Antonio Margarito Denied California License, Turns to Texas

After meeting for more than five hours Wednesday, the California State Athletic Commission voted 5-1 against reinstating Antonio Margarito's boxing license. The commission had the option of granting the Mexican fighter a rare probationary one; that was also denied.

Margarito has not been able to fight on American soil since his license was revoked by the CSAC following a hand-wrapping scandal in January, 2009. Margarito, whose suspension officially ended on Feb. 11, is coming off of May's 10-round unanimous decision over Roberto Garcia in a junior middleweight clash fought in Mexico.

"The revocation is over, they've denied Antonio Margarito a license," said Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum. "But now, every state is free to grant him a license or deny him a license."

The 32-year-old Margarito (38-6, 27 knockouts) is scheduled to face WBO welterweight (147 pounds) champ Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium, where Pacquiao would pursue his record eighth crown in as many different weight classes with the WBC's vacant junior middleweight (154 pounds) crown being on the line.

Arum said that the fighter already had applied for a license in Texas on Wednesday. Arum said that he is "very optimistic" that Margarito will be granted one.

Margarito unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada; its state athletic commission ruled that he must reapply in California and have his case retried there before attempting to fight in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, CSAC attorney Karen Chappelle contended that Margarito had not proven his rehabilitation and remorse, saying "a boxer like Mr. Margarito makes a living with his fists" and "knows what is in the wrappings that go on his fists."

Chappelle questioned why Margarito never apologized publicly despite his assertion that he unknowingly allowed his hands to be wrapped with an illegal substance by then-trainer Javier Capetillo. She also established that Margarito had sparred illegally with trainer Robert Garcia in Oxnard, Calif., during his year-long suspension while preparing to face Roberto Garcia.

Margarito was represented by senior attorney Daniel Petrocelli of the Los Angeles-based O'Melveny and Myers law firm. Petrocelli is the same man who gained a wrongful death civil conviction against O.J. Simpson in 1997.

Petrocelli said that as part of Margarito's recovery and change in attitude, Margarito has severed ties with Capetillo, hired Garcia and assured that Garcia will wrap Margarito's fist only in the presence of the fighter "so that Antonio can personally oversee the procedure for himself."

But commission chairman John Frierson was the only member of the group to vote in favor of re-licensing Margarito.

"The chairman voted in our favor, which is good. Now, each state in America is free to make its own decision. I certainly think that we presented a compelling case. I certainly think that we presented a very good case," said Arum.

"But the majority of the commissioners decided no," said Arum. "The commissioner who voted in favor of Antonio was the only one who sat on the commission at the time of the original revocation. And he voted yes. I think that that's a telling vote."

Citing CSAC rules, Chappelle said Margarito, while suspended, was not legally allowed to be training for the Roberto Garcia bout without a state permit -- as he acknowledged doing with trainer Robert Garcia.

Margarito said that he was unaware that he was violating the rules, and Frierson supported him, saying that he did not believe that even "10 boxers" in California knew of the sparring permit rule.

"I did not know that I needed the permit for sparring and for training," Margarito said through an interpreter. "I did know that I needed permission for a professional fight, but not for sparring purposes. Had I known that, I wouldn't have done it."

Margarito said that he has not yet trained for the Pacquiao fight in the U.S., but that he was doing so "alone" near his home in Tijuana, Mexico. Margarito has repeatedly denied knowledge that his then-trainer, Capetillo, placed an illegal substance in his wrappings.

Asked by Chappelle if he ever apologized in public for the infraction, Margiarito said, "No."

"But that's what I am here for," said Margarito. "I am here to not only answer your questions, but also to make an apology to the commission and to the entire world for not knowing what was in the wrappings."

Petrocelli said that prior to the events of last year, Margarito fought in 42 fights -- 15 of which were title bouts -- and had a spotless disciplinary record and was never accused of cheating. "You're not dealing with a repeat offender," Petrocelli said.

Margarito acknowledged to Chappelle that "anything that is in the wraps that is illegal would be cheating and an unfair advantage."

"I did not know (about the illegal wrappings). I'm not arguing with you. I'm being completely honest with all of you," said Margarito. "That's why I broke my relationship with Capetillo. It was hard to do, but that's what had to be done."