By Dan Ambrose: The long awaited rematch between Antonio Margarito (38-7-1, 27 KO’s) and Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KO’s) will be taking place on September 17th rather than July 16th because the 33-year-old Margarito’s fractured orbital bone on his face still hasn’t healed properly enough for him to get back in training anytime soon. Margarito took an enormous pounding in his recent 12 round unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao last year in November and the punishment is now getting in the way of Margarito’s pay-per-view rematch with Cotto.

Margarito defeated Cotto by an 11th round TKO three years ago in 2008. In that fight, Cotto dominated the first nine rounds with accurate punching a lot of movement. However, Cotto ran out of gas in the 10th and was hurt by a big uppercut while trapped against the ropes. In the 11th, Margarito finished off a bloodied and beaten Cotto.

The rematch between the two fighters is a bit late, however, as neither one of them appear to be the same fighter they once were. However, boxing fans will still jump all over this rematch even though both guys have been beaten since their fight.

In Margarito’s case, he’s been stopped in two out of his last three fights since the Cotto bout and looks like only a fraction of what he used to be. Cotto, under the guidance of his new trainer Emanuel Steward, has changed his style of fighting and now moves a lot more than he used to. He’s still very vulnerable, as we saw in his last fight against 38-year-old Ricardo Mayorga.

Cotto may fall apart again if Margarito is able to take his shots and land some punishing uppercuts. Mayorga seemed to give Cotto a lot of problems whenever he was able to land sustained combinations. Cotto was smart enough to scurry away but he looked vulnerable none the less.