The Battle! Cotto v Margarito
By Round by Round July 18th, 2008
TSS nation, round by round coverage of the Miguel Cotto v. Antonio Margarito fight will begin at approximately 11:00 ET / 8:00 PT.
Undercard Recap: Mike Alvarado KO victory over Cesar Bazan at 2:46 of the 4th.
Cesar Canchila UD over Giovani Segura to win the Interim WBA Light Flyweight belt.
The crowd at the MGM Grand is buzzing with anticipation. Mexican and Puerto Rican flags waive in the rafters as Margarito and Cotto fans eagerly await their champion.
Margarito is the first to enter, wearing black trunks. Cotto has made his way to the ring, clad in silver trimmed in blue. If I had to guess, Cotto fans outnumber Margarito backers 3 to 2. Michael Buffer has introduced the principals and The Battle! is upon us.
The third man in the ring is the accomplished Kenny Bayless.
Margarito wins the WBA Welterweight Championship by TKO at 2:05 of the 11th.
_______________________________________________
Round 11: Cotto is bleeding profusely from the nose. A 1-2 snaps back the head of Margarito. Marg clubs Cotto. Another Marg body shot rips into Cotto. A right uppercut scores and down goes Cotto. Cotto is up and dances away. Margarito presses the action. He follows Cotto to the corner and rips body shots. Cotto goes down a second time. Kenny Bayless steps in and stops the fight! Margarito wins!
_______________________________________________
Round 10: Cotto lands a jab to start the round. A Cotto 1-2 rips Marg. Cotto is on his toes. Marg presses ahead. Cotto lands a big left. Hand speed is the difference as Cotto lands 3 shots to 2. Marg wings hooks to the body. A big punch stuns Cotto at the bell. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 9: “Si se puede” chants the Marg fans (Yes, we can). Marg lands several hooks while Cotto is trapped against the ropes. Cotto fires a straight right to drive off Marg. “Margarito, Margarito”, chants the rejuvenated Mexican fan base. Marg scores again with body shots. Cotto fires a left cross that lands flush. Marg 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 8: Cotto works behind the jab. He’s on his toes moving to his left. In an exchange Cotto cracks a right. Another Cotto jab. The fighter clash heads; there is no blood. Marg follows Cotto around the ring, unable to trap him in a corner. The Cotto jab lands, and another. Marg is trying for that one big punch. Cotto lands several. Cotto unleashes a barrage at the 10 second bell but is caught by a Marg right. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 7: Marg presses Cotto to the ropes and unleashes hooks to the body. Cotto fires a right off the ropes to back him off. Marg lands a large shot and wobbles Cotto. Cotto is bleeding and hurt. Another Marg right. The crowd goes crazy. Marg lands an uppercut. Cotto fires back. He seems to have recovered. The fighters exchange to the bell. The MGM is rocking!!! Big round for Margarito. Marg 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 6: Cotto lands a jab followed by an uppercut. Those two punches are winning this fight. Margarito is digging to the body. Bayless is in tight to watch for low blows. The fight goes to the ropes and the fighters exchange punches. Cotto fights well of the ropes, but is driven back to them. Margarito is leaning on Cotto. Cotto flurries and escapes. Marg rips hooks and uppercuts. A right hand cracks Marg. Three straight lefts by Marg to end the round. Close round. Cotto 10-9
_______________________________________________
Round 5: A Cotto jab. A Marg right. Marg throws a probing jab and is countered by Cotto. A straight right rips Cotto. Another uppercut lands for Cotto. Cotto’s jab is definitive. Cotto flurries. Marg can’t stop the Cotto jab. Another. Another. A Cotto 3 punch combination scores. Big round for Cotto. His fans go crazy. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 4: An exchange in the center of the ring favors Cotto. Marg walks Cotto against the ropes but is unable to inflict real damage. Cotto circles away from danger. Cotto lands an uppercut followed by a straight right. Marg forges ahead landing and missing equally. Cotto has his hands held high. Another Cotto uppercut to end the round. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 3: Marg is the stalker. Cotto the boxer. Cotto wants the fight in the center of the ring. Marg wants to trap Cotto against the ropes. The blood flows from Cotto’s nose. Cotto’s hand speed advantage is evident. Once again Marg is warned for low blows. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 2: Marg flicks out the jab. Cotto fires a fast 3 punch combination. Cotto is on his toes. Margarito lands a right hook to the body. A strong Marg left lands. Cotto answers with an uppercut. Cotto fights off the ropes where he lands one and receives one. Marg is digging hooks to the body. Bayless warns Marg for low blows. Cotto is bleeding from the nose. Cotto lands a straight right at the bell. Close round. Marg 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Round 1: The fighters make their way to center ring where they exchange a few tentative jabs. Cotto lands a combination. A Cotto jab lands; the crowd roars. Another Cotto flurry followed by an uppercut. Margarito answers. Cotto circles left, sets his feat and fires. A low blow from Cotto earns a warning. Cotto 10-9.
