Case for & against ANTONIO MARGARITO

The Case of Antonio Margarito:


The case for and against Antonio Margarito


Prosecution opening statement:

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of the jury, esteemed counsel and your honor. Today we will show you, step-by-step, how Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo engaged mutually to load Mr. Margarito's hand wraps with an illegal substance prior to [Margarito's] scheduled 12 round fight agains fellow boxer Shane Mosley.

The evidence we present will show that Mr. Capetillo and Mr. Margarito both have a history of using an illegal wrap, not just in scheduled fights but also in sparring. The witnesses we present, their testimony-including a member of Mr. Capetillo's gym, will beyond a reasonable doubt showcase the ill and guilty evidence to convict.

We will be presenting physical, verbal , video and photographic evidence to demonstrate the destruction and ill regard both Capetillo and Margarito have for not only their opponents, but their sparring partners and the sport of boxing.

On January 24, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California combatants Shane Mosley and defendant Antonio Margarito engaged in a twelve ( 12 ) round welterweight boxing match; for the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.) Welterweight Championship in the Main Event of the HBO broadcast.

Boxing has seen its fair share of situations [allegedly] involving gloves loaded, the Jack Dempsey vs Jess Willard situation, the Luis Resto vs Billy Conn Jr affair. Dempsey vehemently denied his former trainer's assertion that Plaster of Paris was used on that [in]famous July 4th, 1919 fight. Likewise, Resto at first denied any wrongdoing, but later he came clean and admitted that his hands were laced with plaster of paris for the Conn Jr fight on June 16, 1983.

But unlike the preceeding two, the defendant never made it to the ring, thankfully because of the watchful eyes of Mosley's trainer Nazim Richardson.

Pre Fight Transcription:

Larry Merchant: Just minutes ago, the Commission of Boxing, Dean Lohuis, reported to us that an illegal pad was found in Margarito's gloves, something that would hardened when wet. and that his hands had to re-wrapped 3 times.

 

Defense opening statement:

Good afternoon, we will demonstrate how Antonio Margarito, was and is an innocent man. Wrongfully accused based on the erroneous actions, the diabolic and mistaken actions of his trainer, Javier Capetillo. We wish not to have Antonio [Margarito] held in the same light as his trainer, Javier Capetillo. Capetillo was the one who erroneously inserted an old gauze in the wraps of our client, Margarito's wrap.

Antonio was un-aware of the wrap, and has maintained his innocence from day one. We will provide testimony from other boxers, from trainers and esteemed members of the press to show beyond a shadow of [reasonable] doubt that our client is not guilty and should not be accused of these baseless and unfounded accusations brought forth by the prosecution, the boxing media and by fans alike.

 

Prosecutions Witness List:
Keith Kizer
Dean Lohuis
Rashad Holloway
Miguel Cotto
Javier Capetillo

Defense Witness List:
Thomas Hauser
Dan Birmingham
Pat Burns
Freddie Roach
Don Turner
Emanuel Steward
Nazim Richardson

 

Prosecution:
Q: Mr. Kizer can you tell us about the July 26, 2008 fight between Miguel Cotto and the defendant, Antonio Margarito; in pursuant to the handwraps? Did you or any member of the Nevada State Atheletic Commission (NSAC) inspect the wraps after the fight?

A: Mr. Margarito did not turn in his pads at the end of the fight, but I will add that we did not ask for the pads.
citation A:

Prosecution: No further questions, Prosecution now wishes to call Dean Lohuis.

Q: Mr. Lohuis can you describe the hand wraps in question?

A: Those pads were used in more than one fight. . . . The pad was dirty, used and looked like it had been around several times before. I'm convinced it was there against Miguel [Cotto]. . . . You can say it's circumstantial but in my view . . . it was more likely than not."
citation A:

Prosecution: No further questions, Prosecution now wishes to call Rashad Holloway

Q: Can you describe the sparring session between you and the defendant?

A: I got hit, I was embarrassed to admit it at the time. I got hit with an uppercut, not an open palm slap but with the fist. I heard that Capetillo admitted that they use these plaster wraps in the gym all the time.
citation B

Prosecution: No further questions, Prosecution now wishes to call Miguel Cotto.

Q: Mr. Cotto, you have been in the ring with the defendant prior to his allegations. What evidence can you provide that the defendant also used hand wraps loaded with an illegal substance in your [1st] fight with him?

A: Margarito claims he did not "feel" the illegal pad in his wraps against [boxer] Shane Mosley, so therefore it is possible that the wraps were used in other fights, including against me.

Q: What can you tell us about the hand wrap Mr. Margarito had, in particular a certain area of the wrap?

