As of right now, the hearing of Antonio Margarito before the California State Athletic Commission is on a lunch break, and is set to resume at approximately 5pm EDT. Here are some key moments of the hearing to determine whether or not the fighter will be given a new license to box. All of the moments we were able to transcribe can be found in the comments of this post.
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "Since your license was revoked in California, have you applied to box in any other state?"
Margarito: "Yes. ... My attorney said my piece and we decided to go and request it in Nevada."
Prosecution: "What was the outcome?"
Margarito: "That we had to wait, because we were punished here by the California commission."
Prosecution: "Did you apply for a license anywhere else other than Nevada while you were revoked?"
Margarito: "We got some exams, just in case the company were to get some fights in any other states."
Prosecution: "I see. Did you apply for a license in Texas?"
Margarito: "That I’m not sure. We did go through the tests. There was a fight in Texas that I did not go through…"
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "Do you have a fight scheduled with Manny Pacquiao as an opponent?"
Margarito: "That has been heard. I have not signed for that fight yet, though. But that is supposed to be the next fight I would have."
Prosecution: "And where would that fight take place?"
Margarito: "I don’t know. It has been mentioned that the fight could be in Texas, but it is my promoters that take care of all of that."
Prosecution: "Who is your promoter?"
Margarito: "It is Bob Arum."
Prosecution: "Since the time of your license revocation, have you had a professional fight?"
Margarito: "After the year went by, yeah, there was a fight."
Prosecution: "And when was that fight?"
Margarito: "May the 8th."
Prosecution: "And who did you fight?"
Margarito: "Roberto Garcia."
Prosecution: "And what was the outcome?"
Margarito: "I won by decision."
Prosecution: "And was that a title fight?"
Margarito: "It was a championship fight, but no it was not a world title fight."
Prosecution: "A championship fight, so did you win a belt?"
Margarito: "Yes."
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "If you had been given a license to fight in Texas, would you still have come to California to request a license here?"
Margarito: "Well, yes. This is where I got punished. This is where I would have to come in order to clear my name. This is where I would have to come and show that I don’t need anything other than my ability to fight."
The best moments are after the jump, including Margarito being asked if he ever asked Javier Capetillo why he would do such a thing, and members of the CSAC expressing their concerns over what may be a precedent-setting case.
Prosecution: "Do you currently have a sparring permit from the California boxing commission?"
Margarito: "No, I don’t have one."
Prosecution: "Are you aware that boxing or sparring is illegal in California without a permit?"
Margarito: "Yes of course I do know."
Prosecution: "So when you spar with your trainer in Oxnard, California, you’re aware that you’re in violation of California law?"
Margarito: "Well that would be for fighting, but not for training. I believe that I would need it in order to fight a fight, but not for training."
* * * * * * * *
[Margarito is asked if he's ever made a public apology]
Margarito: “No, but that’s why I’m here. I’m here to answer any of the questions, and I am here to make an apology, not only to the commission, but to the entire world, for not knowing what was in those wrappings.”
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "What else have you been doing since your revocation, other than trying to seek a license in another state and practicing boxing?"
Margarito: "As everybody knows, I’ve been training to maintain my condition. I’ve been also in Tijuana, Mexico, helping out kids. Kids that are suffering with cancer. Kids that have some mental disability. Helping the mothers of those kids with some grants. Well, I’ve been helping kids, also training them in the ring, trying to teach them a little bit of this. I’ve also played some baseball, trying to raise some funds to help the moms of kids who are afflicted with cancer."
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "So in order for you to continue your relationship with Mr. Capetillo, you would have to break the law, would you not?"
Margarito: "I don’t understand."
Prosecution: "You testified that you broke your relationship with Mr. Capetillo for what he did. But in fact he hasn’t got a license anymore, so if you continued your association with him, you would be breaking the law."
Margarito: "At the moment that I was punished, that’s when I broke that relationship."
* * * * * * * *
[Margarito is asked by the prosecutor if he's aware of any other instances in boxing history dealing with loaded gloves.]
