Antonio Margarito to fight again on July 16 in Mexico

Former welterweight titleholder Antonio Margarito will be back in action on July 16 in Tijuana, Mexico, facing an opponent yet to be named as he continues his boxing comeback as a junior middleweight.

Margarito, 38, last fought on March 5, beating Jorge Paez Jr in an action-packed brawl in Mexico City, a fight in which Margarito was dropped and hit with a ton of punches, but gave as well as he got, and earned a decision. It really was one of the best fights of the year thus far, but not that many people saw it, and Margarito (39-8, 27 KO) is unlikely to ever overcome the disgrace of his 2009 suspension for being caught with elements of plaster of Paris in his hand wraps before he went out to get decimated by Shane Mosley.

The win over Paez was Margarito's first since December 2011, when the New York commission questionably let him fight against Miguel Cotto despite an obviously damaged eye, which had to be surgically repaired after a 2010 loss to Manny Pacquiao. Cotto took Margarito apart that night, further damaging the bad eye, and Margarito retired in June 2012.

It was almost expected that he would be back sooner or later, but he's now an old fighter, never had a style that figured to age too well, and he was slow even for Margarito's standards in is March fight. The July bout, which will be televised by beIN Sports Español in the United States, will likely be the same sort of mid-tier level the Paez bout was, perhaps not even that challenging. Or he could try to step up quickly and find a title shot to cash out on.

If nothing else, you can certainly say Margarito showed the warrior spirit he's always had, but when you combine his toughness and determination with a declined skill set, it seems like you're just asking for trouble eventually.