Wow, words from somebody that was actually at the hearing !!!

Despite having no test results to determine exactly how or if the knuckle pads confiscated by the California State Athletic Commission deputies prior to Antonio Margarito’s welterweight title fight with Shane Mosley last month were tampered with or not, Margarito and long-time trainer Javier Capetillo’s boxing licenses were revoked Tuesday after a five hour hearing before the state commission. The decisions were voted in separately by 7-0 unanimous votes. Citing that “the Justice Department does not view [testing the wraps] as a high priority as they are seriously backlogged with murder and assault cases,” and that the final test results would not be ready until “mid-March, California’s Supervising Deputy Attorney General Karen Chappelle initially asked that a lifetime ban be considered before being told that only a suspension of indeterminate time or a license revocation were the only allowed penalties.

The distinction between a suspension and a revocation is that suspensions generally have a time limit and then are lifted when said limit if fulfilled. With a revocation, the parties must re-apply in a year’s time but a reinstatement is not guaranteed. As one commission member stated, “a revocation can last much longer than a year.”

What initially took place on the night of January 24, 2009 was supposed to be routine. As is standard before a bout, a deputy is assigned to each fighter. This deputy’s job is to be with that fighter and observe him from the time he enters the arena to the time he is handed over to the doctors following the bout. They are in the dressing room and are charged with observing all preparations, including the hand wrapping process. In Margarito’s case, his deputy was Che Guevara, a veteran of some “150 fights.” Prior to having his hands wrapped, Guevara informed Mosley’s head trainer Naazim Richardson that the process was about to begin and Richardson, as per the rules, came into the Margarito dressing room to observe Javier Capetillo prepare Margarito’s hands. From the get go, Richardson objected to Capetillo’s use of tape directly on Margarito’s hands. Guevara informed Richardson that this was allowed per the CSAC’s rules. However, where Capetillo was placing the tape on the wrist was a subject of debate. Following two attempts (the second of which was discarded because Capetillo had used too much tape and was “crisscrossing the tape” which is again, against the rules of the CSAC), Capetillo finally met Richardson’s and the inspector’s standards. Thus, the right hand of Margarito was wrapped though not inspected and initialized, as is the custom. Mr. Guevara stated that he prefers both hands be wrapped before he finishes signing off on them.

Capetillo then began to work on the left hand. When it was time, he grabbed the knuckle pad (a wrapped piece of gauze bandage made into a pad to protect a fighters’ knuckles) and began to put it in place on Margarito’s hand. At this time, Richardson asked to inspect the pad with his own two hands. Richardson, according to Guevara, felt an irregularity and the inspector then felt the pad for himself. Inside, chief athletic inspector Dean Lohuis found a hidden layer of tightly wrapped gauze that looked according to Guevara, “old and used. Tightly wrapped.”

“It was not hard as rock,” he said. “But firmer than regular gauze. There was old, dried blood on it. It was not consistent with new gauze.” It also felt “wet.”

Only Inspector Mike Bray described the pad as having a “white substance on it. I touched the substance and it was hard to the touch. It looked like a plast caster or maybe a thicker type of white out that you use for paper. I then placed the pad in a box to maintain custody of the pad.”

Under the unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions, which are used for all bouts and are consistent with most commission’s rules regarding hand wrapping, no water or foreign substance may be applied to the wraps.

At this point, Richardson asked that the right hand wrap be removed. Capetillo, already “agitated” (a description used by the testifying inspectors Mike Bray, Che Guevara, as well as David Perada) by Richardson dictating to him about how to wrap his fighter’s hands, protested. At this point, according to the testimony of the inspectors, Margarito raised his right hand and offered his right hand to be inspected. According to the deputies, Margarito said in broken English, “Look at my hand. Feel it. There is nothing in it.” Margarito, in his testimony, would refute that, citing he does not speak English, though he acknowledged he did hold up his hand for inspection and offered it willingly.

Dean Lohuis, Mike Bray, and Richardson conferred about removing the right hand wrap for inspection. Lohuis asked Guevara as well as inspector David Perada, who was also present, if the hand had been signed off on. When it was determined it had not been properly inspected, the wrap was removed and thrown on a table behind Capetillo. A second, similar hidden knuckle pad was then discovered. It was also placed in the box.

