The fervor is building. The anticipation is rising for many and even grueling for some others. One thing is certain. Top Rank has without question produced a solid evening of boxing which should prove to be entertaining from top to bottom. Saturday evening?s card commences with a rematch of one of the year?s best fights, then a thrill-a-minute melee between two tough guys and lastly a true test for a talented while misunderstood and voracious lightweight. Anyone who decides to go out for more ice or simply schmooze about the room as opposed to watching all 180 (give or take) minutes will likely miss out. What helps to make the night a good one is the simple fact that Bob Arum has seemingly constructed a slate of fights designed for fight fans in particular. The main event carries a distinction unlike the bouts which precede it. Anyone else in favor of obtaining a few signatures to petition for a halt to all the handwrap controversy?
Press the rewind key in our boxing memories and jump backward to January 2009. So the story goes: Antonio Margarito?s hands (not the rest of him, of course) reminisced back to the days of classic wrestling when men in tights concealed a lead pipe in their trunks. The referee would turn his back at some point during the bout in such a manner that everyone in attendance (save the ref) would see the masked avenger remove the foreign object from his pants and wallop his opponent. Was this stream of thought on Tony?s mind as he sat in his dressing room at the Staples Center in Los Angeles?
We can look at this Saturday?s big fight from multiple angles. Firstly, do we view this contest as a chance for Cotto to really get even with Margarito? Can it be argued that Cotto?s career was somewhat derailed that July night in 2008? He so very strongly feels that Margarito cheated his way to a victory. Plainly said, had The ?Tijuana Tornado? not been caught loading up his gloves a year later, would Cotto have taken the pummeling he received any differently? This is where all the photographs, iPad technology and delayed opinions on ?WrapGate? fall just a bit flat. It?s the psyche of just about everyone who likes to be heard. Allow an event or circumstance to conclude. Swallow it. Digest it. Think about it. It?s going on right now in the world of college sports and this is what the boxing cosmos did for Margarito after he defeated Miguel Cotto. The Ring Magazine published its November 2008 issue with Tony himself on the cover. ?Why Would Anyone Want to Fight This Man??, was how the front cover read. The Baja California snarl made it all the more persuasive as we heard tales of how the ?Who?s Who? of boxing had set new land speed records as they ran away from a fight with him. Even Floyd Mayweather, Jr. had evaded a showdown with Margarito, so the record stated.
Alas, the war of wrappage commenced. Antonio tried to cheat prior to the Mosley bout. Well, that makes the chances pretty high that he consummated the same marriage of mischief in his previous bouts, correct? That?s the view taken by Cotto and Kermit Cintron as well. Poor Miguel mentioned after the news broke of the illegal pugilistic zig-zag?s that he had ?never been hit like that before?. The aforementioned Cintron concurred. He eventually told himself the same story so many times that by the time he took a literal dive from the ring in his bout with Paul Williams, he had not yet lost in his career. In his mind. Of course, he did have two in the loss column. Both defeats were to Margarito. The fallout from those few seconds of shame resonated all the way back to Tony?s earlier fights.
Appearing on the undercard on Saturday night is a Welterweight brute named Sebastian Lujan. This Argentine fighter is as tough as they come. He met Margarito in the ring in early 2005. The fight was stopped in the tenth round because Lujan?s left ear was about to fall off. Literally. He?d taken such a beating that his ear had almost been ripped completely from his head. That?s a pretty good reason to halt a bout. Be sure to watch Lujan take on undefeated Philadelphia slugger Mike Jones this Saturday night. Quickly let?s step back to Paul Williams. He beat Margarito by a close and disputed decision in 2007. The great Sergio Martinez lost a decision to Williams before he returned to send him to bed without a blanket and a pillow last year. The crushing left which met Paul?s chin earned ?Knockout of the Year? honors. As previously mentioned, Martinez lost to Williams first then returned for his reprisal. His loss to Williams had been his second defeat. Who was his first? Yes. It was Antonio Margarito by a seventh round TKO, although it was eleven years ago. Was Tony fighting with the whole nine yards all the way back then? Let it go. Please.
