Transcript
Bobby Bones (0:00)
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Jay Harris (0:25)
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Jason Alexander (0:30)
Hey, it's Bobby Bones. Join me and former NFL quarterback Matt Castle every Wednesday for our new podcast, Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle. Between us, we have over 17,500 passing yards, multiple New York Times bestsellers, and one mirrorball trophy from Dancing with the Star. So where else are you gonna find a show with that much athleticism and football insight? We talk sports, but we talk pop culture and music and a little bit of everything. Listen to Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Bobby Bones (1:01)
I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden, and together our mission on the really Know really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions, like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor, what's in the museum a failure? And does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to reallynoreally.com and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign. Jason Bobblehead the Really no really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Criminalia Podcast. I'm Maria Tremarke. And I'm Holly Fry. Together, we invite you into the dark and winding corridors of historical true crime. Each season we explore a new theme. From poisoners to art thieves, we uncover the secrets of history's most interesting figures, from legal injustices to body snatching, and tune in at the end of each episode as we indulge in cocktails and.
Maria Tremarke (1:56)
Mocktails inspired by each story.
Bobby Bones (1:59)
Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Jay Harris (2:13)
Welcome back to Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. Step into the juice bar, have a seat, and pop the lid on your favorite insulated tumbler. I'm your host and barista Extraordinaire Jay Harris. Today I've got a tale on tap that really packs a punch because it's about the boxing sensation, Antonio Margarito. You're going to need all your energy to keep up with Antonio, so drink up and let's go. Antonio Margarita was born on March 18, 1978 in Torrance, California. But when he was two years old, his family moved to Tijuana, Mexico. It was a move that would shape young Antonio profoundly. Now, modern day Tijuana had a reputation for violence and with its sky high crime rating of 82.69, largely attributable to cartel activities, that's probably not too far off the mark. Back in the 1980s, Tijuana was less bloody, but still an incredibly tough environment in which to grow up, to feel confident. Antonio and his brother started boxing at a local gym and by age 8, Antonio was seriously training. Boxing quickly morphed from an escape and survival mechanism into a calling for Antonio, who turned professional in 1994 at just 15 years old. In Mexico, 15 is the minimum age for boxers to go pro versus 18 in the U.S. it's a big decision that comes with some big and brutal swings. Antonio's early unrelenting professional career provided him with a strong foundation for future success in the ring. He didn't win every match, but he honed his skills against fearsome competition and built a reputation as a fighter who could take a punch and keep coming relentlessly. By his early 20s, Antonio was making real waves in the boxing world both in Mexico and in the US and had become known for his iron chin and aggressive style. Freddie Roach, who is regarded as one of the best boxing coaches of all time, having trained Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. And Georges St. Pierre, among many other champions, described young Antonio Margarito as tough as they come. He just keeps coming forward and he's got a great chin. He breaks you down. Over time, as Antonio climbed the ranks as a young fighter, he proved Freddie Roach's words to be true, establishing himself as one of the most durable and dangerous welterweights. For you who don't know, welterweight is a weight division having a maximum limit of £147. So Antonio Margarito wasn't hulky, just hardened. His breakthrough came in 2002 when when he won the World Boxing Organization or WBO welterweight title by defeating Antonio Diaz. My proudest moment is when I won my first world title, Antonio Margarito later told the Ring through his co manager Sergio Diaz Jr it was certainly a milestone victory. And it ushered in the beginning of a dominant reign for Antonio Margarito, who would go on to successfully defend his title seven times, solidifying his reputation as a feared contender and gaining him the nickname El Tornado de Tijuana, or the Tijuana Tornado. Promoter Bob Arum explained what it was like to see Antonio in the ring, saying, antonio Margarito is a warrior. He's the kind of fighter that fans love