The 'Tijuana Tornado' unwinds!
New welterweight king relaxes at home, talks about Williams, Clottey, De La Hoya, Cotto
“I am very content and happy,” stated WBA Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs) regarding his come-from-behind defeat of Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto last month.
“Now I am categorized as the best welterweight in the world. I had mentioned before that there was a question mark, and that on July 26th we would have the answe—and I demonstrated who the best is. A lot of people didn’t give me credit, but I had confidence in my preparation and in my team, and everything came out in our favor.”
FightNews spoke with Margarito last week as the fighter, his wife Michelle, and friends enjoyed a night out in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico.
“Before the fight, I thought it was going to happen as it played out,” recalls Margarito about what is sure to be a top candidate for ‘Fight of the Year.’ “I was confident that about in the eighth round I would be able to knock him out, but I didn’t mention it before the fight.
“I don’t look for the knock out but I didn’t think it was going to go past the eighth. I give Cotto a lot of credit for lasting until the eleventh. He showed great heart.”
The ever-confident Margarito was at no loss for words in describing his opponent’s style and his strategy:
“We felt that hitting and then running was going to be his strategy, but I knew that once I caught up with him with my shots, I was going to be able to defeat him.
“I wasn’t frustrated with his tactics; we knew that was going to be his strategy. We knew that, little by little, our shots were going to make a difference.”
Days after the fateful night, reports from Puerto Rico surfaced speculating that Margarito’s out of this world feat could not have occurred without any chemical help in the form of performance enhancing drugs. Margarito takes in stride, and with humor, the idea that he would take steroids.
“It hurts them a lot that I was able to defeat their countryman. That rumor began in Puerto Rico. I don’t know why they would publish something like that if they don’t have any proof and they are not sure. I guess it was just anger on their part. A reporter from Puerto Rico called me and I told him that the only thing I had before the fight was four gallons of milk!
“I heard another rumor that he had been poisoned, but I guess he was just poisoned with my punches. Since then, they have called me and apologized and they now want to honor me. I think I gave Cotto a great fight and this is how it goes. I am naturally strong.”
Now with the world at his fingertips, Margarito is not going to sit on his laurel, but is ready to climb back inside the ring as soon as possible.
“I do want to come back and fight before the end of the year, maybe in November or December,” says Margarito. “Bob Arum is working on it and I hope it happens.”
Although Margarito is anxious to give boxing fans one more outing before the end of the year, he understands that he is in the position to pick and choose his opponent, regardless of any devices any fighter or promoter might use to get him in the squared circle. Such was the case of a fight with Paul Williams, when his promoter Dan Goossen offered an unprecedented $4 million dollar purse to Margarito for the rematch of their 2007 WBO title clash which Williams won with a unanimous decision.
“Whatever Bob decides,” states Margarito without hesitation. “If Bob decides that we don’t need that fight and there are others, fine. If others don’t want to fight, I’ll fight anybody that they put in front of me.”
But reports of disagreements between Top Rank and the Paul Williams camp, including his advisor Al Haymon, might delay the much-anticipated return bout between the “Tijuana Tornado” and the “Punisher.”
“I don’t know what kind of dealings there is between them,” states Margarito referring to the discussions between Top Rank and Goossen Tutor. “They know better than I, about that. If people ask for that fight, I am willing to do what the people ask for. Many fans have said that they don’t want me to fight him because he is just going to run and not give a good fight like Cotto did, but I am willing to fight anybody.”
More than likely, Margarito will face Joshua Clottey, another Top Rank fighter who just defeated Zab Judah for the IBF title that Margarito vacated earlier this year.
“They had mentioned that fight (with Clottey) to me, but nothing is set in stone. As I have heard, they have that date reserved at Dodger Stadium.”
Also talks of a showdown with the Oscar de la Hoya are among the potential matchups for the newly crowned Margarito.
“Bob is supposed to get together with Oscar and see what can come of that,” says the champ. “But it looks like Oscar wants to face Pacquiao.”
Margarito does not pretend to understand why the “Golden Boy” would want to fight “Pacman” since he knows that a fight between himself and De La Hoya could be one for the ages.
“A lot of people are asking, ‘Why Pacquiao?’ He is a smaller fighter. I think that a fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Antonio Margarito would be great for Mexico!”
Throughout his career that began in Tijuana 15 years ago, Margarito has always felt the love and support of this his hometown, even more so after the Cotto fight.
Recently at a concert presented by one his favorite singers, Vicente Fernandez, the outpouring of love and respect from people of Tijuana was incredible to the soft-spoken, humble fighter.
“I am very grateful to all the people of Tijuana and all the boxing fans. I want to thank all the people that went to see me in Las Vegas, all the people from Los Angeles, Phoenix, Texas, from everywhere. Thank you for believing in Antonio Margarito.”