_______________________________________________
Is there a deeper, more competitive division in boxing than welterweight? Notwithstanding the astonishing retirement of pound-for-pound #1 Floyd Mayweather Jr, the division remains loaded. WBA kingpin Miguel Cotto is a bruising boxer-puncher at the top of his game. Antonio Margarito is the relentless two fisted brawler who won the IBF strap with a body shot. WBO Champion Paul Williams is a 6’1” southpaw with the reach and jab of a heavyweight. Undefeated Andre Berto is a blur of a fighter who recently seized the vacant WBC title. Future hall-of-fame entrant Sugar Shane Mosley is a danger to any champion from 147 lbs to 154 lbs and former division champions Carlos Quintana, Zab “Super” Judah and Kermit Cintron are ready for redemption. With so much talent in the group there is no clear number one. Yet the best aspect of the welterweight division is not its depth, but the desire of the fighters to face one another to let their fists decide the debate.
Antonio Margarito. The Tijuana Tornado lost three of his first dozen fights and then went on a twenty-one fight tear. During the win streak he captured the WBO welterweight title with a tenth round stoppage of Antonio Diaz. After defending the belt against the likes of Kermit Cintron and Joshua Clottey, Margarito lost a tightly contested twelve round scrap to Paul “The Punisher” Williams. Margarito rebounded by destroying Golden Johnson in one round. Next, he dominated Cintron a second time to capture the IBF title. A strong welterweight who rarely takes a backwards step, Margarito has amassed 36 wins with 26 knockouts.
Miguel Cotto. In his 32 victories against zero defeats, Cotto has bested ten former or current world champions including Randall Bailey, Ricardo Torres, Carlos Quintana, Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. In his five fights at welterweight, two of Cotto’s opponents retired between rounds and two were stopped inside the distance. Only the ultra-skilled Mosley was able to stand and trade with Cotto for the entire twelve rounds. In his most recent fight against an over-matched Alfonso Gomez, Cotto combined supreme confidence with speed, power and accuracy to stake his claims as the division’s standard bearer.
TSS faithful join us here for ringside, round-by-round coverage of the fight to decide the number one welterweight in the world. “The Battle! Cotto v Margarito” will commence on Saturday, July 26 at 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:10 am
i think margarito is going to destroy cotto in 6
July 19th, 2008 at 4:37 am
The TJ Tornado inside the distance. Cotto is powerful, but he is f***ed!
July 19th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Yup agree on that. Margarito is too strong for Cotto though the latter is more skilled. Marg will pressure Cotto & win by KO…my guess in the 9th.
July 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Margarito is a good boxer, but he is facing a super fighter, if margarito has the power he can knock cotto, that is the only way I see him winning. but allmost impossible.
to me cotto will win by ko.
July 20th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Cotto will take this via UD in 12. But with all due respect to the weltergreats, the overloaded division is the lightweight. Bring on the Pac-Man!
July 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
You must be crazy, the last time the so called puncher had the advantage Sugar Ray killed Hitman Hearns, and Margarito doesnt even measure up to the Hitmans power. Cotto on the other hand does and has supeior boxing skill including a very very good jab, just ask Mosley!!!
July 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
COTTO COTTO COTTO COTTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 20th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
you’re krzy man, cotto is too skilled, relaxed and determined he’s gonna win this one easy.
