Mike Cassell, The Philadelphia Boxing Report – Atlantic City NJ – In a boxing era where business sense is the only thing on the minds of most promoters, Bob Arum has proven time and time again, that great match ups will be the only true cure for professional boxing. In what can only be described, as a scene out of Rocky, four incredibly tough and talented fighters, really put everything out there, to give boxing fans their money’s worth. WBO welter weight champion, Antonio Margarito 33-4-1, with 24 KO’s, battled the rugged Ghanaian fighter, Joshua Clottey 30-1-1, 20 KO’s. I thought this fight would be a toe to toe slugfest, but I had no idea the amount of heart of these two warriors.
Clottey came out early; he was much faster than I thought. He landed devastating right hands, and left uppercuts to the jaw of Margarito, in the early rounds. By round four, it was dead even on our cards, but Clottey seemed to favor his left hand, as he walked back to his corner. He was landing his left hook at will on Margarito, and it seemed as if he was really hurt. From that point on, Clottey tried to stay in the fight, as Margarito sensed his weakness, and like any good fighter, attacked, then attacked some more. To Clottey’s credit, he began to retreat, but his “tribal pride” would not let him. He came to fight, and he came to win, and it became a war of will and skill.
By the 12th round, Margarito, although battered and tired, finished the fight, with a true champion’s heart. The Philadelphia Boxing Report had the fight 116 – 112 Margarito. The three judges’ ringside had it, 118 – 109, 116 – 112, 116 – 112, all for Margarito.
If they had an extra score for heart and determination, both of these guys would have received a 10.
Clottey had this to say after the fight:
“Margarito can take a big punch. I hit him very hard, but he never hurt me. I hurt my hand badly in about the 4th round. I was not hurt at all; I just couldn’t fight back, because of my hand. I did my best. I will abide by the judges ruling, but I know I hit him good. I would love to fight him again; I know I can beat him!
Margarito was not immediately available after the fight.
In the main event, arguably one of the pound for pound, best fighters in the world, Miguel Cotto 27-0,22KO’s battled Carlos “El Indio” Quintana 23-0, 18 KO’s, in what was named, “the battle for Puerto Rico”. Boardwalk hall was flowing with Puerto Rican pride, as both fighters put everything out there, for the WBA welterweight championship of the world. Cotto may be the most exciting fighter since Floyd Mayweather. He is quick, rugged, tough and smart.
He brought his Gatti like mentality, back to Boardwalk Hall, against the very solid, undefeated Carlos Qunitana. Cotto’s brute strength and power were the real factors in his decisive victory over Quintana. Cotto came out strong, winning the first two rounds, seemingly surprising the undefeated southpaw, with his speed and ring portability. In round 3, Quintana realized he would have to slug it out with Cotto, or lose this championship shot.
By round 5 it became painfully apparent to Quintana, that Cotto’s strength was just too overpowering, as Cotto landed a viscous liver punch, dropping Quintana to the floor. Quintana was wincing in tremendous pain, reminiscent of De La Hoya/ Hopkins. The big difference on this night was, Quintana, very seriously hurt, actually made it to his feet to continue. He was knocked down a second time, and still got up on the count of 9. By the end of the round, Quintana staggered back to his corner, and collapsed into his stool.
Referee Steve Smoger, could see the pain flowing through Quintana’s body, through the eyes and body language of the fighter. Quintana could not come out for the 6th round. Although his record will not reflect it, Quintana was a winner last night. He did everything he could, to beat Cotto, but just did not have enough in his arsenal to do it. Everybody has a plan, until they get hit, and his had to go out the window, once he was faced, with the raw power and energy of the champion Miguel Cotto. When asked if he thought he was now, the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Cotto had this to say.
“It is not for me to decide. It is up to the writers, and fans. I know what I can do, but something like that is to be decided by the world, not me”
Spoken like a true champion……