Miguel Cotto / Antonio Margarito 2 – The Aftermath

By Boxing News - 12/08/2011 - Comments

Image: Miguel Cotto / Antonio Margarito 2 – The AftermathBy Liam Brindle & Lee Demain: Having only arrived back from New York City on Monday we thought we’d wait to read a few articles, news stories and generally wait to hear what the noise was after a fantastic fight at Madison square garden.

We had jetted out to the US on Friday morning from the UK not knowing what to expect from the fight Saturday night. As you may or may have not read in our last article ( http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/11/cotto-v-margarito-ii-analysis/ ) we offered our views on the fight, where we thought Cotto might win the fight, where he might lose it, we have to be honest I never expect it to be as so one sided at it was. In short Cotto boxed beautifully throughout all 9 rounds, some call it running, people who know call it not slugging it out with the bigger heavier man and sticking to a game plan. On the terraces inside MSG it was electric, as expected a heavily Puerto Rican crowd roared Cotto on, we for the night adopted Puerto Ricans, were draped in the red white and blue of Cottos homeland and as one Puerto Rican New Yorker said, we were ‘the whitest Puerto Ricans in New York’.

As we said Cotto boxed beautifully, and you all know what happened in the fight, Margaritos eye came under serious assault, swelled up and the fight was called off, I’d loved to have seen Cotto KO him, but it was fair enough, the fight being in NYC at all was a result , especially for us, so to keep Tonys health in mind, it was fair.

But where do they go from here? Margarito left the ring with his 8th professional defeat (and only his second TKO) as well as a nasty cut and a badly swollen right eye, but what are his options now? His entire career has a question mark against it, let us explain, post Cotto fight number 1, Margarito had 1 fight before being banned, a KO loss to Shane Mosley, he DEFINITELY didn’t have any sort of illegal advantage that night having been caught before the fight with them. He serves his 12 month ban and comes back with a tune up fight against fringe Mexican Roberto Garcia, but only eking out a UD over 10 rounds, he then went on to his worst beating in a boxing ring at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, with it fracturing his orbital bone and keeping him out of action for 13 months by the time he stepped into the ring this past Saturday night. Now, after the first Cotto fight he’s only won once, that’s 1 out of 4 with Cotto 2 included, does this sound like the ‘most feared man in boxing’? take Pacquiao out of the equation because he is an exception, that’s 1 in 3, losing by TKO in 2 of them, again his only TKO losses….Had Margarito been getting away with it for most of his career? We’re speculating, but again it doesn’t look like the record of a man who was dubbed ‘the most avoided man in boxing’.

Where does he go now? Rebuild? At 33 years old it might take him 2 years, he doesn’t have age on his side, maybe do a David Haye and jump the queue with bravado, call out P4P number 3 Sergio Martinez, tell him he beat him once he’d do it again, Martinez can make light middle and I’m sure Tony could make Middleweight, or does he chase a trilogy with Miguel Cotto? To be honest we don’t know, Cotto is on the cusp of another mega fight and another mega pay day, Martinez wants Floyd or Manny chasing a big payday, so that leaves rebuilding? The truth is no one needs Margarito let alone the circus he brings with him and frankly people are sick of hearing about hand wraps.

The other option of course is Saul Alvarez, maybe call him out, it would be a decent test for the young up and coming mexican, also we have no doubt that Antonio Margarito will struggle getting a license in USA, but we are sure that he would get one in Mexico.

The fight would sell like crazy too.

Miguel Cotto is rejuvenated, boxing great on the back foot, countering and whipping in 3 and 4 punch combinations then spinning back out, he’s reinvented himself (probably for the light middleweight division) adapting to fighting bigger men and naturally heavier men, as we said he’s back at the summit of the sport, rebuilding twice in the last 3 years, his loss to Antonio Margarito with an asterisk against it, he now, aside from Manny and Floyd has the pick of the elite.

In the past 5 days since his win Cotto has mentioned a Pacquiao rematch, believing he’d beat him this time, Floyd Mayweather has been mentioned, Amir Khan said he’d love Cotto at 147lbs, Bob Arum wants to make Cotto/Chavez Jr at MSG, Saul Alvarez is emerging fast. But who should he fight? Cotto is 31, still young enough to fight for another 5 years, and with the way he’s boxing now he’ll take less punishment, my personal opinion (Lee) is Cotto should try for Mayweather jr, then Pacquiao in a rematch and if they fail then Chavez Jr at the garden at a catchweight OR a limit to how much Chavez Jr can rehydrate to.

(Liam) I believe that Miguel should chase the rematch with Manny Pacquiao at 150-152lbs catch weight (lets face it Manny wouldn’t come all the way to 154lbs) in my opinion Miguel at 144lbs was a little weight drained and i believe that he would have a much better chance with the extra step, that combined with his ‘new’ brand of boxing where he isn’t willing to stand and trade ‘being the tough guy’ I honestly believe that he could beat and even stop Pacquiao. The other point is if he gets a Mayweather or Pacquaio match up and is defeated he can then still get Alvarez / Chavez Jr / Margarito III, but if he faces one of the other 3 and is defeated, then he will never get a Mayweather or Pacquiao fight.



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