The return of the villain or the hero?

It was a festival, a celebration at Arena Ciudad de Mexico. It wasn’t about the fight but about Margarito’s show. There was a red carpet where Mexican celebrities and boxing legends like Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera and many more were present to show support. TV Azteca put on an event more like a movie premiere than a boxing match.

After four years out of the ring, Antonio Margarito (39-8, 27 knockouts) showed heart and courage by getting up from the canvas in the sixth round from combination delivered by Jorge Paez Jr. (39-8-2, 23 KOs), but it’s is clear that his boxing skills have eroded since he took a beating at the hands of Sugar Shane Mosley back in January 2009 – a fight that will always be remembered for the scandal of Margarito’s doctored hand wraps.

Margarito was unable to show his former skills against a very small “Maromerito” and was was barely a shadow of himself – even Chavez commented during the Mexican telecast that Margarito had no reflexes and no legs but his heart and bravery were intact.

Margarito was suspended for a year after the loss to Mosley and then resumed his career until Manny Pacquiao damaged the Mexican’s right eye severely in their 12-round junior middleweight bout on November 13, 2010. The Tijuana Tornado’s last fight was a one-sided beating at the hands of Miguel Cotto in 2011.

Jorge Paez Jr. is basically a junior welterweight and was just an opponent for Margarito’s comeback – he was game but had very little to offer and even that little was enough to hurt and send Margarito to the canvas. It was a bout where both fighters were landing their best shots and heavy artillery, but Margarito dominated the fight. His eye held up but his opponent barely touched it.

Margarito tried to leave a good impression but his comeback left everybody with more questions than answers. He will continue to fight on, though — his next opponent will be Ramon “Inocente” Alvarez, brother of current RING and WBC middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, who was up in the ring after the fight to challenge Margarito.

The judges scorecards were all in favor of Margarito: 95-94, 97-93, 96-93.

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