Margarito: "No, I’m not. I’m not aware of any of that."
Prosecution: "This is the only time you’re aware of? When it happened in your case?"
Margarito: "Yes."
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "Would you say that you honor the integrity of the sport of boxing, fair play, and a competition among equals?"
Margarito: "That’s right. I do believe so."
Prosecution: "Other than yourself, how many other people depend on you for your financial support and maintenance?"
Margarito: "That’s a lot. I do have a wife that I support, and I support also her siblings, I support my parents. I also support my wife’s parents. I have never counted them, but it’s a lot of people that I support."
* * * * * * * *
Prosecution: "Are you aware that if the commission denies your petition, you have to wait one full year before you can reapply?"
Margarito: "Here in California? Yes. That’s why I’m here."
* * * * * * * *
Margarito: "I was offered to fight in Mexico, and I was offered quite a bit of money to do so. I was told your punishment is in California, not here. … I decided not to do so, respecting the commission here, and I decided to wait the entire year."
* * * * * * * *
Commissioner: "Do you think Mr. Capetillo was trying to cheat before the Shane Mosley fight?"
Margarito: "I do believe that if he was putting something illegal in the wrapping, then yes. But do believe me when I tell you that severing my relationship with him was very difficult after so many years. But it had to be done."
* * * * * * * *
Commissioner: "Why did you not come here first, instead of seeking licensing in Texas or Nevada?"
Margarito: "To Texas I never went. To Nevada it was Top Rank who wanted to have the fight over there, and that’s why we went, but if you grant my license again, I will gladly fight over here to show that I’m willing and able to follow the rules of the California commission. If it was granted to me, I would show that I am willing to follow the rules here before anything else. With any condition that you may give me."
* * * * * * * *
Commissioner: "Why did you not familiarize yourself with the rules and also with your lawyer’s statement prior to testifying today?"
Margarito: "For that I have to apologize for not being aware of that. What I do have to do now is just to get more involved and, I didn’t know that I had to get so involved. All I can tell you is that I was unaware that I needed that permit to train or to get prepared. I’m going to get more involved in that and I’m going to be on top of that."
* * * * * * * *
Margarito: "I did trust Capetillo with the wrapping and everything else, and I don’t know why he did what he did, but if I were to be granted a license again, I’m going to be more on top of everything. I’m going to be involved in not only the wrapping is right, but that everything is right, and that I’m gonna be following the rules as they’re set, and just being more involved in it."
* * * * * * * *
Commissioner: "Did you consider Mr. Capetillo before the incident a ‘clean’ trainer?"
Margarito: "Yes, that’s right. He had never used or put anything like that before, and that’s why we had been working before so long, so well."
Commissioner: "So that’s the first time you’re aware of that this incident occurred?"
Margarito: "That’s right, sir."
Commissioner: "And would you consider this out of character for Mr. Capetillo?"
Margarito: "That’s right."
Commissioner: "Did you ever discuss with Mr. Capetillo what your ethics and standards were for fighting?"
Margarito: "No. Simply, we worked together, preparing ourselves in order to be able to get ahead and ready for any fight."
Commissioner: "Mr. Margarito, in your opinion, why did you feel that Mr. Capetillo felt comfortable in being able to do what he did? That he did this without your knowledge, why would he do that?"
Margarito: "I don’t know what to answer to you. I don’t know. Whatever he did without my knowledge, I don’t know. What I think is that had I found out that this was gonna happen before, the result would have been the same. I would have ended up cutting him off and we would have been at this point just like we are right now, without communicating to each other, but I didn’t know."
Commissioner: "Well unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of what you would’ve done before. We do know what you did after, when you really had no choice. … Your attorneys work for you. Your trainer works for you. … The bottom line is, when you get in the ring, just like when you get a driver’s license, you can’t know some of the rules of the road and ignore others. You need to know them all."
