Cotto/Margarito II Preview and Prediction

Cotto/Margarito II Preview and Prediction

by Andrew Schweitzer

I remember a little over three years ago, finishing my shift at work, closing up as fast as I could and racing over the speed limit to get home. The battle between undefeated Miguel Cotto and hard hitting brawler Antonio Margarito. At the time, my parents didn't have a subscription to HBO so naturally I did what any other person would do and found an illegal site to stream it on. Don't look at me like that, I'm not the first person to do it.

My pick that night was Miguel Cotto. I felt he had the better boxing skills and movement to keep on the outside of Margarito's punches and would get a nice decision in his favor. I thought it was close until round seven when Margarito got Miguel on the ropes and took control of the fight. I can remember the shocking feeling as Margarito went in for the kill at round 11 and Cotto took a knee. At that point I knew it was over and a few moments later it was.

I won't go into too much detail about Margarito and the wraps controversy that occurred in his next fight with Shane Mosley but I will say that I believe Margarito fought Cotto with loaded wraps. Still in doubt about whether he knew or not but I truly believe he had an unfair advantage. And that has added a whole new level of drama to this highly anticipated rematch.

Both fighters have had their ups and downs. Cotto was able to bounce back and win the WBO welterweight title, but lost it after taking a beating from Manny Pacquiao. Margarito himself was able to return to the sport after a yearlong ban but suffered an even more brutal beating at the hands of the Philipino star, leaving his face swollen and his orbital bone shattered (An injury that left the fight in doubt until last week).

OK, enough about the past, let's look at the present and possible future. Antonio Margarito knows that this is his last chance at something big. His win over Cotto is tarnished forever, but if he can beat him fair and square then he'll be back on top. If he loses then he'll be reduced to gatekeeper status. He'll be the veteran that Bob Arum will throw at a young up-and-comer to see how good they are.

Also for Cotto, this could be his last chance. If he loses and loses badly, then he'll be reduced to gatekeeper status. He's out to prove to everybody that he didn't lose, because Margarito was the better fighter, but because Margarito had an unfair advantage.

I think that for this fight Cotto will have to box like he's never boxed before. Be intelligent, move in and out at the right times, don't get up against the ropes and don't go toe to toe with him. And go after that bad eye.

For Margarito, he'll have to be fast and throw over a hundred punches a round (He's done so before against Joshua Clottey), bully Cotto around and force him to fight at his pace which Miguel might not be able to keep up with.

I think this will fight will be similar to their first encounter with Cotto moving and Margarito stalking. Cotto is still pissed about the possibility of plaster and he wants to make Antonio pay, so he'll be trying to land bombs. I think around the fifth round he'll get caught by a big shot from Margarito and go on the defense for a round or two before getting back where he was at before and then getting a decision. 115-113 for Miguel Cotto.