By James Slater – Last seen losing his much-hyped grudge-match of a return with Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto, Mexican bad boy Antonio Margarito hopes to be engaging in an all-Mexican showdown this coming September: against unbeaten WBC middleweight title holder Julio Cesar Chavez Junior.
Speaking with the L.A Times yesterday, “Tony” said he will have a tune-up fight next, and then shoot for “The Son Of The Legend” after that..
“I’ve been told I could fight on May 26th here in Tucson,” Margarito said from The Casino Del Sol in Tucson. “But if it’s in June, that’s fine, because it’s in September that we’re going to fight [Chavez Jr.]”
Margarito went on to say that he is currently in training and that he is only five pounds above the middleweight limit of 160-pounds. The controversial fighter also claimed that there is no problem with his right eye – the one that was so badly damaged, first by Manny Pacquiao and then by Cotto in the return meeting.
But then, Margarito would say that, wouldn’t he? In all honesty, neither Margarito himself nor anyone else knows how much if anything he has left to offer at top level. The 34-year-old was beaten up quite badly as he was outboxed by Cotto in December of last year, and Margarito’s reflexes didn’t look too good. Maybe the warrior who will forever be branded a cheat by some (due, of course, to the now infamous hand-wraps scandal) has one more great fight left inside; maybe he doesn’t.
Both Margarito, 38-8(27) and the unbeaten Chavez Junior are promoted by Top Rank, so making the fight could prove to be pretty easy. And if the clash went down in Mexico, where both guys are huge names, the fight would attract a big, big crowd.
But how would the critics take such a fight? Would Chavez Jr, already getting stick for “avoiding” genuine middleweight king Sergio Gabriel Martinez, get slaughtered by the media if he agreed to fight the possibly shot former WBO and IBF welterweight ruler? I think he would be.
Margarito WILL fight again though, on that you can put money. Not knowing what else to do, the naturally aggressive fighting man is still in possession of a belly full of fire. Whether or not Margarito still has the tools to be able to contend with the elite, however, remains to be seen.