By Robert Morales

Since Antonio Margarito was busted with illegal hand wraps before his January fight with "Sugar" Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, there has been no shortage of insinuation that perhaps Margarito and his hand-wrapping trainer, Javier Capetillo, had previously cheated.

Miguel Cotto initially said he thought Margarito must have just had a good night when Margarito stopped him in the 11th round on July 26, 2008 in Las Vegas. He since has wondered if Margarito might have had loaded gloves in their fight because he did not have anyone from his camp monitoring Margarito's wraps as they were being applied that night at MGM Grand.

Well, there is a dispute in that regard. Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said that to his knowledge Evangelista Cotto was indeed in the room when Margarito was having his hands wrapped. Cotto - who will take on Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 14 at MGM Grand - was then trained by his uncle, Evangelista.
  
"The inspector is there watching the hands get wrapped, and there is also a member of the other team," Kizer said, explaining what typically happens during this time. "Evangelista Cotto was there. And he is not a guy who is very passive. He is a guy who will say, 'What's that?' Very similar to Brother Naazim (Richardson, Mosley's trainer who helped nail Margarito).

"Evangelista is a very hands-on checker. He was there watching it. We had one of our top inspectors, Jack Lazzarotto, one of our most experienced inspectors, back there."
  
Kizer, speaking via telephone Tuesday, said that referee Jay Nady, who did not work that fight but did work others on the card, also was back in Margarito's room when his hands were being wrapped. Kizer said Nady also observed.

Oh, Really?

Well, this is where it gets weird. According to Bob Arum, who promotes both Cotto and Margarito, Evangelista Cotto was not in the room at the time.
  
"First of all, we gotta get the facts right," Arum said. "Evangelista was not in there when the wrapping took place and that led to the breakup between Miguel and Evangelista. Neither was Miguel Diaz there. They were taking care of some f*****g preliminary fighter when all this was going on."

Arum said that is why Cotto eventually fired his uncle as well as Diaz, who is now Pacquiao's cut-man.

"After the February fight (against Michael Jennings), after the comeback fight, that's when he (Miguel Cotto) realized that nobody was back there watching the wraps," Arum said.
  
Kizer was told of Arum's comments in a follow-up call.

"Well, Bob was not back there, nor was I," Kizer said. "But Jack Lazzarotto and Jay Nady were. And when the hands were wrapped, Evangelista was back there, that was my understanding. ... From everyone I've talked to, Evangelista was back there and he was definitely on his game and definitely observing the hand wraps of Mr. Margarito."

Kizer said that when it comes to checking wraps, Evangelista Cotto is "no wallflower," that he is very active. Kizer also checked his records and said that Evangelista Cotto was not scheduled to work any other fights that night, but he did notice him working the corner of what he believes was the first fight of the card - at about 4 p.m. Kizer said that would have been long before the main event fighters would even arrive at the arena, so that never would have interfered with the time Margarito was having his hands wrapped.

Kizer was also quick to point out that he doesn't believe Arum would say "anything purposely wrong" about this matter.

Lazzarotto Speaks

Obviously, Arum is taking Cotto's word about this scenario. Kizer is taking the word of others as well. So we spoke to Lazzarotto, and his take further added to the intrigue.

"It's been a year and a half, but my recollection is he (Evangelista Cotto) was back there," Lazzarotto said. "He is a pretty assertive guy. Jay (Nady) was back there with me. That is my recollection."

Lazzarotto, a retired school district administrator, said he has been an inspector for the Nevada commission for the past 14 years. He said that two inspectors are always assigned to each fighter, and that one will never leave the fighter's side once he arrives in his dressing room, to make certain that there is no cheating with drug tests or hand wraps, etc.

In this case, it was Lazzarotto who was joined at Margarito's hip. And, Lazzarotto was quick to point out, he had previously worked Margarito's room and there was never any problems of any kind.
  
"Margarito has always been a real gentleman," said Lazzarotto, who speaks English and Spanish fluently. "Anything we asked him to do, he would do."
  
Most importantly, Lazzarotto said the top priority with the commission is integrity, and there is no doubt in his mind that Margarito's wraps were clean and plaster free when he entered the ring against Cotto.

"I can tell you emphatically, I checked the wraps and I felt the wraps and there was nothing illegal about the wraps," Lazzarotto said.
 
Arum Wavers

Lazzarotto was convincing. But without knowing what Lazzarotto said, even Arum is no longer certain that Margarito was on the level against Cotto. And don't forget, Arum was the guy who screamed bloody murder when Margarito had his licensed revoked by the California commission in February.

