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TWO TREMENDOUS REMATCHES PROVIDE A TREAT FOR FIGHT FANS ON SUNDAY By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Wed, 30 Nov 2011  Two tremendous rematches are scheduled this Sunday, Manila Time, when Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KO?s) battles Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KO?s) in a fight that is certain to be a war at New York?s famed Madison Square Garden while in a bantamweight clash at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California , IBF champion and WBC silver champion Abner Mares (22-0-1, 13 KO?s) faces former IBF champion Joseph Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO?s) in another grudge rematch. Margarito hasn?t had the easiest of rides in his career. Before his fight with Ring Magazine pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao, Margarito was denied a license to fight in Las Vegas with the result that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was forced to move the fight to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium where Pacquiao?s previous fight with Ghana?s Joshua Clottey was an absolutely remarkable experience. This time around the New York State Athletic Commission wanted to make sure that Margarito?s eye which was badly battered and ripped apart by Manny Pacquiao had healed and that Margarito faced no undue risk. Margarito was forced to leave his training camp to fly to New York to be examined by Dr. Michael Goldstein, an ophthalmologist appointed by the New York State Athletic Commission who cleared Margarito enabling him to get a license to fight in New York. In their first meeting, the 33 year old Margarito scored an eleventh round TKO over Cotto when referee Kenny Bayless stepped in at 2:05 seconds of the round and called a halt as Cotto was taking a beating. Miguel Cotto, the 31 year old Puerto Rican regained the WBA light middleweight title with a 9th round TKO over a hobbling Yuri Foreman who had twisted his knee in an earlier round. Cotto defended the title last March 11 scoring a 12th round TKO over the brash and loud-mouthed Ricardo Mayorga. Both Cotto and Margarito were badly beaten by Manny Pacquiao. Cotto suffered a 12th round TKO at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on November 14, 2009 to Pacquiao who put on an amazing show of speed, movement and power. Although Margarito didn?t suffer a TKO at the hands of Pacquiao it was simply because controversial referee Laurence Cole refused to stop the fight even as Pacquiao looked at him to step him as he pulverized Margarito before easing up in the last two rounds. Antonio Margarito knows that while he made a name for himself by beating Cotto the first time around, the rematch could well be a different proposition. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Manila Standard on Monday that the Cotto-Margarito fight should be a war although he conceded both fighters "are equally shot but they are experienced so it should be an unbelievable fight." ABS-CBN?s Studio 23 will telecast the eagerly awaited showdown at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 4. Another exciting rematch is that between IBF bantamweight champion Abner Mares (22-0-1, 13 KO?s) of Mexico who has made his home in the United States and former champion Joseph Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO?s) of Ghana. Their first encounter in Las Vegas last August 13 ended in a major controversy mainly due to the shockingly poor performance of referee Russel Mora who ruled a slip by Agbeko in the first round as a knockdown and compounded his below par performance by tolerating a series of low blows by Mares throughout the fight. The most glaring error was when Mora ruled another knockdown against Agbeko in Round 11when Mares clearly hit the Ghana fighter him with a low blow flush on the groin. The IBF ordered an immediate rematch and took Mora to task for his shoddy performance. The Mares-Agbeko rematch is the culmination of a Showtime bantamweight series which also involved Vic Darchinyan of Australia and Yhonny Perez of Colombia. Mares won the IBO title with a twelve round split decision over Darchinyan on December 11, 2010. Mares had earlier fought Yhonny Perez and was held to a majority draw at the Staples Center on May 22, 2010. Vic Darchinyan will also be seen on the undercard when he faces WBA bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno, the Panamanian southpaw. Darchinyan, one of the durable and hard-hitting southpaws showed his power when he won a 5th round technical decision shutout over Yhonny Perez for the IBO title last April 23 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The Mares-Agbeko rematch will be telecast on AKTV IBC Channel 13 beginning at 12 noon. Both the Cotto-Margarito war and the Mares-Agbeko grudge rematch will be preceded by a pre-fight special on ?The Main Event? the top-rating weekly boxing show of Viva Sports over AKTV IBC 13 at 11:00 a.m. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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