The box of pads, its contents estimated by the inspectors to have been touched by at 7-10 people at this point, was then taken to Mosley’s dressing room. It was then handled by Mosley’s lawyer, Richardson again, and another unnamed party. Mosley’s lawyer and Richardson then photographed the pads. The box, which was open on one side, was taped shut and signed by Dean Lohuis at the request of Mosley’s attorney. The box was then given to Lohuis. It was then passed on to Bruce Rasmussen, whose job that evening was to hold all the fighters’ urine samples in a sealed bag. He was given the box for safekeeping. Upon receiving the box, he returned to the commission officials room, where he allowed the “8-10” deputies present to inspect the pad, at least 3 of whom “reached in and did a pinch-type thing with the pads inside the box.” Though Mr. Rasmussen expressed regret that he allowed such crucial evidence to be handled in this way, it was an act he did not inform Lohuis of when he put the box back in Lohuis’ possession to go “attend to my urine duties.”

When allowed to testify with the use of an interpreter, Capetillo was contrite, taking full responsibility for what he repeatedly referred to as “a mistake.” He repeatedly claimed that he explained that his training bag is used by many of his fighters in the gym. That they will throw in dirty, wet clothing, used gloves, and used hand wraps. He described the hand wraps that he used as “wraps of another, young fighter.” They are used in the gym for protection when “hitting the bag”. Capetillo claimed that in the “confusion and chaos” of the argument over the taping of Margarito’s hands, he became flustered and “innocently grabbed the wrong things. I put the wrong things on.”

Capetillo, who was not allowed to inspect the pads the night of the fight, claimed that when he was allowed to see the evidence the night before the hearing, realized at that moment what had happened.

“It came from the gym,” he explained. “They threw it in my bag at the gym. When I went to see what I was accused of, that’s when I realized.”

Capetillo did acknowledge that the hardened pads would do more damage had they not been found by the commission.

“You pay for your mistakes,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m human. I make mistakes just like you do. That’s why I’m here.”

“I’m here,” he continued, “I made a big mistake. I want to right the mistake. I take full responsibility. I did not cheat. It was a mistake. I feel badly for Antonio because he didn’t even know what was going on. Why am I going to hurt him? I’m the one who made a mistake.”

Margarito denied any knowledge or wrongdoing. I don’t feel I cheated,” he said, “I feel bad. I have never been in a situation like this.”

He cited that he has always paid attention to how his hands are wrapped and claimed that Capetillo has been his sole hand wrapper during their 11 year career together. During the hearing, he saw the pads for the first time.

“It just looks old. I don’t believe it is anything,” he said.

But upon touching the pads he acknowledged, “It does feel like something.”

Ultimately the commission ruled against Capetillo. Commission member Christopher Giza, M.D. who entered the motions against both men, cited in regards to Capetillo “I can understand making a mistake [with one hand], but how do you make the same mistake twice?”

In regards to Margarito, Giva cited CSAC rule 390, which states that a boxer can be suspended or revoked for any conduct damaging to the sport of boxing. “What can be worse?” he asked.

“Ultimately,” he said, “the athlete is responsible for his team, his equipment, and what he puts in his body. You and [Capetillo] worked together for 11 years. You traveled the world together, Capetillo says he has wrapped your hands the same way every time. What other conclusion can we make?”

Following the hearing, Margarito made no comment to the media but stayed for quite awhile, signing autographs and posing for pictures with his young fans.

His promoter, Bob Arum, however was not in a smiling mood.

“It’s atrocious,” the Harvard educated lawyer said of the decision. “As a lawyer, I’m offended. I believe in the law and in justice. How do you convict a man without any evidence? Everyone concedes that there is no evidence. To revoke a man on a technicality is horrendous.”

When asked by this writer if the sentence would overturned should the test results come back favorable for Margarito in Mid-March, Chairman Timothy Noonan answered “No,” claiming that because the gauze was wet, nothing would be changed.

Arum stated that Margarito’s lawyer would file a writ with the California Superior Court and has plans to try and get Margarito licensed elsewhere in the United States. If not, he will promote Margarito in his home country of Mexico.

 

common, no..
but now with this here, we can believe capetillo when he said it was an accident...there was never 2 blocks that fell out, which is why initially nobody believed capetillo that it was an accident....

and is it dangerous, no....knuckle padding is very common, now did he break the rules by adding plaster, that is yet to be determined...