Though he didn’t look good, not a bit like he did in his prime, against Jorge Paez Junior in his comeback fight in March of this year, former welterweight king Antonio Margarito will continue his comeback with a reported fight against Ramon Alvarez in Baja, California on August 13th. Margarito, 39-8(27) and fighting for the first time since December of 2011, got up from a knockdown to out-point Paez Jr, but he put his decidedly dodgy showing down to ring-rust.
The 38-year-old will face a better opponent in Alvarez in return bout number-two. Alvarez, aged 29 and sporting a 23-4-2(15) record, is the older brother of superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez, and he has not lost a fight in almost four years. Alvarez may not be the force his world champion of a brother is, but he may well have too much for today’s ageing version of Margarito – a fighter whose reputation was forever damaged due to the infamous loaded wraps scandal that took place just before his losing fight with Sugar Shane Mosley in January of 2009.
Margarito, who insists his eye – the one that took such a nasty beating at the hands of Manny Pacquiao and then, in their rematch, Miguel Cotto – is fine, didn’t look to have much left in the March ring return he undertook. Does the Mexican bad boy need money, or does he simply love to fight? Margaroto claims the latter and so on the comeback goes. How far Margarito can go is anyone’s guess, but it is highly unlikely the former champ will reign again, which is his goal.
In the past, Margarito even spoke of his desire to fight Canelo himself, and maybe he is hoping – really hoping – a win over Canelo’s brother will get him a big step closer to that huge opportunity and payday. But as unlikely as that fight is, it is quite probable Canelo’s brother will derail Margarito’s comeback before it has really begun.
Margarito, his rep as a cheat aside, was once a very good fighter. Some fans may take pleasure in seeing him get beaten up, but it is always sad seeing a once great, on near great, fighter attempt to box on when a faded force. Look for Alvarez – who holds decent wins over other veterans in Ben Tackie and Vivian Harris, along with a useful win over Omar Chavez – to either out-point Margarito or halt him in the later rounds of the scheduled 10-rounder.