SOUL MATES

You know you're getting close to a Margarito fight when you see his wife, Michelle, at the gym. Usually, she stays back in Tijuana during the early parts of her husband’s training camp before coming across the border as the actual fight draws near.

They have been married since 1999 but have known each other since they were classmates in elementary school. Michelle says that they have been an item since the end of their fourth grade year and amazingly enough, with no breakups.

She admits she couldn't have imagined they'd still be together.

"No, not at all," she said through Diaz last Friday afternoon. "Antonio always said that I was his soul mate and we were going to get married. I thought he was crazy, it never crossed my mind."

In the beginning, Margarito's interest was a one-way street.

“It wasn't disinterest," she claims, "but I always saw Tony as a friend. I was afraid if we got into a relationship, it would ruin it."

But after a one-week trial run, she was sold.

"I liked that he was a respectful person. I saw a lot of qualities I was attracted to."

As his fame has grown, Michelle says that her husband is still the average Jose she met long ago.

“The only change is the change in our lifestyle. We suffered a lot to get here. But that's the only change. He's still the same person. In Tijuana they still see him as another person. He doesn't need ten bodyguards around him," she says.

As for the fight with Cotto, she's not nervous - yet.

“There are no nerves right now. I can't say I'm not thinking about the fight, but I'm confident in Antonio's conditioning and style. The nerves come as we get closer to the fight. I understand it's a big fight but I know I have to be a strong for Antonio."

http://www.maxboxing.com/Kim/Kim072108.asp