By James Slater: The fight Miguel Cotto has been craving for since the summer of 2008 is all set to go: Cotto will get the chance to exact revenge over Antonio Margarito on December 3rd in New York. According to Fightnews.com, the controversial Mexican recently received the doctor’s okay to begin training. “Tony” underwent surgery on his right eye, which was badly damaged in his brutal loss at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, and the surgery was a success.
The venue for the fight will likely be Madison Square Garden, and the fight will see Cotto, 36-2(29) defending his WBA light-middleweight title. The word is there will be no catch-weight involved in this fight.
Margarito is obviously happy his career is not over – as it looked to be a few weeks ago, when it was reported he had a detached retina – while Cotto has ached for a revenge fight with the man he feels may well have used “loaded gloves” in the July 2008 encounter. Cotto, now 30, lost his unbeaten record with the 11th-round TKO he suffered. Worst still, some critics said he quit in that 11th-round. Stung by the loss, Cotto was deservedly incensed when he subsequently found out that his conqueror attempted to cheat (at least Margarito’s trainer attempted to cheat via illegal hand-wraps) ahead of his next fight, with Shane Mosley.
Cotto began thinking back, wondering whether or not there was anything fishy about Margarito’s gloved hands in his fight with the man. Cotto has since said he strongly suspects Margarito may have cheated against him, and now, in what is sure to be a huge Pay-Per-View attraction, “Junito” will have the opportunity to satisfy his doubts in a fair fight.
Of course, Margarito, 38-7(27) insists he never fought with anything other than legal hands when he came back from an early Cotto lead to sensationally get the stoppage. Now, with promoter Bob Arum fully aware he has a most intriguing rematch on his hands, the two warriors will finally settle their differences. Can Margarito beat Cotto again? Or will the Puerto Rican hero prove that he is correct with regards to his suspicions of his rival having used unfair means to get the win?
Cotto was boxing very well in the first half or so of the 2008 encounter, and his later fading and being badly busted up was attributed to the sheer strength and determination of Margarito. But the sight of Cotto taking a knee was quite shocking – was he the victim of loaded gloves? We will never know, but in the minds of the fighters themselves and in the minds of their many fans, a win on December 3rd will fully vindicate whichever fighter it is who emerges triumphant.
Since the summer of 2008, both guys have suffered beatings at the hands of the mighty Pac-Man. Cotto was able to rebound and win and then retain a new world title. Margarito, on the other hand, has not won a meaningful fight since his win over Cotto. It’s tough to know how much either guy has left, 33-year-old Margarito especially.
The rematch may well have arrived at a time when both guys are in possession of diminished skills yet huge hearts. As such, with neither guy willing to yield, we could be in for a real war in 2011’s final month.