Likewise, did Miguel Cotto?s career go into an undeserving tailspin after that fateful night in July 2008? Not in the same fashion and credit must without any hesitation be given to Cotto?s road to the ring at that time. His record speaks for itself. He faced the toughest opposition leading up to his bout with Margarito. Then came that evening at the MGM Grand. Cotto started brilliantly in the fight. He moved about well and Margarito appeared slow and plodding. What he didn?t gamble on however, was if he could use the ring in the same way if his back was against the ropes. Perhaps he assumed he could tag and escape time and time again. Indeed. He couldn?t do this all night, though. Antonio was patient and calculating as he stalked the Puerto Rican fighter. The hunter became the hunted and Cotto eventually broke. Afterwards, Miguel was at a loss for words, his face was a mess and his wife was awash with tears. He took a little time away from boxing and got a puzzling array of tattoos. Cotto got back in the ring about seven months later to begin his road back.
It was around this time that he came to his own realization that Margarito had likely cheated in their bout. Miguel had one comeback fight and then he faced Joshua Clottey in June of 2009. Cotto escaped with a split decision that could have floated either way in the eyes of many. Regardless, he met his doom once again, only this time in the form of Manny Pacquiao a few months later. Once again, Cotto?s face was a bloody goulash. Would this have still been the case had Antonio Margarito not been called a fraud? Perhaps in the sickest way, Margarito may have beaten the warrior inside Cotto to the point of being but a ghost. Many fighters, trainers and others will tell you that there?s no turning back once this happens. It?s usually gone for good.
Not all of the planets were aligned in aversion to Antonio Margarito once he returned from his exile. He took a tuneup fight in Mexico and then he was awarded a date with Manny Pacquiao. The Pac-Man battered him so atrociously that Tony?s face rivaled modern art. It didn?t matter. It was business. Over forty thousand fans turned out to Cowboys Stadium to witness the slaughter that made millions of dollars. As you know by now, Margarito?s right eye orbit was so severely damaged that it had to be surgically repaired and other procedures followed. It?s hard to say that he?s having to start over once again. He?s taken a year off from the ring and his return bout isn?t the usual tuneup. Although Antonio looks like he has a glass eye, he?ll tell you he?s fine and that he would not be in the ring otherwise. Let us at least for now take his word for it.
Both fighters have done their fair share to make this bout far more interesting than it really deserves to be. If we can bring ourselves to pay no mind to the fact that HBO?s ?24/7? would be better served on QVC and really look at the meat and bones of this fight, then we should see that Cotto/Margarito II is much more due to the fact that the two have nowhere else to go. Just like the fight venue. New York City needs this fight. Madision Square Garden, ?The World?s Most Famous Arena? needs it, too. They won?t have the Knicks back in the building for a few more weeks and the revenue generated from the fight will go a long way. We weren?t sure if the state of New York would grant Margarito a license to fight, which meant the fight may have had to take place elsewhere or not at all. Please. The fight was never in jeopardy of going anywhere else. Cotto?s not a fool. He was clever. He told those in charge that he?d only fight in New York City. The potential sites mentioned as possible alternates (Denver, Arlington and others) don?t have the same pull of the five boroughs. MSG should be about 95% Puerto Rican, which is great. Save for perhaps Florida, the fight would once again be in Margarito country if it had to relocate. This is now a time for all of us to kick back and relax for a night of great action from start to finish. Let?s hope for a good, clean fight. Whoever wins, do so fair and square. Cotto?s been spouting some rather malevolent comments, at least by his usual gentleman standards. He?s hoping to take it to Tony?s damaged eye. Hopefully, he won?t forget the rest of what can be legally hit. Margarito?s ready to mix it up again. Great. Good luck and to whomever loses, please shut up already.
