Like it or not, Antonio Margarito is far from finished despite earlier reports suggesting his days as a prizefighter might be coming to an end. Margarito took a wicked beating from Manny Pacquiao last November, one in which he suffered a broken orbital bone, but despite the severity of his injuries a recent visit to a specialist came with good news as it looks as though he could be ready to fight later this year or in early 2012.
The most logical and lucrative fight for Margarito appears to be a rematch with WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, whom he stopped by way of 11th round TKO nearly three years ago in Las Vegas, Nevada. The paths of the two men have gone in drastically different directions since that fight but a second encounter would still perk people’s interest and give Cotto his desired shot at revenge.
But Margarito has yet to resume heavy training and a fight against Cotto might not make since without some kind of tune up. Fully understanding this, Cotto will be in Los Angeles this weekend checking out undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as a somewhat of a backup plan in case the Margarito fight can’t be explored immediately.
Chavez Jr. faces off with WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik next and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has even toyed with the idea of him facing Cotto with Margarito to be in line for a shot at the winner. A fight with Chavez would give him a chance to capture a title in a fourth weight class, assuming that Chavez beats Zbik of course, and the Puerto Rican showed his interest.
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“This is a business,” Cotto told Jhonny Gonzalez at BoxingScene.com. “I think Chavez is a good fighter. It would be a good fight, and being able to win a fourth title would be an added incentive. We are going to watch his fight and after that we’ll sit down with [Top Rank] and see what makes the most sense for my career.”
And such is the way with boxing. A fight with Chavez comes with no ill feelings but he would have to clear that hurdle in order to get to Margarito, whom many feel was under the aid of tampered hand wraps during his fight with Cotto, thus leaving a bit of harsh feelings from Miguel.
While Chavez-Zbik may not be the most intriguing of style clashes, the fight itself is that much more important because of Cotto and Margarito, who will surely be waiting in the wings watching things unfold.