because he leaves everything in the ring. There's no quit in him. It was true. There was no quit in Antonio. And throughout most of the 2000s, it seemed there was no stopping him either. In 2005, he destroyed Kermit Cintron, a rising star with a perfect record in the ring, winning by technical knockout or TKO in the fifth round. From there, he enjoyed crushing victories over Joshua Cloddy and Paul Williams, reinforcing his dominant status as top welterweight. But it was on July 26, 2008, when Antonio Margarito beat the previously undefeated Miguel Cotto at the MGM grand that he was elevated to a boxing legend. Antonio absorbed Miguel's best shots and kept going, eventually wearing down his famous opponent and securing a TKO victory in the 11th round. Dave Larzalier of Sporting News wrote that it was unquestionably the fight of the year. And Kenny Bayless, the referee for the bout, called it the best fight I've ever done. Antonio became the Ring Magazine's number one ranked boxer in the welterweight division. He was on top of the boxing world, enjoying respect, admiration and plenty of money. The Tijuana Tornado star seemed to be ever rising, but his success was about to fall under a cliff. Just gonna wash this glass out and refill it with clean water before the dirt starts flying. Okay, now I'm ready. The year 2009 started strong. With the boxing world buzzing with excitement for the January 24 fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley, who was in the International Boxing hall of Fame and who was considered by the ring in both 2000 and 2001 to have been the best active boxer. Pound for pound, Shane was formidable competition for Antonio, and everyone anticipated an incredible match. The two fighters would be facing off at what was then called the Staples center in Los Angeles to the largest crowd the venue had ever hosted. 20,820 Adrenaline fueled fans packed the stands eager to see the two greats duke it out. But as Antonio and Shane prepared for the bout, tension filled the locker rooms and not for the usual reasons. Shane Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, was overseeing the pre fight hand wrapping this is a standard procedure before any major fight and usually goes off without a hitch. But Nazeem Richardson quickly became alarmed as he observed Antonio's hands being wrapped. Something caught his eye that seemed far from right. He would later recall the moment saying, I noticed something in the hand wraps that didn't look normal when I touched it. It felt hard, like a cast. Of course, any trainer worth their salt wouldn't allow their fighter anywhere near a ring to get pummeled by cast like fists. Nazeem demanded that the wraps be removed from Antonio's hands and be inspected more closely. Upon doing so, Antonio, he discovered a substance embedded within the gauze that felt highly unusual and far more rigid than the standard materials used in hand wraps. It felt like plaster of Paris, Nazim explained. When I touched it, I said, no, this ain't right. Nazeem alerted the officials, who then conducted a thorough on site investigation. Their findings were horrifying. Antonio Margarito's hand wraps were confirmed to contain a plaster like substance that could harden further as it dried and turn the welterweight champion's fists into potentially deadly weapons. The gravity of the situation was immense. For you to fully appreciate the significance of Naseem Richardson's foul play finding, you need to understand just how dangerous the sport of boxing is. Even when fighters do do play by the rules, boxing is brutal. Beyond the spectacle of punches thrown and dodged, there lies the ever present, ever real risk of injuries, many of which can have lifelong consequences. The repeated blows to the head the boxers endure can lead to traumatic brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte, a degenerative brain condition. CTE can lead to symptoms like memory loss, confusion, aggression, and eventually severe dementia. The dangers of traumatic brain injuries and CTE are not just theoretical. They've been experienced by some of the greatest names in boxing. Muhammad Ali, who is widely considered to be the greatest of all time, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984, a condition linked to the repeated head trauma he suffered during his career. Ali's painful decline was a stark reminder of the price even the top boxers can pay for their time in the ring. Another tragic case is that of Jerry Quarry. A popular heavyweight in the 1960s and 1970s, Jerry developed dementia pugilistica, a form of CTE, and by his mid-50s, he was unable to perform daily tasks. According to the New York Times, when Jerry Quarry was inducted into the World Boxing hall of fame in October 1995, he was so disabled that he could not sign his name for autograph seekers. Jerry