By Chris Williams: Former IBF welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KO’s) is still recovering from the beating he took from Manny Pacquiao in November. Margarito suffered a fractured right orbital bone in that fight, which required surgery to repair the problem. Margarito is now well on his way to healing and is looking to fight for the title possibly in June against old nemesis World Boxing Association (WBA) junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KO’s).

Whether the fight takes place then or later mostly depends on how well Margarito’s eye continues to heal. Margarito took a lot of punishment from Pacquiao and you can make an argument that the fight probably should have been stopped around the 8th round when Margarito’s eye began to swell up and look bad. Margarito didn’t want to quit and he didn’t his trainer to stop the fight. Because of that, Margarito’s time off between fights is going to be lengthened.

In an article at fightnews.com, Margarito said “If I am going to face Cotto, then I will be world champion again.” You have to like Margarito’s chances against Cotto, because he stopped Cotto previously in the 11th round in their fight in July 2008. Margarito chased Cotto for most of the fight until badly hurting him in the 10th when he trapped Cotto against the ropes. The 11th, Margarito finished the job with some powerful uppercuts that caused Cotto to take a couple of knees.

Cotto rebounded from the defeat by beating both Michael Jennings and Joshua Clottey before getting pounded out by Pacquiao in a 12th round TKO loss in November 2009. With good match-making, Cotto was able to defeat fellow Top Rank stable fighter WBA junior middleweight champion Yuri Foreman in June 2010. Cotto injured his shoulder in the fight and he recently had surgery to fix the problem.

Cotto looks good on offense but when he starts taking punishment, he seems to swell up and fall apart. If Margarito can land enough shots, he’ll have a good chance of stopping Cotto for a second time.