Their public appearances have been shows unto themselves, tension hanging in the room each time either are within sight of the other. In a way, though, the vitriol has obscured the fact that their rematch on HBO Pay-Per-View on Saturday at Madison Square Garden likely will be one of the most ferocious bouts in a long time.
At the end of their first match in 2008, HBO Sports boxing analyst Max Kellerman called it ?a modern boxing classic.? The aftermath has only added to the lure of the rematch, dubbed ?The Battle.?
Margarito was caught with an illegal pad in his hand wraps prior to a Jan. 24, 2009, match with Shane Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Just six months earlier, on July 26, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Cotto built up a big early lead only to succumb to Margarito?s relentless pressure.
Cotto looked like the Elephant Man after the bout, his face a mangled mess of welts, bumps, bruises and abrasions.
?I never had swelled before in a fight,? Cotto said through clenched teeth, as even discussions of anything pertaining to Margarito seemingly anger him.