* * * * * * * *
Commissioner: "This commission is charged with the health, safety and welfare of other fighters. And I believe this may be a precedent-setting case. … I’m worried about the next fighter in the next fight who may be offered $250,000 or a million dollars or two million dollars for a fight. And if they think that their punishment is for a year, they may be willing to take that risk, and this case may set that precedent. And that’s the issue that I have."
Margarito: "Yes, I do believe that you’re right. I believe that everybody has to be informed of everything that is happening in his or her surroundings. That is why I apologize, and that’s why I feel guilty for not knowing what was going on. And that’s why I’m glad that it was found, I’m glad that I did not go into the ring, and that’s why if you were to grant the license again, I would be ever so grateful. Anything that you decided with that, then so be it. But I do believe that you’re right, that it is a hard thing to side."
* * * * * * * *
Chairman: "The permit thing about training in the gyms keeps coming up. And I wanna say this, it’s a good point, a very good point, and I know that because I read the rules. But I can guarantee you this: There’s not ten fighters fighting today that know that you can’t train under those rules. … You have 42 fights. And your hand wrapped was at least 42 times, let’s put it that way. And from experience, I do know this, it’s not like in the movies, or television movies, the hands are being wrapped a little at a time. It takes 15 or 20 minutes to wrap a hand. And you can feel it. After 5, 6, 7, maybe 8 wraps, and you punch the bag, and he’ll ask you, how’s that feel. … Having my hands wrapped many times, I knew that I could feel something. And that’s the issue that I have. … You keep saying that you didn’t feel it, you didn’t know anything about it. You may be true. But I think you should answer me on that one."
Margarito: "Had I hit something, then perhaps I would have felt something unusual. But I didn’t have a chance, I didn’t hit anything, and that’s why I didn’t feel — it didn’t feel tight, it didn’t feel that it was something bothering, or something that I could feel. I don’t know. I think that if I had had the chance to hit something, perhaps I could have felt it, but since I didn’t, I didn’t feel it."
* * * * * * * *
Chairman: "Did (Margarito) ever ask Capetillo, did he ever ask him, why he did such a thing?"
Margarito: "I did speak with him afterwards, after all this happened, and I asked him, ‘Why did you do that?’ And he told me, ‘Yes, son, I did it, and it was my mistake. It was my mistake.’ And when I asked him again, ‘Why? Why did you do that?’ And he said, ’Don’t ask me that. It was my mistake.’ So I did speak with him."
* * * * * * * *
Margarito: "You’re right, that is why I was mentioning at the beginning that if I were able to do everything by myself, I wouldn’t need a team. I wouldn’t have the team under me for the training, or my attorneys, or whomever, and whatever happened, I would be the one responsible for everything that’s happening. If I could, I would be responsible for everything that happened, but I do need the team to help me out with the things that I cannot do by myself."
Commissioner: "… You need to monitor and check your team constantly. It’s not a matter of ’I’ve got a team and I’ll just leave that up to them.’"
Margarito: "That’s right, sir."
Commissioner: "… At this point, I know what you’re going to do [if given a license], and I believe you’re sincere in that, but what you’ve done from that point to here is a little shaky, quite honestly."
by SC
0
comments
Post a Comment
My Blog List
-
Where Can I Watch Dinagyang Festival 2012 Live in Iloilo City? - I'm so excited to watch the *Iloilo Dinagyang Festival 2012 in Iloilo City *but where can I watch it live? I'm not going to join other to go to the City P...
-
-
Disclaimer
This blog (Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito) is made to give the latest news and updates of the upcoming fight between the 7-times world champion and fighter of the decade Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and the former champion Antonio Margarito from Mexico.
The Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito's blog is not responsible for copyrighted contents like articles, videos and photos. All contents are located around the net for free for all readers and hoppers. This blog will give links or refers the sources of each original articles, videos, and photos where they came from.
Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito bout will take place on November 13, 2010 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The bout will be the vacant light middleweight title match. The said Pacquiao vs Margarito bout will be the main event in super welterweight fight in a catch-weight. The Pacquiao-Margarito fight will be presented by HBO sports for live streaming on pay-per-view. Lets get ready to rumble!
