The OTHER Big Fight Last Night
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 25, 2009 12:27 PM EST
in News
35 comments
I just wanted to take a brief moment to point everyone over to BadLeftHook to read some great wrap-up on last night's Shane Mosley/Antonio Margarito fight. Obviously this was the wrong weekend for boxing to gain any major traction with MMA fans as there are two big shows stealing any potential attention away. Still, this was a huge fight in the boxing world and was not only an enjoyable watch, but a very solid performance from Mosley who is very undervalued in terms of his place in boxing history.
The other story from the night that deserves attention is at the head of the BLH site right now. During the pre-fight activities Mosley's trainer noticed an odd "plaster-like substance" on the hand wraps of Margarito. Using plaster on your hand wraps adds extra power and weight to your punches and can result in serious injury and even death. Scott points out that boxing fans don't need to be reminded of Billy Collins vs. Luis Resto, but for those who don't know...here's the scoop on that fight.
Back in '83 journeyman Resto was fighting up and coming contender Collins and pulled off what was considered an upset in winning a fairly dominant 10 round decision. Collins remarked to his corner during the fight that it felt like he was getting hit with a brick. After the fight when Billy's cornermen shook Resto's gloved hand they could be seen on the broadcast turning and shouting that the padding was missing from the gloves. After an investigation it was determined that a hole was cut in both gloves padding resulting in something to the effect of being hit for 30 minutes by a trained boxer's bare knuckles. Collins suffered permanent damage to his eye and his boxing career was over. Collins went through a severe downward spiral that ended in his death in a drunken car accident.
It gets worse though, after denying that he took the padding out of his gloves last year Resto admitted that not only had they tampered with the padded portion of the gloves, his hand wraps were made from tape that had been pre-soaked in plaster of Paris.
If Margarito did in fact put Shane Mosley's life at risk by attempting to use plaster in his hand wraps I will do my part to create as much noise to see him receive a lifetime ban from the sport of boxing. Which truly saddens me as Margarito has long been one of my favorite boxers. I'll be waiting to hear what the investigation turns up.
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something was wrong with margarito, he did not have that same gas tank that he had in the fight with cotto, and i think he was trying to gain some type of advantage with the illegal material in his glove. not that there is a big difference, but i heard he had some type of plastic in his glove, maybe to protect a hand injury, rather than to gain an advantage through extra weight or power in his hands. but that part is pure speculation on my part.
by #5mmafan on Jan 25, 2009 12:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
I actually can kinda agree with that
Mosley put on the best performance of his career but Margarito seemed slower than usual and though he often comes out slow he never picked up his pace at all. I have a feeling he was sick and the substance on the wraps, (though it was not plaster of paris it was some sort of substance they believed to be hardening), was their way of equalizing.
Margarito deserved to lose, Mosley fought the fight of his lifetime and knocked out a fighter who I gave him absolutely no chance against.
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Its also possible
That age may be catching up with Margarito and the cut is becoming harder and harder on him to the detriment of his legendary stamina.
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m glad you wrote something up on this brent. I’d also call for a ban if they plastered his taping. Margarito looked really slow and didn’t seem to have much on his punches at all. My hats off to mosley i didn’t think he had a chance. After all Mosley didnt look all that impressive in his win over Mayorga.
by asmiley420 on Jan 25, 2009 12:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Mosley
He’s never been great at 154 pounds and Mayorga is a big, tough, durable dude. Shane also gave away a lot of rounds with a horrible gameplan (whatever it was supposed to be) and bad corner advice. New trainer, better results. At 147 he’s a different fighter. At 135 I’d put him in the ring with anyone that’s ever lived.
As for the “plaster-like substance” that was apparently drying on Margarito’s wraps, if an investigation reveals that level of tampering…what can you do? Margarito should probably be banned if they come out of this guilty, and at this moment (I’m not accusing, mind you) it doesn’t look good.