eventually died at the age of 53, his brain ravaged by years of punishment in the ring. More recently, the story of Meldrick Taylor, who won the 1984 Olympic gold medal in the featherweight boxing competition, has made waves detailing the long term effects of repeated head trauma. Meldrick, known for his incredible speed and skill, suffered from slurred speech, memory loss and other symptoms consistent with CTE as he aged, a stark contrast to the vibrant athlete he once was. And when Meldrick was arrested on June 4, 2019, after threatening a man at gunpoint and then engaging in a 90 minute standoff with police, his irrational and dangerous actions were also attributed by many to cte. Given these examples, it's clear that the risk of brain damage is already high in boxing under normal circumstances, and that if such an injury is sustained, it has the capacity to destroy the fighter's life and the lives of those around them. It's devastating. Now, understanding that, you can appreciate why Shane Mosley's trainer, Nazim Richardson, was so horrified at the discovery of Antonio Margarito's plaster wraps. Under normal circumstances, the gloves and hand wraps that fighters use are designed to protect both the fighter's hands and their opponent's head, cushioning the impact and spreading the force of the blow to lessen its impact. Just imagine if that cushion was removed and if instead of soft padding, the opponent's gloves hid something hard, something that would almost certainly turn their punch into a lethal weapon. Plaster of Paris, when wet, can can be molded and shaped. Once it dries, it hardens into a solid mass. If Nazeem hadn't caught its use, and if Antonio's wraps had been allowed to harden under his gloves, it would have been like having his fists encased in concrete slabs. Every punch he threw at Shane Mosley would have inflicted far more damage than usual, with a much higher risk of causing severe injury or even death. Now, Antonio Margarito had always been known as a brutal fighter, but the idea that he might have intentionally tried to weaponize his fists was chilling. It wasn't just about gaining an unfair advantage in the ring. It was about putting another man's life in jeopardy. As Nazim Richardson explained, if that stuff had gone unnoticed, we could have been looking at a tragedy. The seriousness of the potential violation, that couldn't be overstated. And the incident was instantaneously scandalous. This wasn't just cheating, it was reckless endangerment at the highest level. Officials acted swiftly, removing Antonio's hand wraps and then rewrapping his hands under careful supervision. The fight would go ahead, but the damage to Antonio Margarito's reputation was done. Shane Mosley, who was aware of what had happened in the locker room, entered the ring at Staples center determined to prove a point. He was myopically focused on his performance, unlike Antonio, who seemed uncharacteristically distracted. Shane dominated Antonio throughout the match, and in the ninth round he unleashed a barrage of punches that overwhelmed the Tijuana Tornado, leading the referee to stop the fight and declare Shane Mosley the winner by technical knockout. The loss was a major blow to Antonio Margarito's career, and immediately following the fight, the California State Athletic Commission launched an investigation into his hand wraps. Plastergate wasn't just going to disappear. In meeting with the commission, Antonio Margarito's trainer, Javier Capitillo attempted to shoot from the fallout, explaining that he'd accidentally put the wrong inserts into the hand wraps and that he just reached for the wrong pads in his equipment bag. I committed a big mistake, javier Capitillo told the panel and standing room only crowd. I don't want this young man, Antonio Margarita, to have problems. I'm here to cover any responsibility. I take full responsibility. I committed this innocent mistake. But the California State Athletic Commission wasn't so sure that it had been an innocent mistake, and on February 10, 2009, after thorough examination and a vote of seven to none, their organization announced that trainer Javier Capitillo's license was permanently revoked and that Antonio Margarito's boxing license was revoked, banning him from fighting in the United States for at least a year. The conduct of both Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capitillo was unacceptable and threatened the health and safety of another licensee. Kerry Lopez, the director of the state's Department of Consumer affairs, which licensed its fighters, told the Associated Press. Today's action shows that both the Department of Consumer affairs and the California State Athletics Commission take the issue of boxer safety very seriously and will move quickly when a licensee's actions threaten the safety of others.