You would think boxing has more than enough black eyes -as the term is used- meaning a wrong has been committed in the sport of boxing. You  would think that twenty-six years after the fact, boxing would have gotten it right, but....Noooo. Boxing has gotten worse, far worse than the events that took place twenty-six years ago, on June 16, 1983, when Luis Resto fought Billy Collins Jr.

The entire boxing world has to know the story by now. HBO made sure that boxing folks would never, ever forget, as all accounts were acknowledged in HBO's documentary aptly titled "Assault in the Ring."

According to the film, no punishment was severe enough for infamous, world renowned trainer Panama Lewis and his journeyman fighter Luis Resto. The documentary made them household names, but for all the wrong reasons. Lewis and Resto were banned for life from the sport of boxing, condemned, exiled from the possibility of earning a single dime off the sport for the rest of their lives.

Needless to say, Panama Lewis has found a way around the system, by still passing on his knowledge and wisdom to many fighters; however, he cannot step up on a ring apron to work a corner for as long as he lives. Boxer Luis Resto's story is a very sad one, but sad as it is, it's still hard to feel sorry for Resto. He knew everything that ended up taking place in the ring on that dreadful night, but only made himself accountable twenty years later, in front of the HBO lens, maybe to clear his conscience or maybe because it was an issue that was never going to go away until he faced his own demons. Furthermore, and even more importantly, he was caught red-handed, with pad less gloves that inflicted horrific damage to his opponent, and once you're caught, the choices are few. Either you confess if you have any type of remorse in your heart, or the guilt will take a toll on your psyche, on your inside.

Resto's punishment had already been administered. His life as a fighter was nothing more than a memory that faded into black... Luis Resto became famous for committing one of the most brutal acts in the history of the sport. Turn the page and travel forward twenty-six years. It is now June 16th 2009, and Antonio Margarito and his trainer -or whomever wrapped his hands that night- were caught red-handed doing the same exact thing that Luis Resto and Panama Lewis were guilty of.

When Margarito was getting ready to fight Sugar Shane Mosley, Mosley's trainer, Nazeem Richardson caught Margarito and his coach red-handed, and had Richardson not been on top of his game, the outcome could have been quite different. Who knows what Margarito and his trainer had done in previous fights, like when Margarito fought Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron and others.

One thing we all know is that when you are getting away with something and it works, you do it until you get caught. You don't change what has made you successful, even if it's cheating a little bit. Let's not imply that Margarito is the only one doing something illegal; there are countless boxers who have chosen to use other methods in order to gain fame and success, but this article isn't about attacking the sport I love or blowing the whistle on who's doing what.

This article is about a man who was caught cheating out right, and twenty-six years later another fighter is caught for a very similar infraction but the punishment in our time is so much lesser than it was twenty six years ago. It is beyond belief! Panama Lewis and Luis Resto banned for life,  never to make a dime again in a sport they love, while a quarter of a century later, boxer Antonio Margarito gets a year suspension for the same exact thing. Following the suspension, Margarito is granted a license that will enable him to make more money than he has earned in his entire boxing career to date. He stands to make millions of dollars, and he will be able to continue on with his life as a professional fighter, making a nice living while Luis Resto's life as a fighter was cut off completely and he was unable to make a penny as a professional fighter ever again.

The punishment dealt in 1983 fit the crime. One would think the punishment in 2009 would be just as severe or even worse, yet all these years have passed and the same crime has less meaning, certainly an incredibly more lenient punishment. In a sport that can use some cleaning up, this would be the issue to take a stand on, and put it to rest forever.

Are we to accept that a year's suspension is a satisfactory sentence nowadays for getting busted using illegal hand wraps? If that's the case, a one year suspension is very sad, unconscionable for a sport that already is predicated on controlled violence. Furthermore, with so many fighters doing whatever it takes to be successful it's a disgrace to the buying public and to all those who are in the sport and have never cheated or have never done anything wrong. It's a cold slap in the face.

Personally I think Antonio Margarito's punishment is a joke. I strongly believe Margarito should be banned for life just as those who committed the same act twenty-six years go. I guess boxing has another black eye.....

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9-7-2010