Lito
Admin
Joined : 11 Aug 2007
Posts : 486
Location : California
|  Subject: COTTO vs MARGARITO  Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:37 am | |
| Hi Everyone,
If you recall, I wrote this on "The TOP 5 Heavyweight Boxing Champions" thread on July 9th:
| Quote: | | Deviating yet again (but not too much this time Wink ), what do you guys think about the upcoming Cotto vs Margarito fight ? I'm really excited about this fight! Both are at the top of their game right now. Man, it's a hard one for me to call as I like 'em both. But if I had to put money down, I'd probably go with Margarito. Did you guys see his last two fights where he annihilated Johnson and Cintron (again)? He looked absolutely awesome in those fights! And with his frame of mind and fight strategy altered for the better after his loss to Williams (who I think Margarito would beat now), it's gonna take a perfect Cotto to beat him. |
What a great, great fight!!!  It was a classic battle of will (as exemplified by Margarito) vs skill (as showcased by Cotto). Well, I put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, bucking the vast majority of experts who went with Cotto, and won a few bets by going with Margarito. 
As I mentioned, I thought it would take a "perfect" Cotto to beat him. Well, Cotto performed "perfectly" for about six rounds, BUT THEN Margarito's CONSTANT FORWARD PRESSURE and CONTINUOUS ATTACK (which started in round one) started breaking Cotto down. As the rounds went on, Margarito's relentless offensive pressure wore Cotto down and finally, in the 11th round, knocked him down twice (the first from a barrage of punches, most notably a vicious left uppercut in the midst of it, and the second time on Cotto's own volition after absorbing another onslaught), completely breaking him down both mentally and physically in the process. The fight was stopped when Cotto signified defeat and his uncle/trainer simultaneously threw in the towel. So, Margarito officially won by TKO in the 11th round.
While I respect Cotto's all-around/versatile boxer/puncher fighting style, I vastly prefer and side with pure pressure fighters like Margarito (and my all-time fav Aaron Pryor) because his style of fighting reflects mine--constant offensive pressure/relentless power attack. Like attracting like...
Anyway, Cotto brought his "A" game to the dance but Margarito's granite (and I mean granite) jaw took everything he dished out. And Cotto dished out punishment that few men would have been able to handle. Margarito walked right through all of Cotto's punches and barely got marked up. The guy's not human...
Margarito did not have Cotto's speed of hand and foot nor his pinpoint accuracy, BUT his granite jaw and his constant forward pressure and continuous offensive bombardment, hitting Cotto everywhere and at all angles, just friggin' broke Cotto down. I have to admit it was a bit sad to see Cotto as the "prey" as opposed to the "predator" he's so accustomed to being. Cotto definitely has some serious introspection to do. He's got some "questions" to address (and hopefully "answer" and overcome) with himself because he was thoroughly broken down and beaten badly. It'll be interesting to see if Cotto will be able to make a complete physical and psychological recovery after this beating. I hope this fight won't turned out to be for Cotto what the Hopkins' beatdown was to Felix Trinidad a few years ago. I hope he makes it back...
On the other hand, it's really great to see Margarito finally reap the rewards and accolades he deserves. He's long been an elite welterweight with guys like Mosley and Mayweather ducking him (for good reason I suppose ). It's been long coming...
Hopefully, next up is De le Hoya (though I seriously doubt he'll want to face this "monster" now) but will more likely be Williams (to avenge his 2005 defeat) or a rematch with Cotto (if he recovers). I hope the rematch doesn't happen (at least not too soon) but know it will because of money and Cotto's warrior heart. I believe a rematch between the two will only, I predict, result in the exact same outcome as the first fight, only quicker, analogous to what Julio Cesar Chavez did to Meldrick Taylor in their rematch and Aaron Pryor did to Alexis Arguello in theirs). Anyway, I wish Margarito the best (and Cotto too). He's a good guy both inside the ring and out, and I'd like to see him have a long reign and go down as one of boxing's best ever welterweight champions.
For those of you who didn't want to dole out the money to watch it (I don't blame you if money's tight), here in the US, HBO will be replaying the fight sometime this upcoming week (probably on Saturday). I definitely recommend catching it. It was truly a great fight...
Take Care,
Lito
_________________
The essence of true love is purposeful effort.
True happiness is attained through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Winners take chances and perceive pressure as a privilege.
Whatever you believe, it's true. |
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Vic
Joined : 08 Apr 2008
Posts : 28
Location : Riverside ,CA
| | Subject: Re: COTTO vs MARGARITO Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:14 pm | |
| | I didn't have a chance to watch it but I was keeping up by the punch by punch by ESPN and it sounded like it was a fantastic fight. I thought that Cotto would win but it looks like Margarito is the better fighter. I'll be anxious to see this fight. |
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Lito
Admin
Joined : 11 Aug 2007
Posts : 486
Location : California
| | Subject: Re: COTTO vs MARGARITO Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:41 pm | |
| Hi Vic,
I just read that HBO is replaying the fight this Saturday on HBO's Boxing After Dark before the featured bout between Zab Judah vs Joshua Clottey for the IBF Welterweight Championship. I also read that Margarito's next match will most likely be against the winner of this fight (to unify the belts) or with Shane Mosley. In any case, I see Margarito beating them all.
Anyway, enjoy the fight. You'll love it. If you collect seminal fights, this is one you should seriously consider adding to your collection. I did...
I think I'm gonna put in my Pryor vs Arguello I and II video now and watch my all-time fav pressure fighter at work. Later this week, I'll pop in my video of another fav pressure fighter of mine-Henry Armstrong at work against Lou Ambers and Barney Ross. I'm glad I recorded those four classics...
Take Care,
Lito
_________________
The essence of true love is purposeful effort.
True happiness is attained through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Winners take chances and perceive pressure as a privilege.
Whatever you believe, it's true. |
|
Rusty Shackleford
Joined : 07 Nov 2007
Posts : 84
| | Subject: Re: COTTO vs MARGARITO Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:47 am | |
| I watched a replay of Cintron vs Margarito's second fight Saturday afternoon. During the broadcast, Larry Merchant referred to Margarito as a "truth finder". His words rang true as Antonio Margarito methodically broke down Kermit Cintron to the point where, when Cintron's corner told him to Box and move, Cintron could not carry out the instructions. With his legs gone he was easy prey for Margarito.
I haven't seen Cotto/Margarito yet, but I suspect that Lito is as right about any rematch as he was with his initial prediction. With Margarito's great chin and indomitable will, I see a repeat performance, reminiscent of the Cintron fights.
On a side note, I must say that I'm disappointed but not too surprised that the vast majority of the MMA/ SP crowd largely ignores these great fights in favor of cage rage. |
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Patrick
Joined : 24 Oct 2007
Posts : 56
| | Subject: Re: COTTO vs MARGARITO Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:26 am | |
| That was a great fight. Lito you raise a good point about the mental side for Cotto. Margarito beat him up physically, but more than that, he broke his will. It will be interesting to see how he responds.
If he fights Oscar, I think he'll beat him pretty handily based on what I saw in each of their last fights.
A Williams rematch would make sense, but I agree he would beat Williams now. |
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