The past year and half has been a hellish ride for Antonio Margarito. The Tijuana fighter was found with elements of plaster of paris in his gloves prior to his January 2009 fight with Shane Mosley and his life in the boxing world hasn?t been the same since. Not only would Margarito get battered and stopped by Mosley but a one year suspension from the California State Athletic Commission and a wave of criticism would follow.
In the time following Margarito has stayed under the spotlight and returned to the ring last month with a ten round decision over Roberto Garcia at in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Despite still not being licensed anywhere in the United States and still having a black cloud over his head with his prior contests now in question you can?t completely overlook everything that Margarito has accomplished. During his time a professional he has compiled a 38-6 record with 27 knockouts while claiming the IBF, WBA, and WBO Welterweight titles on separate occasions but it was his victory over Miguel Cotto that will likely go down as his most remarkable win.
On July 26th, 2008 the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada was the place to be as Margarito and Cotto engaged in a memorable affair before 10,477 partisans in attendance. Margarito would fall behind early yet he stuck to his game plan and continued to apply pressure. Margarito would break through with a huge 7th round and ended up stopping Cotto in the 11th, as the Puerto Rican took a knee moments after suffering his first knockdown and was unable to continue.
Looking back on that night it is hard to think of a fighter whose career has taken as much of a hit as has Margarito?s. As for Cotto, he retuned last weekend and seemed to rejuvenate his career with a solid 9th round TKO over game but outgunned Yuri Foreman. Cotto?s previous bout was a 12th round TKO loss at the hands of Manny Pacquiao last November and his career was thought to be in jeopardy but he proved he still has much left in the tank. There is never a better time than now for Cotto to seek his revenge and for Margarito to prove he still has a future in the sport.
Wanting to get a feel for what people in the sport are thinking of the contest I reached out to some boxing minds for their thoughts on a possible Cotto-Margarito rematch. I focused on three areas and asked for everyone?s thoughts on Cotto?s victory over Foreman, Margarito?s mental state following his suspension, as well as how they feel a second encounter between the two men would unfold.
This is what people had to say?
Chris Cozzone, photojournalist for www.FightNews.com ?Wasn’t surprised that Cotto won – i thought Foreman was in over his head. On the other hand, he showed his mettle by fighting Cotto – not just running.
My guess is that Margarito’s mental state is on the mend, and he may be more motivated than ever since he was busted for tampered gloves. Though he will undoubtedly prove to be, once again, a force to be reckoned with at 147, he is not likely to become a fan favorite any time soon, if not ever. That, however, could come into play . . .
Though Margarito is unworthy of top-level marquee fights, having gotten off easy for getting busted for glove tampering, a second fight with Cotto should be the fight being talked about – and NOT a Margarito v. Pacman match. Margarito has done nothing to deserve a shot at boxing’s pound-for-pound champion. Cotto, however, deserves redemption vs. Margarito – considering he may have been pummeled by concrete blocks in his fight with him.
It’s a dicey issue – on one hand, Cotto deserves the rematch – on the other hand, Margarito does not deserve to be a headliner, let alone deserve the right to prize fight for a living.?
Kenneth Ragpala, correspondent for www.8CountNews.com ?Cotto was very impressive from the start. He applied good pressure and good movements around the ring. While it was unfortunate that Foreman’s knee gave out on him, but I don’t think Foreman could have won considering that Cotto was racking up the points and was far more the effective fighter. Big props to Emmanuel Steward for fine tuning the Puerto Rican superstar. I think the fight should have been stopped when Foreman’s corner threw the towel. While many fighters would have appreciated the gesture, Mercante subjected Foreman to unnecessary damage in a fight where there was nothing much more he can do.
It’s pretty hard to guess what’s on Margarito’s mind right now. If he really cheated with loaded handwraps in most of his fight prior to the Mosley fight, I’d say he has a lot of demons to face. Personal ones. Those wraps gave him an edge before; without them, he might feel powerless and ineffective. Assuming he is clean and he knew nothing of the handwraps, Margarito would really want this fight to redeem himself. He would come in mentally and physically prepared should he face Cotto again.
If they meet again, I’d veer towards Cotto. He has made improvements, not massive but quite obvious changes in his game. Plus, he will be bent on avenging his first loss. Margarito, I believe, knew there was something in his handwraps when he fought Cotto. If he fights Cotto again with clean hands this time, that would really shake Margarito up mentally.?
(Click to see images from the Margarito-Cotto bout)
Tim Starks, author and owner of one of boxing?s most popular blogs, The Queensberry Rules ?I couldn’t have been happier to see Cotto — one of my favorites — wasn’t a shell of his former self. He looked very good to me. I know some people have said things since like, “Oh, he only looked good because Foreman isn’t all that great,” but beforehand, plenty of people thought it was a mismatch in the other direction. Instead, Cotto outboxed the technical boxer. I don’t want to jump to any premature conclusions — we probably won’t know HOW back Cotto is until he fights someone with more pop than Foreman. But we know he’s at minimum not damaged goods.
