Margarito Licence Denied In California

Antonio Margarito’s hearing before the California State Athletic Commission has just come to an end. The commission elected not to reinstate the former World Champion by a vote of 5-1.

There was two main strikes going against Margarito. Firstly, Margarito has been sparing in America, and in doing so he was unknowingly violating the terms of his ban. The prosecution went hard on this point suggesting that both Margarito and new coach Robert Garcia were continuing to show disregard for the accepted standards. This ultimately was what decided the case.

The second point was over concern that a dangerous legal precedent could be set: in which the standardized punishment for tampering with hand wraps becomes a one year suspension. The commissioners feared this would not be a sufficient enough penalty to deter other fighters from trying to do the same thing in the future.

Several of the commissioners stated that they believed in the sincerity of Margarito’s appeal, but didn’t feel he had taken the adequate steps to demonstrate that he could be trusted with a license. They noted that the majority of fighters probably don’t know about the sparring permit rule, but Margarito was no longer grouped with most fighters, and needed to show he was making every effort possible to atone for his past mistakes. They recommended he return in a years time with significant evidence of his rehabilitation.

The lone member of the commission to vote in favour of the Tijuana Tornado said he believed the boxer was making a considerable effort to take responsibility for his career, and at 32 years old there was little point in having him sit out another year.

We don’t yet know how this will affect Margarito rumored November 13th bout with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.

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