July 20th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Please cotto is way to powerful for him,it wil end in the 6th round but cotto knocking out margarito
July 20th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
In his last 3 fights Cotto has come of age, he now is the polished diamond. Margarito on the other hand is still raw, not ready for a BOXER puncher like Cotto is. He proved it in the Williams fight. Besides he still doesnt know how to handle lefthanded boxers, what will he do when Cotto switches up on him!…
July 20th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Cotto will outbox Marg. and and beat him to the punch everytime Marg. set s to throw or misses he will pay everytime. Yes Marg. has a solid chin but he bleeds easily and for sure he will bleed on the 26th of july when he takes a lot of punishment to the right eye via the short hooks inside and the jab. Cotto wins in round 9 tko
July 20th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I think Tony Margarito will be the first fighter to beat Cotto by decision I think Margarito will win because he will overpower cotto Tony has a better chin than Cotto and he is the bigger man.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:34 am
when any doubt cotto will overpower margarito because of his ablilty to adjust to every kind of adversary like for example in the shane mosley fight
cotto has all the ingedients to be victorious in that fight, he has a superior
jab very good speed a crushing left hook to the body and overal general ringman ship
cotto is simply to smart for margarito
July 21st, 2008 at 10:21 am
Margarito is a relentless punching machine and has a solid chin. Cotto’s hard body shots will be too little, too late because Margarito’s non-stop attack will be ferocious and immediate.
With regards to motivation, Margarito is a hungry Mexican warrior who has not yet received the glory he deserves. As much as I admire Cotto’s methodical body punching style, he has not yet experienced an all out attacker like Margarito. I think Cotto will be stopped early, but will receive a good lesson from this fight.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:27 am
Margarito KO 7, too much firepower from the tough Mexicano. Tijuana cabrones!!!1
July 21st, 2008 at 11:55 am
Based on several of their latest fights, I think Cotto has an advantage that Margarito must train to overcome if he wants to win their fight. Don’t get me wrong. I have the highest respect for both fighters. However, neither of them are the fighters they used to be - and I mean that in a good sense.
Defense - Cotto wins this one, in my opinion, just viewing his fights against Shane Mosley and Alfonzo Gomez. Cotto was making both of them miss at a very high level. Margarito has long arms but his defense is his offense. He showed he can get hit a lot by a quicker fighter such as Paul Williams.
Offense - This one is very difficult to give to either fighter. Margarito wins on punch output alone but Cotto doesn’t waste punches and connects more power punches. It all depends on the judges and what they give more importance to.
Skill - Cotto has an arguable edge here as well. He has faced more skilled opponents as of late than Margarito has. Margarito faced Paul and lost and then faced Kermit and won, but he already had an advantage over Kermit before in their last fight. Cotto, however has faced a game Shane Mosely and even more excitingly game Zab Judah, both of which are faster than Margarito is.
Power - I will have to give this one to Cotto. He is showing more power in this weight than Margarito is. Margarito’s last fight shows he has power, but that was against a fighter he had previously beaten. Margarito couldn’t do away with Paul Williams either. You might say the same with Shane Mosely, but Shane has a solid chin (been knocked down before but not out), and Alfonzo looked broken when their fight was stopped. Margarito’s punishment comes from accumulated punches whereas Cotto’s comes from accuracy.
Size - Margarito has this in his pocket, but just barely. Margarito tends to not use his size advantage in his fights, choosing to duke it out instead of jabbing and using his size advantage to fight from the outside. If he uses his height, he can hand Cotto his first loss, but I don’t think he will do so. Margarito has too much heart and that will make him take the fight to Cotto rather than use his height to keep Cotto at the end of his punches.
Predictions: Cotto by split decision
July 21st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Cotto has to bring his A Game because Margarito is no sleeper. I do think that cotto will intimidate Tony Margarito like he does with all his fighters and Win. If not Low blows will help…. LOL…May the best man Win.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:54 pm
only time will tell. rise up boricuas!
July 21st, 2008 at 5:24 pm
People lets be realistic here this is boxing its not about the bigger man winning, its the man with the best BOXING skill who wins. Look at how small Mayeather is, yet he is undefeated… Once again I quote the Leonard Hearns fight. Look and compare both of these boxers last 5 fights, you will see that Cotto is the superior BOXER, who by the way is also undefeated. Even against his southpaw opponents. Niether one of these guys has one punch KO power, its all about boxing and breaking down your opponent, and as far as I can remember even the days of Julio Cezar Chavez, no one has done it better than Miguel Cotto!
July 21st, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Margarito will dominate this fight by 12round KO.
ask me why…..
