapped illegally all you want, but that’s no gauge of anything.

And also, calling hand wraps ‘bandages’ is trickery. We put bandages on wounds, what goes on someone’s hands prior to a fight are wrapped gauze and tape on the top of the knuckles connected to the hand and around the wrist.

This is about $ at this point. Margo isn’t Resto, he’s worth some $ even if he’s been cheating for years. People will try to suck the $ out of him, even if they gotta go to Mexico to do it. You know what I think, I think Margo and co. should spend some time in prison

by lcollins1 on Feb 15, 2009 3:16 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

You know what I think, I think Margo and co. should spend some time in prison

Arum would probably try to do a PPV fight from prison.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 16, 2009 1:19 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Cotto

The funny papers from Puerto Rico reported that he is seriously furiously disappointed by the fact that Arum and top rank seem to be behind Margarito 100%. Don’t how hypocritical this might be between the two but if it is true it sure as hell will be great if it ever makes it thru the light of day.

Anyone that has any decency... please let me know if the Urango-Ngoudjo's 10th round fight is over.

by CRAZEDANG1280 on Feb 15, 2009 11:21 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

“On June 16th, 1982, in the fight between Luis Resto and Billy Collins, in New York, just to give an example from many there are, some banned substance was found in the gloves worn by Resto, who won the fight, and due to that fact, manager Carl "Panama" Lewis was suspended for life, but Luis Resto was not involved at all, and not only that, his win was confirmed as such, without any modification.”

Am I missing something/ misreading the article, its messing with my head lol?

these are the actual facts, right?:

a) They never actually found a foreign substance, only missing padding (Resto later admitted to loading the gloves, but some doubt him)
b) BOTH were suspended for life, and
c) The bout was changed to a NC, and is not a win for Resto.

So why does this article seem to contradict this? Am I reading it wrong? (I read through it 5 times, and it just doesn’t make sense to me).

It's not the size of the dog... It's whats in the fight of Bernard Hopkins! -BHOP

by blackpage on Feb 19, 2009 7:12 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

(Resto later admitted to loading the gloves, but some doubt him)

Who? Panama Lewis? Nobody is going to say, “We soaked the wraps in plaster” for fun, I don’t think. They didn’t find a foreign substance because they didn’t look. They did remove padding.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Feb 19, 2009 7:45 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Nothing new.

How did U.S. boxing officials suddenly get so high and mighty? They licensed Mike Tyson, a vicious rapist. Adding a little “insurance” to the fighter’s hands goes back to Dempsey vs Williard. If you watch the fight film it is obvious Dempsey was hitting him with the equivalent of sledge hammers. Also, note that Dempsey’s manager had a $10,000.00 bet that Williard would be ko’d in the first round.

by shallowandmean on Mar 7, 2009 3:41 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

As despicable as I find Mike Tyson (and he was a shithead long before his major troubles in the 90s), his most disgusting crime was outside of the boxing world. If you want to not license him for that you probably have to consider not licensing Hopkins, who served prison time prior to boxing. Guys can change. Tyson is his own case obviously. And I’ll be fair and say Tyson’s trial in indiana was a joke and he may never have been convicted somewhere else.

Anyway, if a guy cheated yesterday, it doesn’t mean he should get away with it tomorrow. In short, to hell with Margarito and Capetillo, they got what they deserved.

Bad Left Hook
Camden Chat

"If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That's all I am. I live it." -- Marvin Hagler

by SC on Mar 7, 2009 9:49 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

And because Dempsey allegedly cheated in 1919, we should tolerate and accept it now?

What’s your point? It just can’t possibly be that we should just get used to it because we’ve had a history that hasn’t been ‘high and mighty’.

by lcollins1 on Mar 8, 2009 12:47 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

High and Mighty

My point is boxing authorities should be consistent. If you ban Margarito for this shit you sure as hell never let the beast Tyson in the ring after the ear chomping incident. At any rate Margarito should not have been banned for a year. For one thing, Cotto might have gotten a rematch and totally destroyed him, which he would have done in the first fight except for the hands. Go back and look at the fight. You could see the fight draining out of him just from getting hit on the arms. This (the Mosley fight) was a deplorable incident but the fighter should not have been banned for what his handler did and likely had been doing.

All that said, I think Dempsey would still have dethroned Willard, plaster of paris or no plaster of paris. But the idea was a first round KO. The unnecessary injuries inflicted on poor helpless Willard certainly make the case for not allowing this kind of skulldudgery. But the officials ought to be totally consistent. And yes, I know, this is pie-in-the-sky. With fifty different jurisdictions you’re never going to get consistency.

by shallowandmean on Mar 8, 2009 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

yeah I don’t know about anything about ‘what woulda happened in 1919 if…’ I do know that I don’t buy that Margo didn’t know what was going on with his hands.

I’ve said this before on here but I’ll say it again: Getting hands taped for a fight is a unique experience, one that Margarito has experienced at least 50 times between amateur and pro fights. Are we to believe that he didn’t know that something wet and ‘very firm’ was being applied to his hands?

And really, the consequences of Tyson’s ear chomping, while ugly, don’t ruin people’s careers or lives. What Margo is accused of does. While Tyson biting Holyfield’s ear off was disturbing, it didn’t threaten to destroy his livelihood, cheat the sport or kill him. With that said I would’ve been in favor of a year suspension for Tyson for that incident too.

Look up what happened to Billy Collins. SC wrote a great article here on badlefthook a couple months ago. It’s a true tragedy, one that we should not tolerate happening again. I’m sure all parties involved would rather lose part of an ear than have that happen again.

And, I don’t care if Cotto beats him in a rematch. Margo shouldn’t fight again. We can enforce that in the US. If Mexico wants to be an accomplice, let ‘em, I’m not paying for it.

by lcollins1 on Mar 9, 2009 2:09 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

High and Mighty

Good points, but I think the responsibility should be on the taper not the tapee. And I would not want to underestimate a fighter’s ability to not necessarily know for sure what’s going on with the taping. Maybe he was told it was some new material or something and, besides, he’s got other things on his mind. I had my hands taped for 11 amateur fights and was so fired up I had no idea what the coach was doing. Also, “innocent until proven guilty”. Mainly, I just hate to see the game lose Margo for a year.
Can’t agree that Tyson’s ear eating and other shenanigans are not as serious. He was a total criminal and we may thank Cus D’Amato for his becoming world champion. He was coddled from the git go, starting with the molestation of Teddy Atlas’s (Niece?), and I don’t think the fans deserve a champion like that no matter what his ability. Bernard Hopkins truly “went straight” and so, I have no problem with his success.

by shallowandmean on Mar 9, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

as a person whose had your hands taped for fights, you’d know if something “very firm” was placed on your palm. Because that certainly hasn’t been part of my experience.

by lcollins1 on Mar 10, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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