Margarito to Garcia: Enjoy Your Five Minutes of Fame

Three-time welterweight world champion Antonio “Tony” Margarito and Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia exchanged harsh words at the press conference held Wed., May 5 in advance of their fight this Saturday, May 8, when they meet in the 10-round main event of Top Rank’s “Latin Fury 14.”

“I can tell right now what the biggest difference between Margarito and me are: that I can fight in the United States and he can’t,” said Garcia.  

Margarito took the slight in stride, saying: “Your fight with me will be your five minutes of fame, so enjoy it.” Adding, “I am really looking forward to this fight like it was my first. I am still very hungry and still have a lot to accomplish in my career. This fight Saturday against Garcia is very important because I want to come back and give the fans a great fight.”   

“I have no pressure on me here,” said Garcia, who lives in McAllen, Texas. “I have everything to win and nothing to lose. I have come to win and make a name for myself by beating Margarito, and that’s what I intend to do this Saturday night.”

Jorge “Coloradito” Solis, the WBA interim super featherweight champion, met his challenger MARIO SANTIAGO, of Puerto Rico, for the first time in front of a packed house at the “Tecate Boxing Tour” on the grounds of the San Marcos Fair. 

Solis, the brother of former world champion Ulises “Archie,” promised fans: “I have prepared very well for this fight and will give it all I got. As a world champion, I have a big responsibility to the fans to come ready to fight, and I will be ready.”

Santiago, of Ponce, will be fighting for a world title for the second time since he battled STEVEN LUEVANO to a draw in a bout for the WBO featherweight championship two years ago.

“I believe the fight between Solis and I will be the fight of the night,” he said. “I had a great training camp, and I feel very confident that I can win this fight here in Mexico and take the title back to Puerto Rico.”

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The pay-per-view undercard will feature World Boxing Association (WBA) interim super featherweight champion Jorge Solis (38-2-2), of Guadalajara, Mexico, defending his title against top-10 contender and one-time world title challenger MARIO SANTIAGO (21-2-1, 14 KOs), of Ponce, Puerto Rico; top-five contenders Urbano Antillion (27-1, 20 KOs), of Maywood, Calif., and Rene “Super Chiroz” Gonzalez (27-1-1, 21 KOs), of Managua, Nicaragua, battle it out in a WBA lightweight title elimination bout; and the pay-per-view debut of flyweight sensation Alfonso López (4-0, 2 KOs), of Mexico City, Mexico, the son of legendary world champion and Mexican icon Ricardo López.