16.05.08 – By Vivek Wallace: In this weeks ‘Call em Out Fridays’ segment we take a look at not one, but two boxers who now find themselves at the center of the sports biggest scheduled fight. After weeks of grueling negotiations, it seems that the inevitable has finally materialized. Typically when we do a ‘Call-Out’ on Fridays it’s because a fighter or someone else in the industry has failed to step up or give the fans what they want. Today, however, we’re doing a different type of ‘Call-Out’. Different for the simple fact that as a result of both fight camps stepping up and completing negotiations, one of these two men are gonna have to once again ‘step up’, because when it’s all over on the evening of July 26th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as we all know, there can only be one left standing! So in the standard ‘Call em Out Friday’ fashion, we take a look at both sides, and when the final statement is read, the debates officially begin……
THE COTTO ARGUMENT: In a division known as perhaps the hottest in the sport, Miguel Cotto has been the rising star. Forever the ‘quiet-man’, Cotto has failed to get the proper mainstream promotion that he probably deserves . In a very rare visual statement, Cotto embodies a true “Jekyll and Hyde” persona, able to politely shake a man’s hand like a gentleman before a fight, and attempt to take his head off during. Aside from the New York City and Puerto Rican markets, relatively few had thoroughly enjoyed the ‘C-Train’ until he hit the Pay-Per-View circuit against a very game Zab Judah. After overcoming a few early stunning moments, Cotto effectively dismantled Judah, and followed that act by taking on future Hall-of-Famer Shane Mosley, shocking the world with an unbelievable performance. For the first time in his career, even those who previously had questions about Cotto had to attest to the skills he possessed as he put together what was arguably his most complete performance to date. The compelling argument for Cotto that has many around the sport eyeing him to one day conquer the official Welterweight ‘King’, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is the fact that he has not only the ability to strategically box with great skill, but also the ferocity to bang and destroy the body with shots few can handle. After moving up in weight and removing all doubts about his once questionable chin, suddenly it appears that the man whom native Puerto Ricans simply refer to as ‘Junito’ has the potential to remain unbeatable.
THE MARGARITO ARGUMENT: When analyzing Antonio Margarito, most view his ring record and automatically assumes that if he failed to get the “W” on five separate nights in his career, there’s no way he’d stand a chance against an undefeated young lion like Miguel Cotto. Whether or not he does it remains to be seen, but if he is an underdog, he’s as ‘live’ as they come, and anyone who has followed him over the course of his long tenure as a welterweight knows that he’s as dangerous as any fighter out there. Spending 12 years as a legitimate welterweight more than solidifies Margarito as a stablized figure and perhaps the only reason most haven’t heard about him sooner is because he’s been plagued with what I would dub the ‘Winky Wright Syndrome’, meaning that many fighters view him as a not-so-popular commodity that poses more risk than reward, and as a result stay far away. Former WBO Welterweight Champion Paul Williams was able to successfully defeat Margarito on a points victory, but in defense of the ‘Tijuana Tornado’, none of the fighters pointing fingers after that loss had the ‘cajones’ to fight Williams at all. In Margarito, you know you’re gonna get a fight. You know that there will be little to know backing up, you know that there’s gonna be heavy artillery thrown, and you know there won’t be any lying down – atleast typically not from him. He has failed on his largest stage in recent years, but at this stage it’s safe to say he won’t let another golden opportunity to slip away.
FINAL FIGHT ANALYSIS: Simply said, this fight is gonna be ‘fire’! Both guys are bruisers and although Margarito has been defeated on points before, finally we see Miguel Cotto’s ‘Stalk-Til-They-Can’t-Walk’ swagger actually meet it’s parallel. Height, reach, and size advantages all belong to Margarito, yet Cotto has faced these odds before and still remains unblemished. This fight is as hard as they get to predict because both men have the ability to end things in one shot. Cotto typically destroys the body of a fighter and being shorter against a fighter who often stands straight up, this could be a major contributing factor. Cotto consistently aims to the body, while Margarito has established an attack that could work both high and low. Recently, Margarito has shown much better boxing skills, throwing far more combinations and no longer looping his shots like years in the past. Few noted, but his recent dismantling of Kermit Cintron was proof, as he setup a perfect 4 punch combination which started with a right uppercut, followed by left a jab, a right jab, and the fight finalizing left-hook to the body. Sharp and precise, turning out the lights! Aside from renewed boxing skills, the one thing that Margarito has that makes him an formidable threat to Cotto is his granite ‘beard’. This could be the most pivotal thing in this fight because we know that Cotto’s quick and powerful hands will allow him to get to the chin and ribs of Margarito occassionally, but if Margarito is able to control the fight by landing bombs and earning Cotto’s respect early, Cotto faces an uphill battle on terrain made of ice. Typically a great boxer beats a good or potentially great brawler, but the chin differential here makes the ultimate difference in the fight. If Cotto can eat a few power shots while trying to cut the distance enough to land a few of his own, he wins this fight. If Margarito uses his length to frustrate Cotto with powershots at a distance and chopping flurries that get his attention, it’ll be hard to deny the Mexican. Is Cotto destined for a showdown with Mayweather? Will Margarito play the role of the ‘spoiler’? Does a frustrated Margarito go to intentional headbutts or Cotto go to intentional low-blows allowing controvery to once again give the sport a black eye? At this point, we don’t know which will take place, but what we do know is that we sure as hell can’t wait. Thank Bob Arum and Top Rank for giving fight fans another G.E.W.T.W moment; (Pronounced JUDO, meaning – Giving Em What They Want). I think either man can win this one… You’ve seen them both…Now tell me who do you like?
(Got Feedback or Questions? Write ESB’s Vivek Wallace at vivexemail@yahoo.com or show some love at www.myspace.com/anonymouslyinvolved)