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By Zach Arnold | March 19, 2015

Antonio Margarito’s boxing trainer, Javier Capetillo, had his California license revoked in 2009. He was issued a new seconds license in 2014. And now the California State Athletic Commission claims they never gave him a new license despite their own documentation stating a new license was granted on September 22nd, 2014.

The story of Javier Capetillo, current trainer/second for Margarito’s fighters, is well-documented. In January of 2009, trainer Naazim Richardson busted Antonio Margarito for illegal hand-wraps. Writer Paul Magno shared his disgust on the situation in this article. Richardson alerted Athletic Commission representatives, which included athletic inspectors Che Guevara & Mike Bray along with Chief Athletic Inspector Dean Lohuis.

After the California State Athletic Commission disciplinary hearing for both Margarito & Capetillo, the careers of Bray & Lohuis were destroyed in a fit of retaliation because they told the truth about the Margarito incident. Inexplicably, Guevara was rewarded Lohuis’s job as Chief Athletic Inspector.

Margarito was suspended by the Athletic Commission body for one year. Capetillo lost his license because Margarito got busted for plaster of paris. The incident immediately triggered memories of Panama Lewis & Luis Resto in New York circa 1983. “Murder, plain and simple” as writer Randy Gordon claimed at the time. The movie Assault in the Ring is available on Amazon Instant Video.

New York’s athletic commission denied Luis Resto a second’s license. It appears California is a more forgiving place for cheaters and approving a 59 year old woman a fight against a 300-pounder.

ESPN Deportes reported that Javier Capetillo had been granted a seconds license in September of 2014 to work in California. Possessing such a license would signal the OK to other state athletic commissions to approve Capetillo if requested. Official athletic commission documentation, dated March 5th, 2015 reveals that Capetillo was licensed as a second:

Alternatively, Capetillo is not listed by the Athletic Commission as possessing a trainer’s license despite the fact that he trains boxers in Montebello, California at Ponce De Leon Boxing Club and in Mexico. In November of 2014, Capetillo was interviewed about obtaining his seconds license in California:

Since this video was posted on Youtube, here is a timeline of recent events:

Approximately two weeks ago, sources within the Athletic Commission contacted us because they were concerned that Javier Capetillo was going to work Al Haymon’s Spike TV boxing show in Ontario, California.

On March 9th, 2015, we formally filed a California Public Records Act request asking for the licensing application that Javier Capetillo had filled out. Capetillo had not appeared in front of the Athletic Commission body as a whole to obtain a new license after the cheating scandal.

On the day of the Al Haymon boxing event in Ontario, Capetillo was supposedly turned away from the arena and not allowed to work the corner for Margarito fighter Miguel Vazquez. According to Ernie Gabion, Vazquez’s opponent Jerry Belmontes protested to the Athletic Commission about Capetillo.

1. If the Athletic Commission approved a new license administratively for Javier Capetillo, what legal grounds did Jerry Belmontes and his camp have in getting Capetillo removed from the show?

2. What legal grounds did the Athletic Commission have in not allowing Capetillo to work the show if their own official documentation said he was licensed?

On March 18th, 2015, we received the following response from the Athletic Commission to our CPRA request for Capetillo’s license application form:

The California State Athletic Commission has received your request for public records. Under the Information Practices Act, if an application for license is not granted, the application is exempt from disclosure. Mr. Javier Capetillo applied for licensure in September 2014, and was not issued a license.

This contradicts the status of Javier Capetillo’s license as stated on the Athletic Commission’s own web site:

Exhausting administrative remedy, we will file a formal complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs to request the licensing application form Javier Capetillo filled out.

Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |