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.