By Dave Sholler

From the fallout surrounding Antonio Margarito’s hand wraps to the Klitschko coin toss, let’s take a look at this week in boxing…

TEAM MARGARITO DENIES ANY WRONGDOING

Not surprisingly, many opinions on the Margarito-plaster wraps saga have surfaced since the Mexican lost his WBA title to Shane Mosley last Saturday. Most have questioned whether Margarito intentionally cheated, while others dug deeper and pondered whether or not the fighter has made a career out of such practices.

For us, we must take the right approach and allow California state officials to conduct a thorough investigation before blasting Margarito. We think “The Tijuana Tornado” – temporarily suspended while the CSAC conducts its investigation - has been a standup individual in his career and we want to hear “guilty” before we crush him.

Still, we must ask a major question. Is the pre-fight wrap screening process fool proof? One retired fighter, who asked to remain nameless, told us earlier this week that the atmosphere in a fighter’s locker room during the hand wrapping process is “like being at a bar.” He added that athletic commission officials in certain states are more concerned with “BS-ing” than watching the actual wrapping.

For us, that’s a major concern. What would have happened had Margarito’s wraps not been checked by Mosley trainer Nazim Richardson?

KLITSCHKO’S DECIDE WHO WILL FIGHT HAYE VIA COIN TOSS

In honor of Super Bowl weekend, how fitting was it that Vital and Wladimir Klitschko decided who would fight David Haye by flipping a coin? In our opinion, it’s brilliant.

When the brothers couldn’t agree on who would get to punch loud-mouthed David Haye in the face first, their manager, Bernd Boente, determined that a flip would best solve the predicament.

The result was that Wladimir gets Haye on June 20. Meanwhile, Vitali makes a mandatory defense against Juan Carlos Gomez on March 21. Not exactly fair, but the coin flip served as the equalizer.

We must ask one question before we move on though. Which Klitschko called it in the air?

MOSLEY-CLOTTEY? WE’D WATCH…

There have been mixed reactions to rumors of a Shane Mosley-Joshua Clottey unification bout, but we like the idea. Sure, it’s not as sexy as Mosley-Cotto II, however, the idea of a mini-welterweight tournament is intriguing. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum reportedly proposed Mosley-Clottey taking place first with the winner facing the victor of Cotto-Margarito II.

Any way it places out, fans are guaranteed good bouts if this Final Four is to come to fruition. However, how do you feel right now if your name ends with Berto or Williams?

NATE CAMPBELL VOWS TO BEAT ALI FUNEKA ‘LIKE HE STOLE SOMETHING’…

Considering Campbell’s admitted financial problems, we bet he pretends that Funeka is the Repo man when the two meet on Valentine’s Day. Don King, putting together about as many fights as we are these days, is praying this one sells…

WIFE OF FORMER DRIVER ROBS MANNY BLIND

BoxingScene’s Ronnie Nathanielsz is reporting that the wife of the driver who was responsible for transporting Manny Pacquiao around town has been charged with robbing the fighter of more than $89,000.

Pia Anatalia Quijada, 27, allegedly forged Pacquiao’s signature on checks and cashed them at a Wells Fargo bank. To no one’s surprise, Quijada is now facing serious jail time.

The best part of the story? Pacquiao reportedly didn’t remember having a bank account at the location. Let us get this straight…you’ve got nearly six-figures in an account and you’ve come down with monetary amnesia?

Ahh, the life of a professional athlete.

WARD WANTS JOHNSON

Rick Reeno is reporting that Andre Ward, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, is said to be interested in a bout with Glen Johnson later this year.

Ward, a rising prospect who certainly doesn’t need to take such a risky fight, apparently wants to put together a stellar year of career-advancing fights. For what it’s worth, we love the idea. Given that Ward has been brought along by Goossen-Tutor at a snail’s pace, we think it’s time he tests his meddle. And there is no one better to do that against than Johnson. Just ask Chad Dawson…

As for “The Road Warrior,” a potential Ward clash gives him another opportunity to prove that he is better than the sport’s young guns. He nearly finished Dawson last year, so you’d have to think that the 40-year-old would like to avenge that loss by stopping another rising youngster.

BERTO SEEKS COTTO FIGHT

Andre Berto, just weeks removed from barely defeating almost-champion of the world Luis Collazo, is apparently ready to step in and fight Miguel Cotto in a title unification bout slated for summer. Ever the opportunist, Berto promoter Lou DiBella said that Berto would fill in for Antonio Margarito and fight Cotto should the Mexican be found guilty of plastering his wraps in the Shane Mosley fight.

While some may disagree with our assessment, we think that Berto is more than ready for such a fight. Sure, he took his lumps against Collazo, but he survived and won. We’ve seen other top fighters (hello, Ricky Hatton) struggle with Collazo and go on to have excellent careers. We’re not saying he’d beat the Puerto Rican powerhouse, but we’re not counting him out either.

EXCITED FOR DARCHINYAN-ARCE?

We normally don’t buy into all the pre-fight trash talk, but we think that Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce share a genuine disdain for one another. Sure, there is a ton of mutual respect hidden behind all the garbage, but we see Vic and Jorge swinging wildly as soon as the opening bell sounds. With that said, we think their 115-pound title fight on Feb. 7 will be electric.

On a side note, while Arce has had some good quotes about his opponent, Darchinyan still takes the smack talk world title. In referring to Arce, Darchinyan was rather candid in his overall assessment.

“Arce is a good puncher; he’s had good knockouts,” Darchinyan said on Wednesday’s conference call with reporters. “But I am going to play him like baby.  I want everyone to see that Darchinyan says what he will do. Watch carefully (from the) first round because I don’t want you to miss any of my artwork and my punches.”

Vic Darchinyan: a boxer and an artist. If only he can manage to paint the canvas on Feb. 7 and defend his world titles.