"As far as who the (Nevada) commission guys were, I don't know who was back there," Arum said. "But remember, the commission guys in California were ready to approve Margarito's wraps until this Naazim Richardson thought he detected something and called it to their attention.

"Now, did Margarito have loaded  gloves for the Cotto fight? I don't know, you don't know, nobody knows. But there certainly is that possibility, that if the gloves for the Mosley were loaded, why wouldn't the gloves for the Cotto fight be loaded? That is the innuendo. Is that proof? No. It's not far-fetched."

Father's Time

During the first episode of HBO's 24/7 last Saturday promoting Cotto-Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto Sr. said he couldn't understand how only gloves could do the kind of damage that was done to his son by Margarito. That, of course, is a strong intimation that Margarito's gloves were juiced.

Interestingly, Kizer said considering Margarito was definitely caught with hardened plaster in his wraps in California, he isn't overly concerned that Margarito might be taking some shots for something there is no proof of him doing against Cotto.

"I'm not going to lose any sleep over it," Kizer said.

Boxing's Rejuvenation

Arum on Wednesday talked about boxing's revival during the last minutes of a conference call featuring Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach.

"I don't know if you realize now the upswing boxing is on," Arum said. "Boxing is really on a roll. We can tell by the sponsors coming out to support this fight. We're really thrilled with the reaction and I can say unequivocally that boxing is really back, thanks to Manny Pacquaio and thanks to the other great fighters out there.
  
"People are talking about boxing again. Boxing is coming back into the mainstream."

Arum said this current state of the sweet science reminds him of the 1980s, when the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns were gracing the ring.

That may be a stretch, and we all know promoters are known for doling out hyperbole. But longtime commentator Al Bernstein told this reporter something similar a few days before he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles last Saturday. Bernstein next year will be celebrating his 30th year in the sport, having started with ESPN back in 1980. Bernstein said the 80s "were tremendous," but the 90s were anything but.

"That was when boxing made bad matches and didn't make the matches it was supposed to and the mainstream media stopped covering boxing," said Bernstein, who has been with Showtime since 1993. "But I think boxing has had a complete renaissance. I think the media has been slow to come back, although worldwide it does get the coverage.
  
"There has been a rebirth in boxing."  
  
Bernstein said for him, boxing has been three acts.

"Two of them good, one of them not," he said.

Roach Miffed

Roach became somewhat defensive Wednesday while a reporter was trying to ask him if Cotto will represent the first true welterweight test for Pacquiao in terms of punching power. As the question was being posed, the reporter brought up the notion that Pacquiao did not face a true welterweight punch with Oscar De La Hoya because De La Hoya was sapped of energy and had little in their fight last December when Pacquiao stopped De La Hoya after eight rounds.

"Why can't it be that Manny had a good night?" Roach snapped while the reporter was asking the question.

Roach calmed down and allowed the reporter to finish his question.

"Miguel has a pretty good left hook," Roach said. "I don't think he is the strongest he (Pacquiao) has ever faced, though. (Ricky) Hatton was supposed to be stronger than us also. That doesn't win fights. Boxing ability wins fights."
  
When yet another reporter asked Roach what he thinks about those who consider Pacquiao's past three opponents - David Diaz, De La Hoya and Hatton - somewhat suspect, Roach said, "No one wants to give credit where credit is due."

Ortiz-Diaz Almost Done

Richard Schaefer on Wednesday said all he is waiting for is the signature page for a fight that would pit Victor Ortiz against Antonio Diaz. Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said the fight would take place Dec. 12 in Chicago or Atlantic City and would be televised by HBO.

Schaefer said the two camps have agreed in principle to terms. He admitted, however, he was hopeful of getting Ortiz somewhat of a lesser opponent after he was stopped in the sixth round by Marcos Maidana in an interim junior welterweight title fight in June in Los Angeles.

"To tell you the truth, I was hoping for something a bit easier," Schaefer said. "But if you want to be on HBO, there is no such thing as an easy fight. You have to take on tough opponents. Victor and his camp said they are up to the task and we have to give in.

"That's a tough test after the loss a few months ago, to come back and fight somebody like Antonio Diaz, who is no walk in the park."

Ortiz, just 22, is 24-2-1 with 19 knockouts. Diaz, 33, is 46-5-1 with 29 knockouts. He has twice fought for a welterweight world championship. But he was stopped by Mosley in the sixth round in November 2000 and he was stopped in the 10th round by Margarito in March 2002.

Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram and krikya360.com.