By Manuel Perez: Sometimes speed and boxing skill are meaningless in a fight. This was never more apparent than tonight when Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs) using a relentless offensive attack took apart previously undefeated Miguel Cotto (32-1, 26 KOs) in a methodical beating, ultimately ending when the bloody and battered Cotto was dropped twice in the 11th round from big shots from Margarito. For all the boxing fans and so-called experts that picked Cotto to win, they seemed to overlook a lot of the advantages that Margarito had going into the fight, starting with his enormous work rate and excellent chin.

Indeed, it seemed painfully obvious to me going to the fight that if Cotto couldn’t hurt the steel-chinned Margarito, then he would be in for a tough time in the second half of the fight when Cotto often times tires out. Margarito made his fatigue that much quicker by constantly battering him with 100 punches per rounds, never for once letting up on Cotto for an instant in any of the rounds.

And, though many of Margarito’s shots were being picked up by the gloves of Cotto, and others ducked or dodged, more than enough were connecting to the body and head of Cotto. Certainly he was getting hit much more than I had ever seen Cotto be hit before in his career, and he looked worried quite early with the punishment he was receiving at the hands of Margarito. Having been used to fighting against fighters with half the work rate of Margarito, Cotto didn’t seem to know what to do when Margarito wouldn’t let up on his constant flow of punches.

If he thought that Margarito was going to slow down at some point, he was sadly mistaken for if anything, Margarito seemed to get stronger in the second half of the fight, throwing even more shots with even more power. After giving up five of the first six rounds of the fight, Margarito finally came alive in the 7th round, bloodying Cotto’s nose with some big hooks and connecting often with right hands as he was able to hit Cotto often on the ropes. Cotto’s movement became less active, and he wasn’t able to block or make nearly as many of Margarito’s many shots miss as he had earlier in the fight when he fought remarkably well.

Unable to take the heat coming from Margarito, Cotto then started to run like mad trying to keep away from Margarito as much as he could. At first, it worked somewhat well, but it was soon clear that the short, stocky Cotto didn’t have the stamina to run for the last five rounds of the fight without tiring out and getting hurt by the stronger Margarito. Each time Cotto would stop from his running, Margarito was right there, and would begin to pelt him with one shot after another to the head and body. Margarito’s speed wasn’t nearly as good as Cotto, nor was his punches as pinpoint precise as him, but due to the sheet number of incoming shots, Cotto simply couldn’t cope with it all and began to show signs of breaking down.

What also seemed to demoralize Cotto, though, was the fact that none of his shots had any effect on Margarito what so ever. Not only did they not hurt him in any way, but they also didn’t slow him down one bit in his constant attacks. This seemed to make Cotto look afraid, as if he knew by the 9th round that he’d lose the fight unless he could somehow stay active and try to run from Margarito and stall out the clock. This seemed to be Cotto’s entire plan by the 9th round, to try and waste the clock and hope that his early big lead might be enough to win on a close decision.

It’s not exactly how I’d like to see a fighter trying to win, but if not for that, Cotto would have been simply wiped out if he stopped his running and stood in front of Margarito for the full three minutes of every round. Like Kermit Cintron, who Margarito easily took out twice, Cotto had no chance in a stationary war with Margarito, because he didn’t have the chin and work rate to handle his shots for long. In the 10th round, Cotto looked weary, not moving as well and trying to fend off Margarito’s attacks.

Cotto did well up until the final 10 seconds of the round when he was hurt by a combination. Cotto would fire back, but he clearly was hurt, bleeding and looking ready for the taking. Cotto made the mistake of trying to fight Margarito instead of running in the 11th, and quickly was hurt by a left hand, right uppercut that caused Cotto to take a knee.

After getting up, there was little question that Cotto stood no chance of making it out of the round, as he was too hurt fight back, and too tired to run like he had in the previous rounds. Without the ability to do neither, Cotto took a few more shots and took a knee. This time, the fight was stopped when his corner threw in the towel and the fight was promptly ended by the referee at 2:05 of the 11th round.