July 21st, 2008 at 8:29 pm
margarito will definitely take out cotto by decision he is alot more experienced.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
cotto es el hombre de boxeo que va gana por ko 7 round miguel cotto va ASER EL GANADORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:54 am
I think that this is the fight of the year hands down.cotto is a hell of a fighter and i would like to see him win But margarito thats a real fight coming to cotto somthing that he has not fealt from the other fights.margarito has A hell of a body shot just like cotto and a good chin with good hand power…….. MAY THE BEST MAN WIN
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Remember that when you have a superior jab like Cotto has, it will automaticaly nuetralize the oponents power. Margarito is a straight foward brawler. Remember what happened to Felix Trinidad when he fought Hopkins and Winky, and Trinidad had more speed and twice the power that Margarito has. When Cotto sticks out that jab and follows it up with a short left hook to the body Margarito will have to go to plan B. Lets face it, Margarito is not the type of fighter who goes into the ring with a plan B or C, he only knows one style of fighting and thats to go straight foward win of lose. Remember folks one of the nicknames of the game is “The Sweet Science.” Out think your opponent and stay one step ahead of him…
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
i think honestly that [margarito]-will stop/or-knockout cotto-in the “mid-late-rounds”! margarito-is bigger,stronger,great-chin,bigger-puncher! iv always been a great fan + admirer of cotto,but i “honestly cant see him winning this one”! margarito-”stops or knocks-out cotto”-for me!
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 am
margarito by ko in the 8th round. if corley can daze cotto what do you think will happen when a much much stronger margarito tests cotto chin he is going toknock his freakin head off
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Margarito might have a hell of a chin, but his body has never been tested the way its going to be tested saturday night. What happened to DeLaHoya when he fought Hopkins, and remember the Golden Boy has never been KOd. If you go to the body, ANYONE can be knocked out! No exceptions. While Margarito will be busy headhunting as he usualy does for all his fights. Cotto will be using his excellent boxing skills and attacking the body while doing so, and ultimately TKOing Margarito in the 9th round, vintage Julio Cezar Chavez style!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:15 am
This will definitely be a hard fight to predict. Both are great latino warriors and both will train hard and I hope neither one of them leaves their fight in the gym due to over-training. Although the rivalry will always be there between a great Puerto Rican fighter and a great Mexican fighter, in the end it doesn’t really matter what country both came from but who is declared the winner. Who will win? in the end, it will become a matter of will, skill and determination. However, if both give it their best, then there will be return matches in the way that Erik Morales and Marco Antonia Barrera made millions. Both will make a lot of money and so will Pay-Per-View.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I’m a Filipino fight fan who is eagerly awaiting this matchup. I respect and admire both of these champions for their respective aggressive styles and willingness to take on the best. I also admire the people on this blog for their knowledgeable insight and enthusiasm without being condescending to the other side. The blogs about Pacquiao seem to attract alot of racists.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
COTTO BY TKO…YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST…TRUST ME WHEN I SAY IT….I’VE BEEN TO 7 COTTO’S FIGHTS…AND IM 7-0…ABOUT TO GO 8-0…HOLLA!!!!!
July 25th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
BASED ON COTTOS PASSED FIGHTS HE DOSENT STAND A CHANCE AGAINST MAG BECAUSE MAG HAS WON 4 OF HIS PAST 6 FIGHTS COMPARED TO COTTOS 2 OF HIS 5 FIGHTS
July 26th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
C’mon dudes, most of you have not even seen Margarito fight, on the other hand Cotto has been more exposed to national TV giving some of us the opportunity to have a more educated guess, because that’s what ultimately what anyone can have. Margarito can easily turn out to be MARGARITA and Cotto can come out ROTO, if either one of them have taken this fight lightly. Mexicans are undaubtly some of the greatest warriors in our planet and when the P.Rs fight they do it for their Patria, their Bandera and every citizen in thier country.
May the best best warrior or patriot wins.
July 26th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
so i guess the mexican warrior won!!!
July 27th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
i called it perfect. margarito is too strong for cotto.too bad it wasnt in the eight round like i predicted but the eleventh wasnt too bad. his head would have came off in the twelth luckily they stopped in enough time.that was a hell of a fight
July 29th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I still think Cotto is a great fighter,next time he gotta work the body.what he gotta do now is study the fight and see where he got to improve for the next time around. God Bless
July 30th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I’ll bet for Cotto if given a chance for a rematch. He knows what to do next. He is a better boxer than Margarito, but Margarito’s chin is just too strong for him to handle..
August 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
well after the surprising knees down on round eleven, Cotto one of the stronger figthers out there people lose his undefeated title. Makes me wonndering is margarito a super human that resist all the cottos punishment and didnt do a dent or there is something suspicious that time will tell. Maybe a miss read by cottos team of how margaritos will aproach the figth or maybe the difference could be trainning in altitude or steroids. I admired both figthers. Does anybody knows how high is tijuana from sea level? highly suspiciuos…….hahahaha
definitely a rematch
I think cottos have to throw less power punches more jabs