Regarding the upcoming reinstatement of Antonio Margarito, I have one thing to say (which I will of course take several paragraphs to say): Do not expect genius out of the Texas commission. If ever there was an organization reeking of an “old boys’ network”, this is it. Commissioner Dickie Cole has always seemed to march to the beat of his own drum, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. Cole seems offended by people having the nerve to point out his errors and negative tendencies. Mind you, he has no plans of changing them. He just gets annoyed. Let’s look at a couple other greatest hits.
When local boy Paulie Ayala was handed a gift against Hugo Dianzo in 2001, Cole berated ESPN commentator Teddy Atlas in a childish way for pointing out that an obvious screw job had taken place. It took fellow commentator Bob Papa to point out the Cole had gotten too big for his britches, and a public smack-down seemed to restore order. It was only temporary, however.
His highly unqualified son, referee Laurence Cole, has blown calls, and shown his inept-ness on many occasions, yet continues to receive choice assignments. The father and son team apparently don’t care how obvious their favoritism looks either.
When Paulie Malignaggi expressed concern over the officials being stacked in favor of hometown favorite Juan Diaz, Cole responded by allowing them to be stacked even more favorably, and all but guaranteeing the New Yorker would in fact be screwed, which he was. This is also the man who licensed Evander Holyfield and Edwin Valero well before anyone else in this country was sure it was safe. Apparently, no Yankee is gonna tell him how to run his state!
So, don’t be surprised that this is the place where Bob Arum is attempting to resurrect the career of Margacheato. It won’t make a difference, as the mental effects of the hand-wraps as well as the beating he took from Mosley will likely finish him mentally, if not physically. It certainly worked that way for Trinidad . But a message could have been sent by ending the career in the proper fashion. Life-time ban. Perhaps a 3-year suspension would suffice. This way, he misses out on the big money at 147lbs, and the last few years of his rpime. It should hurt. A year or so off is not a big deal nowadays. Heck, it's the avergae time off between fights for a Don King fighter. Instead the message that is being sent, when compared to the Billy Collins-Luis Resto affair is this… don’t get caught loading your gloves, unless you sell a lot of tickets.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
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