Doug Fischer
Chief editor
|
 Antonio Margarito Takes No Prisoners
So. Cali. Notebook by Doug Fischer
(August 18, 2004) Photo © HoganPhotos.com
 Send this page to friend Give us your feedback
LOS ANGELES - Willie Jensen, a former flyweight contender and 115-pound title challenger in the '70s, fought rugged Mexican assassins like Guty Espadas Sr. and Lupe Pintor before they went on to become world champions. So Jensen, who is known to everyone as "Birdlegs" at the L.A. Boxing Club where he now trains boxers, rarely hands out compliments to today's fighters.
Jensen, who still looks like he's in fighting shape, was a 15-round fighter so to his sharp eyes most of today's fighters are lazy. However, one fighter Birdlegs has no problem giving up props to is Antonio Margarito.
"You gotta be in shape just to spar with that guy," Jensen said of Margarito just before the WBO welterweight titlist stepped in the ring for a sparring session at the L.A. Boxing Club two weeks ago.
Indeed. Margarito, who is preparing for his September 11 showdown with WBO 154-pound title-holder Daniel Santos, would have been right at home in the days of 15-round title fights. The Tijuana native is a non-stop punching machine, who seems to get stronger with every round.
That's why you want to watch Margarito when he fights - or spars. There's always good sparring on hand at any one of L.A's many boxing gyms, and the best show in town is probably James Toney's crazy ranting sessions at the Wild Card. But if you like your boxing action basic and without loud rap music and histrionics then Margarito is your man. Pound for pound and punch for punch, no other fighter in L.A. delivers the amount of pressure and volume of shots that Margarito does in every sparring session.
Of course, this Old-School work ethic has its drawbacks. It's been difficult for Margarito's management to find durable but skilled sparring partners to help their fighter prepare for the speed and mobility of Santos, a tall and rangy southpaw who has no problem stinking out a fight if he has to.
Two weeks ago, Margarito only had three sparring partners to work with: Agustin Caballero, a 40-something journeyman with just enough experience and guile to serve as a warm-up man for the champ; Sechew Powell, and undefeated junior middleweight prospect from Brooklyn who was flown in to provide Margarito his quality rounds; and an innocent-looking amateur from Canada, who was pretty much on standby in case one of the more experienced sparring partners failed to show up.
I dropped by my old gym to check out Margarito and Powell get some work in, but the Brooklynite never showed up.
"[Powell] called to say he wouldn't make it today," Margarito's manager Sergio Diaz told me. "I think his ribs are sore. His missed other days, too. I don't think it's going to work out with him."
Sure enough, Powell was eventually sent home. I asked a young fighter who had witnessed some of Margarito's sessions with Powell what went down and the kid told me all the New Yorker did was back himself into a corner, cover up and then make a lot of funny "whooping" noises as Margarito banged away on his body.
So the search was on for a quality lefty for Margarito to spar with.
Middleweight contender David Lopez, who trains at the La Brea Boxing Academy, would have been perfect, but he hurt his hand in his last fight. Veteran 154-pound contender Rodney Jones would have also made for some world-class sparring, but he respectfully declined since he's currently rated no. 6 in the WBO and could be facing Margarito in the near future. Speedy switch hitter Jose Celaya, the WBO's no. 1 contender before his recent KO to Eddie Sanchez, was also contacted but the young boxer disrespectfully declined saying that Margarito's management had talked too much smack about him in the past. (Hey, boxers have feelings, too.)
Diaz finally landed a quality sparring partner in undefeated welterweight prospect
Paul Williams, a 6-foot-1 lefty who is currently 23-0 (17). But just in case Williams goes the way of Powell, calls have been made to Emmett Linton and Manning Galloway as potential back up. Margarito's sparring partners need to be tall, rangy southpaws with good speed and legwork, but most importantly they have to be tough.
The day I was at the gym it appeared as though Margarito would have to settle for a light sparring session as he seemed to have his way with Caballero, a guy who turned pro in the late '70s.
Margarito bulled his way inside the Panamanian's reach behind a strong jab to land his favorite punch, the left uppercut. Once Caballero's back touched the ropes, Margarito let his hands go. I noticed something new with Margarito - he was occasionally switching to southpaw in order to work his way inside. This guy is more than just a pressure fighter and volume puncher. He thinks in the ring and he's able to adapt to different styles.
I was thinking about going home before Margarito's second sparring partner, the amateur kid, climbed in the ring. There would not be much of workout with this guy, I thought, forgetting that boxing is the theater of the unexpected.
The pasty white Canadian had look of a tourist in town to see Disney Land. A black T-shirt hid any muscle he may have had in his chest or stomach. With shoulders that slumped forward and chunky legs that appeared slightly knock-kneed I think the best way to describe his physique is "dumpy". He had a pleasant - somewhat clueless - look on his face. Really, you couldn't pick out a goofier looking white guy.
But once the bell sounded, a fighter emerged. The Canadian shot out a good jab, showing quicker hands than his body would indicate. He had decent footwork, too, but he didn't try and run from Margarito. The kid occasionally stood his ground and cracked Margarito with wide looping left crosses and right hooks. Most of these sloppy shots missed, but the Canadian threw them all with authority. After the round ended, Margarito had his shirt taken off. It was time to go to work.