"I decided to become a basketball fan this year and it’s not working out so well because the Wizards SUUUCK. So then I shifted to hockey. That’s pretty fun except there are a lot of flashing lights and horns and shit at the game."
by SC on Jan 25, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Mosley vs. Pretty Boy Floyd. After Shane’s performance last night that fight makes sense.
by #5mmafan on Jan 25, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
pacman vs mosley!
although i doubt that would do great on ppv.. Mexicans and latinos wont watch..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Jan 26, 2009 9:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Mosely was
The Energizer Bunny last night for some reason. Is it me or was he faster in the last few rounds than even the very first? Its like he was twitch-boxing. Pretty insane performance.
by xFenixKnightx on Jan 25, 2009 12:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Mosley has been known to finsh strong in the second half of the fight. I’d like to see a Mosley-Cotto fight.
by asmiley420 on Jan 25, 2009 1:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
They already had it
Mosley lost
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
he was like a shark
There was something really driving him last night. I don’t know — maybe his out of ring stuff (split professionally with his dad, though they appear to be fine, and his split with his wife) fueled him more than it distracted him. Whatever it was, he fought like he was hungry and in his 20s again.
"I decided to become a basketball fan this year and it’s not working out so well because the Wizards SUUUCK. So then I shifted to hockey. That’s pretty fun except there are a lot of flashing lights and horns and shit at the game."
by SC on Jan 25, 2009 1:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
We DVR’d this and watched it after the Affliction show. Mosley looked fucking awesome. That’s about it.
by Mike Fagan on Jan 25, 2009 1:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
If they book it right there are lots of cool fights at 135 to154 with Mosley, PBF, Hatton, Paqiuo, and Cotto. Any Combination of these guys would have me intrigued.
YAMATO DAMASHII
by R.T. on Jan 25, 2009 1:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
As for the plaster of Paris I guess that gives no meaning to “Dirty Boxer”.
YAMATO DAMASHII
by R.T. on Jan 25, 2009 1:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Really makes you wonder about the Cotto fight and Margaritos ability to take punishment yet come back in the later rounds and brutalize Cotto.
Because against Mosley, he looked slow and his punches seems to do NO damage to Mosely at all.
I love sugar shane and am glad he performed so well against Margarito but damn..Margarito is a cheating scumbag.
by lbk on Jan 25, 2009 2:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That is an awesome picture. Kudos to the photographer.
The whole hand-wrap incident reinforces my belief that boxing is more dangerous than mma. Shorter fights, strictly controlled gloves monitored by officials, more ways to win than just punching. Maybe I’m missing something, but mma just seems safer.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jan 25, 2009 3:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
The gloves...hand wrapping...etc
are overseen by officials…just like in MMA. There is still a question of why it took a trainer to point out the plaster…but the oversight is pretty much exactly the same.
That being said, yes MMA is safer…but it isn’t an MMA vs. Boxing thing
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 25, 2009 3:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Well it is a good question, but I have to make it known that the trainer( Nazim Richardson) also pointed out the illegal handwrap of Tito Trinidad when he was going to fight Bernard Hopkins. I guess maybe people put it in good faith that the other party will follow the rules, but clearly that isn’t the case. In the end it is unacceptable to bypass the rules that are in place for the safety of the boxers.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I know I beat the “MMA>Boxing” loudly at times, but I’m a fighting purist. As a martial art, it’s neutered to the point of uselessness. As a combat sport, I find it rather boring and unfairly limited. My guess is that because it’s so apparently safe due to the restrictions, it’s easier to rationalize it even though medical science says otherwise. MMA looks more violent, so medical teams and officials are more vigilant.
As for the gloves, I had always assumed that officials approved the equipment, so I was confused why they didn’t note the plaster. Have there been any similar incidents in MMA? Akiyama was rumored to have used brass knuckles against Saku, but there’s nothing substantial on that charge, and I can’t think of any others.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jan 25, 2009 6:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Well Kevin Iode wrote about here…
When the tape on the left hand was cut off at Richardson’s insistence before the bout, something that Golden Boy attorney Stephen Espinoza said was a "plaster-like substance" fell out. Richardson retrieved it and then insisted the protection on the right hand be cut. At that point, another one fell out.
