Cotto-Margarito 2 Results & Aftermath
Miguel Cotto earned a 10-round TKO win over Antonio Margarito in their rematch on Saturday evening, scoring some revenge over his hated rival after their now controversial first fight three years ago. At the time of the stoppage, Cotto was up 89-82 on all three judges’ scorecards, 8 rounds to 1, while he had a clean sweep going on the ProBoxing-Fans.com scorecard and round by round. Right here, you can take a look at 7 quickfire takeaways from the Cotto vs. Margarito results, as well as a collection of fight pictures from the main event. Take a look.
Cotto vs. Margarito Pictures
Quickfire Cotto-Margarito 2 Results Takeaways
- Manos de Plaster: Geez, do you wonder why Margarito’s punches didn’t bludgeon Cotto’s face and turn him into a bloody, fleshy pulp this time around? Yes, Cotto got busted up a bit, but he was in complete control of the fight, and was able to take Margarito’s shots while still delivering his own. Any question of whether or not Margarito cheated in the first match should now be answered with a “Yes, he did.” Emmanuel Steward also made an excellent point during the telecast as we watched the fighters getting their hands wrapped. He noted how each fighter was watching his hands being wrapped intently, and how there would have been no way that Margarito would not have known what was going on.
- Goodbye Top Rank?: This may have been Miguel Cotto’s last fight under the Top Rank banner. It’s all speculation right now, but the talk has been that Cotto is unhappy with the company and Bob Arum, particularly for their support of a proven cheater in Margarito, and a guy who Cotto felt cheated against him. Arum’s unending support of Margarito and willingness to put him back in the spotlight may have cost him the control of, and financial rewards from, the rest of Cotto’s career.
- Cotto-Mayweather?: If that’s the case, then the biggest fight possible for May 5, 2012 may end up being Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto. This was a fight that Cotto’s team quickly ignored at 140 lbs, and one in which Mayweather never put into action at welterweight, although the timing was not ideal for either man. But it would be better late than never, and Mayweather-Cotto would still hold a great deal of intrigue if Pacquiao and Mayweather can’t come to terms. Mayweather vs. Cotto would be more meaningful to each than a fight against a Canelo Alvarez, Andre Berto or Cornelius Bundrage.
- NYSAC: The NYSAC had an extra doctor on hand for Cotto-Margarito 2, there specifically to keep watch over Margarito’s eye. Even before that announcement on fight night, it seemed clear that the NYSAC would be very proactive in getting this bout stopped, as they were reticent to even give Margarito a license to begin with. That’s why I predicted a late round TKO win for Cotto, saying that if Margarito starts to look worse for the wear, somebody is going to come in and stop it quickly. He did, and they did.
- Corner Confusion: The doesn’t mean that there wasn’t confusion over the stoppage. There was a long delay after the 9th round, as the doctor looked at Margarito and eventually decided to not listen to the pressure, and get the fight stopped. Even after he did that and left the ring, referee Steve Smoger still didn’t call an official end to it, and Margarito’s corner continued to argue. The action never got started again, which was a good thing, but there was a great deal of confusion and disagreement about the stoppage. In Margarito’s corner, you could even hear them saying – It’s not as bad as it was for Pacquiao!
- Smiles & Denials: In the movie Training Day, with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, Hawke’s character describes life as “smiles and cries.” For Margarito on Saturday night, it was “smiles and denials.” All night long he kept on grinning and smiling in the ring, to no great effect, trying to get into Cotto’s head since he wasn’t being successful with his actual physical fighting. After the fight, it was nothing but denials from Margarito, saying that the fight shouldn’t have been stopped, that Cotto still hit like a girl, that they stopped the fight to protect him, and so forth.
- Retirement? Not so Fast: While one might think that Margarito would consider retirement at this point, not so fast. Bob Arum and Top Rank aren’t done milking paydays for him yet. On Twitter, Lou DiBella expected to see a Margarito vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight next year, and that would be just one of several in-house fights that Margarito could be tossed into with ease.
