Antonio Margarito

Antonio Margarito
Margarito in 2008
Born
Antonio Margarito Montiel

(1978-03-18) March 18, 1978 (age 46)
Other names
  • Tony
  • El Tornado de Tijuana
    ("The Tijuana Tornado")
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Reach72 in (183 cm)[1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights50
Wins41
Wins by KO27
Losses8
No contests1

Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in 2008, and the WBA (Super) title from 2008 to 2009. He also challenged three times for a light middleweight world title between 2004 and 2011. Nicknamed El Tornado de Tijuana ("The Tijuana Tornado"), Margarito was known for his aggressive pressure fighting style and exceptionally durable chin.[3][4][5]

In 2009, just before his fight with Shane Mosley, Margarito was involved in an incident where he was caught with illegal hand wraps containing gypsum (calcium sulfate) which, when combined with moisture, forms plaster of Paris. His signature stoppage victory over Miguel Cotto in 2008 was subsequently called into question. Following consecutive losses to Manny Pacquiao (a fight in which Margarito sustained career-changing eye damage) and a rematch against Cotto, Margarito retired from boxing in 2012 but returned for three more fights between 2016 and 2017.

  1. ^ a b HBO Sports tale of the tape prior to the Shane Mosley fight.
  2. ^ Baxter, Kevin (January 23, 2009). "It's safer in the ring for Antonio Margarito". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  3. ^ Smith, Tim (July 25, 2008). "Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito not expected to fight dud in Vegas" Archived September 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. New York Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  4. ^ Houston, Graham (January 22, 2009). "Is Margarito all-time material?" Archived September 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. ^ Rogers, Martin (January 25, 2009). "Margarito's iron chin myth gets broken" Archived September 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Yahoo!. Retrieved June 29, 2017.