As for Cotto-Margarito II and Margarito’s mental state, I honestly don’t think it deserves any real consideration. Margarito has been surprisingly defiant, as pariahs go — initially palling around with the trainer whom he claimed messed with his gloves, then refusing to admit any culpability in what happened. I hope Cotto sticks to his stance that Margarito doesn’t deserve to make any money with him.?
Rashad Holloway, Welterweight contender ?I thought Cotto did well. I thought Yuri Foreman showed a lot of heart but at the same time I thought he showed he had a lot of inexperience. I don?t think that Cotto was that great or different. The only thing I didn?t see from him was that weird little uppercut that he throws to the body. I saw the same pattern in Cotto for the most part but as far as skill was concerned I think Yuri kind of had stage fright. I never thought Cotto was shot anyways.
Basically [Margarito] probably has a chip on his shoulder but Margarito?s layoff doesn?t hurt him much. He?s not a fast guy who relies on speed, or relies on timing and reflexes. He?s just a banger and a brutal fighter. That?s Margarito?s style. Layoffs don?t really hurt guys like that.
Honestly it?s all about using angles with Margarito I think. Using angles, going to the body, holding him and clinching him every now and then. Shane showed the exact way to fight Margarito and it?s pretty much up to Cotto on what he wants to do. If Cotto wants to stand there and fight Margarito again I think the same thing will happen.?
Kieran Mulvaney, ESPN and Reuters correspondent ?I was impressed with Miguel Cotto against Yuri Foreman on Saturday. While he didn’t appear to throw his punches with the same venomous intent of his peak, he looked more compact and contained than he has done for some time, and it was good to see his vaunted left hook to the body making a reappearance after a long absence. Granted, Foreman didn’t possess the strength of the opponents who have caused Cotto trouble of late, but I was impressed that Cotto outjabbed the taller man from the get-go; by the end of the first round I was writing in my live blog that Foreman looked overwhelmed.
Inevitably, talk turns to Antonio Margarito, and no question a rematch – perhaps at the same venue – a year from now would be huge. I don’t think Margarito’s mental state has been even slightly affected by what happened, at least not as far as i can tell; he seems to have decided that throwing Javier Capetillo under the bus is the end of the matter and that he has nothing to apologize for. Of more interest to me is his physical state, taking a year off after a brutal loss that was preceded by an extremely tough one. His granite skull has long been his first line of defense; did the Mosley fight show that that has now been cracked? If so, could he withstand Cotto punches the way he did in the first half of their fight.
Cotto’s big problem against Margarito was the way he leaned forward, into Margarito’s trademark uppercuts. (Some might argue his bigger problem was Margarito’s hand wraps, but I honestly have no idea if Margarito was cheating that night). Now that he is with a real trainer, and given an extra bout in between, can Cotto correct that? If so, is Margarito versatile enough to find another means of attack? Right now, I might still favor Margarito in a rematch, but I’m not convinced he has that much left – but then I said that about Cotto a week ago. I would like to see Margarito fight a live body before making a definitive pick; for now, I shall assume a position astride the fence.?
Nigel Collins, Editor-in-chief for the Ring Magazine ?I thought Cotto was well on his way to victory prior to Foreman slipping and injuring his knee. It was a good win for Cotto, but it should be remembered that the two fighters who have beaten him, Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, are both hard punchers, while Foreman is not. I also think that the people who predicted victory for Foreman overlooked the fact that he beat a shot fighter in Daniel Santos to win the WBA belt. Cotto proved that he is not washed-up, but it still remains to be seen how he will react the next time he?s drilled by an opponent who can punch hard.
I think Margarito is just happy to be back in the ring earning a living. I do not know him personally, but Margarito strikes me as the sort of guy who shrugs off criticism.
I think it all depends on whether or not Margarito?s hands were loaded in his first fight with Cotto. If he beat Cotto fair and square, he?ll probably do it again. If, on the other hand, Margarito cheated the first time, Cotto will have his revenge.?
Joe Quiambao, matchmaker for Dibella Entertainment ?Cotto looked real good vs Foreman. From the opening seconds of the fight, he applied the pressure and put some heat on Foreman. I would say it was one of his finest performances in his recent fights.
I wouldn’t get too excited though and say he is back though because Foreman is a boxer with alot of heart but with no punch so he didn’t have to worry about anything come his way. Nevertheless, Cotto did what he had to do and looked great doing it. I feel he would need 1 or 2 more fights like that and then he would be ready physically and mentally for the big guns.
I think Margarito was just happy to be back in the ring. He didn’t exactly fight an easy fighter in his first fight back in contender, Roberto Garcia. He fought in Mexico so he didn’t get alot of heat from the fans and press but if he fights here, I’m sure they will let him hear it and we will see what he is made of inside.
If they ever hook up again, I think Cotto-Margarito will be the same type of fight as the first one only this time I see Cotto being able to make it to the final bell and win a decision in an exciting fight. More importantly, I would love to see a video on the person from Team Cotto watching Margarito getting his hands wrapped. I’m sure they will question every little thing as they should and will do so to try to throw them him off his game.?