Margarito set to cutting off the ring as soon as the bell sounded. He ducked under and blocked incoming shots as he closed the distance on the bigger but inexperienced sparring partner. As soon as he was close enough, Margarito let go with a quick one-two combination that snapped the Canadian's head back and forced him to the ropes - the danger zone. Margarito punished him with rapid combinations to the body and head, but the Canadian sucked it up. After this round, he looked like he had had enough.
Maybe he was only good for one round, I thought. I would soon find out.
Margarito, switching to a southpaw stance, again forced the Canadian to the ropes, but the "tourist" fought back when the heat was turned up on him. They traded heavy shots along the ropes for much of this round. The Canadian was breathing heavy half way through it, and I could tell that his ribs were aching, but to his credit he pushed on, holding his own - at least for three rounds - with a world-class fighter. There was applause for the combatants after the session and it was well earned.
I introduced myself to the Canadian, who turned out to be a friendly chatty guy (like most Canadians I've met). His name is Aaron Edgett and he hails from New Brunswick. He's not a kid; he's 31 years old, but he has a dream of becoming a prize fighter.
He only had 33 amateur bouts in Canada (in the 165-pound division), but once he moved to Southern California (he lives in Long Beach) he quickly garnered the reputation as a gym fighter with the balls to get in there with anybody. He's sparred with Shane Mosley and our old friend Mr. Toney. He's had one fight as a professional, a loss at light heavyweight. He says he took the fight on short notice and he realizes that his best weight is at 168 pounds or even middleweight. I agreed with Edgett and I wished him luck.
He doesn't have the amateur experience, natural talent or boxing skills of someone like Sechew Powell, but he's got heart and that's something that can't be taught or bought.
I hope I see him again, in the gym or better yet, in a pro fight. I would hate for the hard rounds he's put in with Margarito to go to waste.
GYM WARS
A week or two before I dropped by the L.A. Boxing Club, I observed Diego Corrales prepare for Acelino Freitas by sparring a number of hard rounds with Robbie Peden at Joe Goossen's steaming hot gym in Van Nuys, California. I was alarmed at the number of jabs that Peden, a top 130-pound contender, was able to land on Chico and I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right pick in predicting a Corrales win (by decision or late stoppage). Then I came to my senses. Although Freitas is much stronger, physically, and hits a hell of a lot harder than Peden, Popo doesn't rely on the jab that much and the Brazilian doesn't go to the body the way the "Bomber" does, either. I knew my pick was safe.
THE CONTENDERS: MORA VS. MOSLEY
Every Saturday, I work out at the Broadway Gym in South-Central L.A. (it's about a six-mile drive from where I live in Inglewood). I don't bring a pen or pad with me because I'm serious about staying in shape and I don't want to be distracted by note taking. I treasure the special kind of community that only a boxing gym can provide so I don't want to have my reporter's cap on when I walk through those doors; I just want to be one of the guys.
So I didn't take any notes on the damn good sparring session that I witnessed between East L.A.'s Sergio Mora and Watts' Larry Mosley two weeks ago but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't write something about it.
Word around the gym was that Mora, who is a 12-0 middleweight prospect, is going to be on The Contender, Sly Stallone and Ray Leonard's reality boxing show that is slated to begin this fall on NBC. Mora never mentioned a word of this, but Larry Mosley's father told me that Mora would possibly take on undefeated welterweight contender Ishe Smith on the show. Maybe that's why Mora was seeking work with Mosley, an ultra fast welterweight with a 12-1 record. He wanted to get used to the speed of a smaller man.
Although Mora has very fast hands himself he found Mosley's 147-pound speed tough to deal with. In the first round, Mosley was able to tag Mora at will with his jab and right hand. For two minutes Mosley was the faster, smoother fighter, controlling the distance with his lateral movement as Mora worked on slipping and blocking the Cobra strikes. In the final minute of the round, Mora stepped inside Mosley's reach and busted the smaller man with short hooks and crosses, punctuated by an explosive body shot that dropped Mosley to a knee.
In round two, Mosley resumed his stick-and-jab routine, punishing Mora to the body and head with lead rights every time the bigger man leaned in with his jab or loaded up too much with his right hand. But once again, in the final minute of the round Mora closed the gap and rocked the smaller man with crisp power shots on the inside. Mosley showed guts by standing his ground and firing back before complaining about a low blow just as the bell rang. In the third round, an angry Mosley took the fight to Mora and the two engaged in heated trading for three minutes.
It got so serious, a small crowd collected around the ring. I even stopped skipping rope and got close to the ropes, squinting to catch all of the action. Mid-way through the fourth round, Mosley was doubled over by a borderline body shot and tempers flared. Mosley cried foul, while Mora yelled "Come on!" A few nutcases around the ring had flashbacks to their set-trippin' days as gang members and started talking that racial s__t, but cooler heads prevailed. Boxing resumed.
In the fifth and final round, the two prospects with the potential to become solid contenders once again clashed in the center of the ring and let their hands go for three minutes. They tapped gloves and showed respect after the work was done.
I plan on watching both the Next Great Champ and The Contender this fall, but I wonder if either show will match the action and drama I see in these gyms on a weekly basis.
Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums
For Questions or Comments
E-Mail Doug Fischer at dougie@maxboxing.com
|
