Antonio Margarito: when can I start running?
A broken right orbital bone won’t stop Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) from stepping back into the ring, manager Sergio Diaz says.
Diaz informed Fanhouse that Margarito is ready for more action, despite orbital bone surgery following a vicious fight with Manny Pacquiao (52-3, 38 KOs) Saturday night.
The boxing manager pledged: “Surgery was a success. Antonio is currently in the recovery room. Surgery was an hour and fifteen minutes, and doctors say that he must have at least 60 days without any contact."
Margarito was forced to miss a post-fight conference Saturday night as officials shooed him off for immediate medical attention. Margarito required nine stitches for cuts, with surgery prolonged due to facial swelling.
“The Tijuana Tornado” remains hospitalized to insure the surgery heals accordingly. His release is expected in coming days.
In the fight, Pacquiao, visibly smaller than Margarito, utilized superior ringmanship to avoid blows and punish Margarito from all angles with quick and relentless combinations.
A devastating fourth-round punch that immediately bruised Margarito is thought to have caused the cheek bone fracture.
According to Diaz, Margarito was in good spirits following the surgery. He immediately asked: “so when can I start running?”
Diaz also outlined Margarito’s upcoming course of actions to Fanhouse. “Antonio's recovery is our main concern at the moment, although Antonio is speaking about his next fight [and] when he would like to fight again. [Top Rank Promotions CEO] Bob Arum
is the one who says who his next opponent will be.”
Arum acknowledged that when Margarito does return to the ring, he will be there help get Margarito’s career back in order. "Of course I'll be there for him. Antonio Margarito is a real warrior. A tremendous warrior. Even in losing, and in losing what turned
out to be a one-sided fight, he enhanced his reputation because he showed everybody that he was a real warrior with no quit in him,” Arum said.
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