A: The wrap, it broke, like something hard had ripped through it. Gauze does not tear like that.
citation C:

Prosecution: No further questions, Prosecution now wishes to call Javier Capetillo

Q: Mr. Capetillo can you tell us, the situation in regards to the questionable pad in your boxer's hand wrap?

A: [My] fighters use plaster inserts in training to protect their hands and inserts must have accidentally been tossed into [my] training bag, and wound up in Margarito's gloves without the fighter's knowledge.
citation A:

Prosecution Evidence:
Department of Justice testimony that the ingredients of plaster of paris, excluding oxygen which can not be seen under microscopic instruments, present.

Testimony from Javier Capetillo that he put plaster pads in the wraps of Antonio Margarito


The prosecution at this time rests

 

Defense witness:

The defense would like to call esteemed boxing journalist Thomas Hauser

Q: Mr Hauser, as a longstanding member of the boxing world, what can you tell us about your expertise on this situation?

A: The inserts certainly weren’t visible to Margarito. We know that because Naazim Richardson (who was looking for irregularities) saw no visual evidence of them. Nor is it a given that Margarito would have felt them
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Dan Birmingham

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: “My guys watch me closely when I wrap. But what you’re talking about here happens pretty quickly. The pad goes on and then you put more gauze over it. So sure; it’s possible that the fighter wouldn’t know.”
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Pat Burns

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: “Some fighters don’t pay attention when their hands are being wrapped. They’re listening to music or talking to someone or watching a television monitor. And even if they’re watching, they’re not wondering what’s in the knuckle pad. If I wanted to put a few layers of hardened gauze inside a fighter’s knuckle pads, I could and the fighter would never know.”
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Freddie Roach

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: “If I did something like that, which I wouldn’t, I think I could do it without my fighter knowing. And if I was the fighter; Eddie Futch [who trained Roach] would never have done something like that. But if he had, I think he could have kept it secret from me.”
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Don Turner

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: I wouldn’t do it. I don’t cheat. But if I wanted to, unless what I was putting into the knuckle pad was very heavy, I could do it in a way that the fighter wouldn’t know. Even if the fighter is watching me wrap, he might not know because he wouldn’t see or feel the difference.”
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Emanuel Steward

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: “My experience has been that a fighter watches very closely when his hands are being taped. But in a situation like this, it’s definitely possible that a trainer could put an insert in the knuckle pad without the fighter knowing. When I get in the dressing room before a fight, one of the first things I do is make two knuckle pads and put them on the table. I don’t put them in my bag. I leave them out on the table, and so does every other trainer I know of. So I have a hard time believing that Capetillo took the wrong knuckle pads out of his bag by mistake. But the fighter doesn’t watch me make the knuckle pads. A lot of times, the fighter isn’t even there when I make them. So the fighter wouldn’t know if I put something inside the pads unless I told him or the pads were heavy enough that he could feel a difference.”
citation D:

No further questions. The defense would like to call Nazim Richardson

Q: Can you tell us in your own words, as a trainer, could you illegally wrap something in your boxer's hand wraps?

A: “I’m the wrong person to ask about this. If a guy is driving a truck and tries to run my daughter over and misses, don’t ask me what the punishment should be. But to be fair, yes, a fighter might not know.”
citation D:

The defense rests:

 

Prosecution closing arguments:

We have testimony, from former opponents, sparring partners and his own traienr that prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant, Antonio Margarito willingly and maliciously attempted to loads his gloves against Shane Mosley, and we have proved that the illegal wraps have been used in other fights as well. The evidence speaks for itself. Mr. Capetillo, in his own words clearly and without faulter admitted under oath that he had in fact inserted plaster laden wraps in Margarito's wraps. Point blank, case closed.




Defense closing arguments:

We have shown you, presented to you the testimony from numerous Trainers, including Hall of Fame and Trainer of the Year recipients that our client was unaware of the illegal manuever by his trainer. All the prosecution has is a case based on circumstantial evidence, evidence that all points away from our client and puts the blame squarely on Mr. Javier Capetillo. We have testimony from Mr. Nazim Richardson, the prosecutor's star witness that it is possible for a fighter not to know what was in his wraps.


Defense Evidence:

Testimony from credible trainers that a boxer's wraps can be loaded without knowledge of said boxer

At this time, we the defense rests.



The case is in the hands of you, the jury.



We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant, Antonio Margarito.............???


citation A: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/13/sports/sp-cotto-margarito13
citation B:

This content is protected

citation C:

This content is protected

citation D: http://www.secondsout.com/columns/thomas-hauser/antonio-margarito-and-the-handwrap-issue
citation E: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/18/sports/la-spw-antonio-margarito-sl
citation F: http://www.dca.ca.gov/csac/about_us/meetings/20100818_agenda.pdf

 

Testimony....check the citations...!!!

New Hobby...???