To be successful in boxing you need to possess skills, heart, and determination. However, you also need to keep your emotions in check no matter how much you dislike an opponent. We know that Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto possesses most of these intangibles, but is he going to be able to keep his cool when he takes on Antonio Margarito of Mexico at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Dec. 3?
Of course, there’s a lot of bad blood between these two considering what went on after their first fight in New York back in 2008. In that meeting, Cotto (36-2, 29 Kos) controlled the early rounds, but Margarito (38-7, 27 Kos) took everything he threw at him and eventually broke him down and stopped him in the 11th round. By the time the fight ended, Cotto’s face was badly bruised and cut up.
Cotto went into that fight as the undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion and nobody really thought anything of it until about six months later when Margarito was set to do battle against Shane Mosley. But just before Margarito left the dressing room against Mosley, one of Mosley’s trainers noticed something odd about the way his hands were wrapped.
After an investigation it was revealed that Margarito’s hands were wrapped in something similar to plaster of paris, which is a hardening compound. Basically, Margarito’s fists were loaded up and he was caught just before the fight started. He ended up getting knocked out by Mosley in the ninth round and was then suspended after the fight. Fans started to put two and two together and assumed Margarito’s gloves were also tampered with in the Cotto fight and that’s why he was able to bust his face up and stop him.
If course nobody other than Margarito knows if this is true. But he definitely hasn’t looked the same since the Mosley fight and Manny Pacquiao laid a beating on him last year over 12 rounds. It’s always been in the back of Cotto’s mind that he could have been beaten by a cheat and from the statements he’s made over the past couple of years it looks like he believes it.
Margarito has denied all accusations against him, but millions of fans also have their doubts. This makes the rematch against Cotto a very important fight. If Cotto should beat him, then fans are obviously going to assume Margarito hardened his gloves in the first fight. If Margarito happens to win again though, many fans will assume he only loaded his gloves once, which was against Mosley.
This bout is for something called the WBA Super World Light Middleweight Title, which Cotto holds, but it’s being fought at a catch weight of 153 lbs., which is a little odd considering it’s just one pound under the junior middleweight limit of 160. Cotto has the age advantage since he’s only 31 and Margarito’s 33. However, Margarito’s reach is six inches longer and he’s four inches taller.
This fight was nearly called off because Margarito had to undergo surgery to fix eye damage cause by Pacquiao. He finally got licensed and it’ll be interesting to see if Cotto targets the eye. Margarito’s pressuring style is just the type that gives Cotto problems. Cotto is the more skilled boxer, but it’s styles that make great fights and these two put on a hell of a fight the first time around.
Since there’s so much on the line in this bout, Cotto will likely keep his cool when the bell rings. He’s got to find a way to hurt Margarito, but that’s a tough chore as the Mexican has only been stopped once, by Mosley. Cotto also has to be psychologically prepared to fight, not just physically. He’s facing the guy who stopped him and bust him up and while the scars on the outside may have healed the ones on the inside might not have.
