In a week where days were spent questioning whether (and where) the rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito would occur, it took less than half an hour to remind us of why it must.
This was the challenge facing the producers of HBO?s ?24/7? series ? how do you turn boxing fans? attention to the fourth major pay-per-view in three months and the second in three weeks? How do you bring the conversation away from the third bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez and direct it toward the second bout between Cotto and Margarito?
You do it by letting the fighters speak for themselves.
Let us let the first episode of ?24/7 Cotto/Margarito,? which aired this past Saturday, do the same. There was much about it that got people talking, and for good reason.
With a nod to syndicated columnist Norman Chad, I took notes:
10:01 p.m. Eastern Time: We open, fittingly, with a shot of a hand being wrapped in gauze and tape. For however great the first fight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito was, it has since been overshadowed by conspiracy and controversy.
Margarito had defeated Cotto by stoppage in the 11th round in July 2008. Six months later, in his first defense, Margarito was caught before the fight with tampered hand wraps, with a hard object inserted within that athletic commission investigators later determined to have calcium and sulfur, ingredients of plaster of Paris, on it.
The inserts were confiscated. Margarito?s hands were rewrapped. And he subsequently was beaten up and defeated by Shane Mosley. Since then, past Margarito opponents, and Cotto in particular, have wondered whether Margarito had cheated against them.
Margarito was suspended but let back into the sport. Cotto had said he?d never fight Margarito again, but changed his mind. The allure of money might have played a part in that. So, too, has the weight of wounded pride.
10:02 p.m.: The first fight itself is deserving of attention, though. Some people get wrapped up in drama. Others are just drawn in by action. We see footage of the war that was, and hear Jim Lampley describe the battle as ?a fight not soon to be forgotten,? selling people on the possibility the sequel will be the same.
Not every boxing match is borne out of a rivalry. But the most gripping fights are ones in which those who have been following the characters and the storyline become heavily and emotionally invested in the outcome.
Those who support Margarito see him as a man maligned, allegations unproven concerning the tampering before the Mosley fight, assertions unfounded concerning the possibility of tampering for the Cotto bout. They see him as a man whose honor has been challenged and who must stand before his accuser and strike him down again.
Those who support Cotto see him as a brave hero who could not overcome odds that had been stacked against him. This is the attitude that Cotto himself must bring to the rematch. It is far more comforting to say you gave your all in an unfair fight, only to find it was not enough.
