An opponent’s view that Antonio Margarito may have cheated for the third time in his career has been met by the wrath of boxing fans.
Two-time opponent Kermit Cintron asked the question after posting an image of himself with badly swollen eyes after his first meeting with Margarito.
The Puerto Rican former world champion says no other boxer he faced ever made his face puff as much as Margarito.
“Here I am a day after the Antonio Margarito fight,” pointed out Cintron. “Two days later, both of my eyes were closed shut.
“No other fighter in my 50-fight career could have done the same. Why?
“That was the first fight. In the second fight, it was similar.
Antonio Margarito claims
But when Cintron mentioned that his swelling was the same in 2005 and 2008 when Margarito stopped him twice, the boxing public began to wonder.
One stated: “I’ve never doubted that Margarito’s gloves were loaded for his fights with you and others besides Cotto. Glad to see you’re doing well post-boxing. I was a big fan during your career.”
“I remember that fight. As soon as I heard about [Naazim] Richardson catching him cheating with the wraps, I immediately thought about it,” added a second.
A third said: “Margarito never had a lot of snap in his punches. I never understood why he punched so hard until he got caught with the loaded gloves. He altered Cotto’s legacy and ruined Cintron’s career.
More of the boxing public aired their disgust on Margarito’s now-soured tenure in the sport.
“We would never know how many fights Margarito fought with those things. We all have opinions on which fights we think he had with them, though. It would have been nice to know it as a fact. Shame that he could have been doing this for a while” pointed out one fan.
“It still bothers me today that he got rewarded with multiple million-dollar paydays after he was caught cheating,” said another.
A third stated: “I have no proof, but I am confident Margarito cheated against you. It’s a disgrace he was ever allowed to fight again after he got caught.”
Kermit Cintron stopped twice
Margarito was the first man to stop Cintron throughout the significant portion of his career. It took another three years before Canelo Alvarez was to become the second, as Kermit was eleven years into his career.
The whole scenario stemmed from allegations from fights against Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley.
Margarito served out a suspension in 2009 for a substance found in his gloves before the Mosley fight.
Miguel Cotto then brought further concerns over a similar situation. It came to a head when Manny Pacquiao did a number on Margarito between those fights.
Many fans believe Pacquiao dished out sufficient punishment as Margarito’s eye was further damaged beyond repair after years of problems.
Paid the price
Some supporters of Margarito believe his life since leaving the sport is also further evidence of karma.
“He paid the price, Kermit. Life has been very hard with him taking out an eye,” said one in direct response to Cintron.
“He wasn’t the same after the Pacquiao fight, and his divorce nearly bankrupted him. He has many physical and mental problems.”
With his reputation as a boxer in tatters despite being one of the most decorated super welterweights in Mexican history, has Antonio Margarito suffered enough?
