Cotto’s revenge!! Will the Puerto Rican blow away the Tijuana Tornado this time around?

By Boxing News - 09/04/2011 - Comments

By Daniel Burns: It’s a question that still gets asked even today. Did Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KO’s) use illegal hand wraps in his first fight against Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KO’s)?

After being found guilty and having his boxing licence revoked for one year by the California State Athletic Commission in 2009 for his illegal hand warps before his world title fight against “sugar” Shane Mosley (46-7, 39 KO’s), Was Margarito’s wraps loaded six months previous when he destroyed Cotto in brutal fashion for the W.B.A welterweight championship of the world?

Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson, spotted an alien substance just before there world title fight in Margarito’s hand wraps, which later would be described as the same substance in which doctors use to make casts for broken limbs. In November 2009, it emerged that the hand wraps seized before the Mosley fight which had red stains on them were identical to the wraps after the Cotto fight. This has raised suspicion that Margarito’s hand wraps were loaded when he defeated Cotto.

Miguel Cotto will meet Antonio Margarito for a second time at Madison Square Gardens on December 3rd for the “super” W.B.A light middleweight championship of the world. After his first career loss against Margarito, Miguel Cotto has went on to win the W.B.O welterweight world title and recently win the “super” W.B.A light middleweight championship of the world, beating Yuri Foreman (28-2, 8 KO’s) at the Yankee stadium, New York. Hall of famer and one of the world’s best boxing trainers Emanuel Stewart, has now hooked up with Cotto and will take charge of his third fight come 3rd December. Stewart seems to have rejuvenated Cotto’s career, making him go back to his boxing ability. Cotto seems more illusive on his feet and not so heavy, moving about a lot more and not making it so easy for his opponent to hit him. He is also using the jab more, which he started to neglect before Stewart took over. When Cotto uses his jab, he is able to set himself up perfectly on his opponent pushing them back on to the ropes and unleashing his body shots. Cotto is an all round better fighter when he uses his jab and has a better success rate.

The key for Miguel Cotto to win this fight is that he must box Margarito. Cotto needs to make a statement early and command the centre of the ring with his jab. When pressuring, he needs to try and push Margarito back on to the ropes and go to the body. But when Margarito is pressuring, Cotto should box and move keeping light on his feet and not mixing it with Margarito and keeping him on the end of his jab. Cotto must take every opportunity to hurt Margarito and to get on top of him early.

I don’t think Margarito will be the same fighter after the beating he took off of Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO’s) in his last fight. The psychological consequences of a beating like that on a fighter can have huge repercussions when they step back into the ring. It’s important for Cotto to get on top of him as soon as the first bell sounds and I think Cotto can even do enough to stop Margarito in the later rounds. Cotto has been in a lot of wars and the beating he took off of Margarito that night, many boxing experts thought it would damage Cotto as a fighter, but in true fashion the battle harden Puerto Rican has went on to win two world titles at two different weight categories and when he steps back in the ring again to face Margarito, I don’t believe he will have any psychological consequences about the beating he took and I expect Miguel Cotto to go all out and seek his revenge.

No doubt this is going be a great build up to a great fight. Will Antonio Margarito have too much for Cotto once again? Or will Miguel Cotto go after his revenge to prove that he is the better boxer and that last time had a very suspicious outcome?

Good luck to both boxers

Stay tuned for more…



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