Between the years 1994 and 2017, Antonio Margarito boxed for multiple organizations, including the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the International Boxing Federation (IBF), and the World Boxing Association (WBA). Throughout his career, he won multiple welterweight titles and made several attempts at the light middleweight belt.
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Antonio Margarito Early Life
On March 18, 1978, in Torrance, California, a boy named Antonio Margarito Montiel was born. He and his family relocated to Tijuana, Mexico, when he was two years old, and he spent a lot of his time there boxing with his brother. Following this, Margarito had a brief career as an amateur boxer, during which he went 18-3.
Start of Professional Career
Margarito got professional earlier than he would have liked because of financial difficulties. He made his professional boxing debut when he was 15 years old, defeating Jose Trujillo by unanimous decision. In a later fight, he scored his first knockout by defeating Victor Angulo.
Margarito’s first loss was to Victor Lozoya five months later. His financial condition improved after he went 4-2 in his following six fights, and he went on to go 28-2-1. While in the ring, Margarito defeated the likes of Sergio Martnez, David Kamau, Alfred Ankamah, and Frankie Randall.
Antonio Margarito Net Worth
Former professional boxer Antonio Margarito is a Mexican-American multimillionaire.
WBO Welterweight Title
In the summer of 2001, Margarito faced off against Daniel Santos for the first time in an attempt to win the WBO welterweight belt. The opening round of the bout was waved off due to serious injuries sustained by both combatants in a head-to-head collision. Therefore, Santos maintained his welterweight championship, which he eventually gave up to go up in weight.
There’s an incredibly eerie look about Antonio Margarito with those eyes pic.twitter.com/1UZeCefDGC
— Boxing Memes (@Boxing_memes) March 6, 2016
This meant Margarito could rematch Antonio Diaz for the welterweight championship. He boxed his way to a knockout victory over Diaz, earning himself the WBO welterweight title. After that, Margarito successfully defended his title by beating Danny Perez Ramirez, Andrew Lewis, and Hercules Kyvelos. He kept the title until 2007 when he was upset by Paul Williams, who was previously undefeated.
IBF And WBA Welterweight Titles
In 2008, Margarito boxed his old rival, Kermit Cintron, for the IBF welterweight title and won with a sixth-round knockout. The International Boxing Federation (IBF) then mandated that he defend his title against Joshua Clottey, the division’s undisputed number-one contender.
To avoid fighting Clottey for the IBF title, Margarito gave up his title. He instead accepted a bout with Miguel Cotto, the current WBA welterweight champion. Margarito came back from an early deficit to win by technical knockout in the eleventh round, making it a fight to remember. By early 2009, he had already been defeated by Shane Mosley and had lost his WBA welterweight belt.
Further Injury, Retirement, And Comeback
In late 2011, Margarito fought Miguel Cotto, an opponent he had previously lost to. Margarito’s right eye swelled shut, and the doctor had to stop the fight to prevent more damage to Cotto’s opponent. Soon after the bout, Margarito announced his retirement from boxing.
Margarito briefly came out of retirement in 2016 and won two fights in Mexico. He triumphed over Carson Jones the next year.
Illegal Hand Wrap Scandal
When Margarito was getting ready to fight Mosley in 2009, Mosley’s trainer saw something white in Margarito’s hand wraps. Calcium sulfate, which, when mixed with water, becomes the plaster of Paris, was ultimately identified as the culprit. In the world of professional boxing, such conduct is strictly forbidden.
Margarito and his coach had their licenses banned when they were seen using illegal hand wraps in a fight, even though they claimed they were unaware of the practice. I’m glad you decided to read this, and I hope you found it interesting. TheActiveNews.Com has further details if you’re interested.