Dean Lohuis, the co-interim executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, said the piece was apparently slipped in underneath the legal tape that was already placed on Margarito’s hands by trainer Javier Capetillo.
Richardson would not surrender the pieces until Mosley’s attorney Judd Burstein arrived in the dressing room. At that point, they were placed in a box, sealed and signed, and given to Lohuis.
"When he put the wrapping on, I asked if I could feel it and when I felt it, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is too hard,’ " Richardson said. "When the commission flipped the [tape] over, a little block of gauze-like plaster fell out. I said, ‘Unwrap the other hand,’ and they were saying, ‘Oh, oh, the other hand is good.’ I asked the commissioner, ‘What if I unwrap the other hand at the end of the fight and it falls out of there, too?’
"He made them unwrap it. And when they unwrapped the other hand, another one fell out. It was wet with a little plaster on it."
Richardson could not explain why he didn’t see the piece put on Margarito’s hand in the first place.
As it turned out, however, all that will do is cause Margarito and Capetillo problems with the athletic commission.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 6:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I hadn't read this
If it proves true I definately stand corrected from my earlier post and Margarito and his trainers should be banned for life
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I want them to banned from fighting in the US if the material is plaster. It is indefensible. It pisses me off as a boxing fan. They could be arrested for fraud,conspiracy, use of a deadly weapon,assault, unlawful use of material, etc.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 7:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
True...
Resto was sentenced to 3 years (served 2.5) for assault, conspiracy and use of a deadly weapon (his hands) if I remember the facts correctly
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 25, 2009 7:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
LOL It wasn't brass knux
Akiyama rubbed himself in fuckin Crisco so he was way to slippery to hold on to
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
It is also kinda hard to hide brass knuckles in those tiny 4 ounce gloves.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 7:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I knew about the greasing, but the brass knuckles were another rumor, and of course if it’s in a youtube video as part of a grainy zoomed-in picture on a clinched fist, it must be true. And yeah, how would it be hidden in a 4oz glove?
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jan 25, 2009 7:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Where would the world be without youtube?
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 8:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Honestly the long term effects of a long MMA career aren't known yet
but at this time it certainly appears MMA is safer and logic would imply that its safer. There could be factors that haven’t shown up yet though.
Gimme 1 Round!
by skwirrl on Jan 25, 2009 7:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Boxing has always been more dangerous than MMA esp at the lower weight classes. Just compare the amounts of deaths of each sport.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
well to be fair...
there should always be the condition that you “compare the amounts of deaths in each sport” over the same time period. Don’t go back to 1900 and compare boxing to MMA since 1993 or whatever…
That being said…again, yes MMA is safer.
I just see that on Sherdog type posts a lot “there have been X deaths in boxing in the last 100 years and only one in sanctioned MMA in the same time” well…yeah…that’s manipulation of the information.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 25, 2009 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Well as a boxing fan… I can safely say that MMA is relatively safer when it comes to death rates.
Thankfully the MMA world has not had to deal with a Kim like death on national TV. I personally that the Kim event more or less made boxing a niche sport and drove away the casual fan to other sports.
by Zocalo on Jan 25, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
True...true..
I’m not disagreeing with you at all. I’m just making sure that people don’t use the “death toll” argument from the wrong perspective.
And yes, I’m a boxing fan as well…I was one of the two original writers (along with SC) on badlefthook when it opened. There’s no argument that from a traumatic brain injury standpoint MMA is much safer.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 25, 2009 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
less chance of being concussed multiple times in an MMA fight because of the quick finishes, no 8 count etc. this is what makes MMA safer I think.
YAMATO DAMASHII
by R.T. on Jan 26, 2009 3:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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