 Margarito and Castillo: Just a Fight Away from Fame
By David A. Avila (November 3, 2005) Photo © German Villasenor
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Standing side-by-side, Antonio Margarito and Martin Castillo might look like a Mexican version of Mutt and Jeff.
Don't be fooled.
In the world of boxing, mentioning the names of Margarito and Castillo will gain a respectful nod. Though neither are household names yet, it could come soon.
Margarito, the WBO welterweight title-holder, faces Manuel "Shotgun" Gomez (28-10-2), and WBA junior bantamweight title-holder Castillo defends against Venezuela's Alexander Munoz at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 12. The fights will be shown on pay-per-view and are promoted by Top Rank and Caesars Palace.
Both are heading toward major contests should they continue their winning ways.
Margarito (32-4), a tall, angular fighter from Tijuana, has bludgeoned his way to the top and has been fighting professionally since age 15. He's now 27, and many say he's the best welterweight out there.
"He's a tough, tough fighter," said Oscar De La Hoya, a former world champion at six different weight divisions. "Margarito is going to be hard to beat."
In an age where undefeated fighters are protected, Margarito's handlers used the sink or swim method. Three of his losses came before he turned 19. Now he faces the hard-hitting Gomez of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
"I know him very well," said Margarito, smiling as he spoke to reporters at a training session in South El Monte. "He hits hard, but so do I."
Like Margarito, Gomez hasn't been coddled in facing guys like Shane Mosley, Miguel Angel Gonzalez and Kofi Jantuah. But that doesn't worry Margarito.
"I want to fight Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley or Fernando Vargas," said Margarito, brushing aside any notion of a possible loss to Gomez.
Like his Tijuana cohort, Castillo doesn't fear competition.
As the 115-pound WBA title-holder, Castillo will defend his title against Munoz, the man he easily beat a year ago.
"He's a good fighter; even though I knocked him down twice, he never relented," said Castillo (29-1, 16 KOs), 28, from Mexico City.
After this fight he wants the other title-holders.
"I want to fight Fernando Montiel or Jose Navarro," said Castillo, who now lives in Hacienda Heights.
Montiel, who recently won this past weekend in Arizona, agrees with the match.
"I want Martin Castillo," said the WBO title-holder. "Hopefully they don't run away."
Boxing chatter
Oscar De La Hoya said plans to fight Nicaragua's Ricardo Mayorga, possibly in May 2006, are in the works, but not definite.
"It's not a done deal with Mayorga yet," said De La Hoya during the Desert Diamond Casino fight card on Saturday. "We're still talking."
The six-division world champion also informed the Press-Enterprise that negotiations for a match between Fernando Vargas and Sugar Shane Mosley are still not formalized. De La Hoya said a back up choice exists should a bout with Mayorga be unattainable.
"For a backup plan we have Ike Quartey," said De La Hoya, who fought and beat Quartey in 1999 by split-decision. The fighter from Ghana is scheduled to meet Riverside's Carlos Bojorquez on Dec. 3. "If he beats Bojorquez, then we have Ike Quartey as an option."
De La Hoya said he plans only two more fights next year.
"Then I'm calling it quits," said De La Hoya, 32, adding that he begins preparing for his May encounter soon, possibly in Puerto Rico. "September will be my last fight."
Marco Antonio Barrera will be meeting Jesus Chavez for his IBF lightweight title, which he won in September.
"I'm thankful that Jesus Chavez is willing to give me this opportunity," said Barrera, who is one of the Golden Boy Promotions partners along with De La Hoya, Mosley and Bernard Hopkins.
Fontana's Heather Percival couldn't win that first world title in her match against Colorado's Terri Cruz for the IFBA junior bantamweight belt last Saturday.
"It's hard winning in someone else's area," said trainer Larry Ramirez, who owns the Fontana Boxing Club.
Speaking of Ramirez, he will now be training the fighting Velardez brothers: John, Armando Jr., Alex and Chris.
Alex Velardez (15-1) is set to face Oscar Gonzalez (9-3) at the Ventura Theater on Friday Nov. 4, in a welterweight bout.
"It's easy training those guys," said Ramirez. "They love to fight. They don't care who they fight."
Upcoming fights
Jeff Lacy defends his IBF super middleweight title against Scott Pemberton, and Rafael Marquez defends his IBF bantamweight title against South Africa's Silence Mabuza. The bouts taken place Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Caesars Tahoe and will be shown on Showtime (9pm ET / PT).
Vitali Klitschko defends his WBC heavyweight title against Hasim Rahman on Nov. 12 at the Thomas Mack Center in Las Vegas. Also on the card will be Antonio Margarito defending his WBO welterweight title against Manuel "Shotgun" Gomez. Also, WBA junior bantamweight title-holder Martin Castillo faces the man he beat for the belt in Alex Munoz.
Fights on television
Fri. Telefutura, 9 p.m., Kevin Kelley (56-6-2) vs. Sandro Marcos (25-13-2).
Fri. Showtime, 11 p.m., Sechew Powell (17-0) vs. Archak Ter-Meliksetian (15-1).
Sat. Showtime, 9 p.m., Jeff Lacy (20-0) vs. Scott Pemberton (29-3-1); Rafael Marquez (34-3) vs. Silence Mabuza (18-0).
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