Antonio Margarito has at least a ghost of a chance

By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS -- This week Antonio Margarito had a long talk with his brother, as he does before every big fight.

The two boxers chatted about everything and nothing, the way close brothers do when one's scared and the other's worried. And there'd be nothing unusual about any of this if not for the fact that Antonio Margarito's brother Manuel has been dead for eight years, shot in the back of the head in his Tijuana home.


"I'm always thinking of him," Margarito said. "One incredible thing about that is whenever a fight is near, I always dream of him. They're very realistic dreams. It's like he's right there with me."

He'll be with him again tonight when Margarito (36-5, 26 knockouts) climbs into the ring at the MGM Grand to face WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (32-0, 26 KOs) in the biggest fight of his 15-year professional career.

Not only is Margarito guaranteed at least $1.6 million, by far the most he has ever earned, but a victory over the heavily favored Cotto could lead to even more lucrative fights against Oscar De La Hoya or Floyd Mayweather Jr., should he decide to come out of retirement.

Antonio Margarito has at least a ghost of a chance....