Margarito vs Cotto II (odds,analysis & thoughts, revenge...gloves?)

Both fighters have been beat up many times, both have had their bells rung, throughout their respective careers.. despite the hand wrap thing, AM still is a strong puncher.. so I'm not buying that as a viable angle.. I think the questions are who's the shot fighter, and who's going to land the more effective punches.  And remember, Cotto couldn't hurt Margarito the first time out, so can he now?  Probably not.. Antonio's got an iron head.. this fight is even, so I'll take +$ with Margarito, as he'll once again wear down Cotto en route to a late stoppage..

The first half of the fight Cotto unleashed his most offensive bout to date, but fortune turned as he couldn't out Margarito away and then got some severe punishment.
My initial post about activity since they fought... "Three years later and Margarito took 2 severe beatings from Mosley and Pacqiuao, and has 1 win by decision since. Cotto took a beating from Pacqiuao and had a war with Clottey. Cotto also has had 3 KOs against decent competition with a questionable decision win over Clottey. Cotto the more active, and what impresses me is the late TKO against Yuri in round 9 and in round 12 against Mayorga. Margarito hung in while taking a beating from Manny when I felt the fight should have been stopped because Margarito's eye was so bad and he wasn't doing any damage to show the fight should continue"
Cotto is the better boxer and I agree with SawLo about Cotto decision. I feel though it will be more 7-5 rounds for Cotto. I also think there will be maybe 5 tough scoring rounds and this fight will depend on either...
Cotto landing cleaner shots and to the body, but those body shots often go missed by poor judging. Margarito will likely be the aggressor like usual and close rounds may go towards Margarito. Unfortunately it's hard to believe that the judges will disregard the first fight and controversy with the hand wraps and Margarito only got a slap on the wrist. I feel that a heavy bias against Margarito (consciously or unconsciously) will be in play regardless. Also, Margarito's eye has been a problem for a while and those injuries only get worse. Being out of the ring for a year he will have ring rust, and a poor defense and even though someone stated in a post "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." is usually accurate. Roach took years to make Manny a boxer at a late stage. Barrera was known as a slugger and became one of the best ring technicians. Cotto with Emmanuel Steward will expose the bad eye with jabs and counter punches.
The odds of Cotto being almost a 2-1 favorite seems about right with all the variables in play. Many questions will be answered after this fight as this is definitely a life-time career defining bout. Although fighters today seem to be able to compete well up to age 35, with Cotto being 31, and Margarito being 33, bottom line is if either fighter is dominated it will be retirement time (whether or not they do is entirely different).

"How's that eye like me now!"Cotto Margarito "Wait,my hands itch,I need to re-wrap my hands"

Tony wins.. Hes STILL too big and strong for Cotto.. Even more so at 153 or whatever catchweight Cotto demanded..

I always believed Cotto was a true natural light welterweight (also called junior welterweight or super lightweight) and that he was slightly small to be a great welterweight (as he is been shorter than most and shorter reach as well). Also, his body frame seems best at 140lbs where he punished opponents and won by KO in the middle rounds. After moving up he has been scoring very late round TKO's. He has a strong punch but not a one-punch KO power, and he throws accurate clean shots.
   Margarito seems as though he is swinging wildly and not landing clean shots. Cotto fought Mosley and Clottey in two very tough close fights, and he lost to Manny. Margarito got destroyed against Mosley without his special wraps. Although Margarito is a beast, Clottey is much more of a beast and Margarito wouldn't be able to compete with Clottey.
   It is important to take into account recent activity. Once again I'll quote it "Three years later and Margarito took 2 severe beatings from Mosley and Pacqiuao, and has 1 win by decision since. Cotto took a beating from Pacqiuao and had a war with Clottey. Cotto also has had 3 KOs against decent competition with a questionable decision win over Clottey. Cotto the more active, and what impresses me is the late TKO against Yuri in round 9 and in round 12 against Mayorga. Margarito hung in while taking a beating from Manny when I felt the fight should have been stopped because Margarito's eye was so bad and he wasn't doing any damage to show the fight should continue".

I've known guys that have handicapped horses for 60 years, and they still don't win overall. Just because a person or team has to win doesn't give them a better chance to win. You were right about him walking through anything Cotto could throw, maybe that was his problem instead of using... defense, I hear that's a new thing fighters are using. Also, I hear Chessboxing is really catching on, so get to work and call it like you see it!

Cotto won but, I wish it could have went another round or so to see if Cotto could finish him or would he fold again. That is why people pay $55 to watch and a cheater gets $2.5M, would they have stopped Ali cause his eye is swelling shut, the guy was still in the fight and his career is now over, so what would 1 round more round due, he could have went down fighting or KO Cotto, you never know.

What goes around... comes around: After 1st Cotto fight.
Margarito got wrecked by Mosley, Pacquiao practically killed him and Cotto ended him for good. I'd say it's not equal, but it's one a the few times in sports you see an instant reversal of fortune brought upon only the fighter himself.
Sure if he admitted to illegal wraps, I doubt any state would let him fight. When you blatantly have no regard for other human life, admit your guilt, and go on with life. He denied and took the worse for it!

You're right Zouk, what goes around comes around, which is why they should let Cotto finish him off (or quit).

When I seen that face off where they went back and forth, you could just tell that Cotto was going to do his talking in the ring, I bet that was the Cotto's favorite fight of his career, because that proves Margarito is/was a fraud.

Good job to everyone that picked Cotto.

CD: For a guy like Margarito, it hurts him more to stop it not giving him credit to be able to finish. Many fighters are embarrassed by stops as it shows weakness offensive amd defensive. Guys like Floyd would rather have it stopped to call it a conspiracy,

I was glad to see Cotto perform well. Yes he did walk through a warn-down Margarito, but at such a higher weight Margarito should have been able to do damage, but we know now he had been using wraps all along. His speed and stamina are the same as before, so to say he lost because he's aged is weak. Cotto aged too, but since 2007 he fought a war with Mosley, got beaten by Margarcheato, did a 12 round war with Clottey (with bad cut from headbutt in the 3rd), and took a severe beating from Manny. All Antonio did was cheat Cotto, beat a nobody and loss two brutal fights. Cotto fought better caliber, didn't cheat, and in 2 years had 4 BRUTAL fights. So, if anyone should have been finished, it would have been him. Margarito now exposed can't hurt a fly!

Cotto

Where does this leave Margacheato & Cotto?

Cotto as I previously thought will continue to be successful for several years to come. People claim that because of the original loss to Margarito that it was a blessing in disguise as Cotto had to change his style and start to be more defensive. The Risk-Reward I feel was heavily weighted on the risk in his first fight. The fact does remain he did change his style and with success. He fought one of his best fights ever in his rematch with Margarito, and although his first fight he unleashed a dominant offensive attack in the first half of the bout, he appears more well rounded and more tactical. It appears he will be fighting Chavez Jr as not many other names are a fit as of now. I feel Chavez Jr is over-rated and his previous fights were all nicely hand picked. I'd watch some replays of Chavez Jr, but I think now Cotto would do well in such a matchup. Chavez Jr reminds me of Margarito (minus the plaster) but he's bigger than Margarito, but still too inexperienced I feel for a well rounded Cotto.
   That leaves us with Plastonio Margacheato... Any thoughts? Any possibility of retirement? Trilogy with Cotto (I doubt it as it's lose-lose for Cotto; also by Cotto beating him down last fight, I doubt Cotto has any interest in bothering with Margarito especially at this point in his career)? I know the press has been talking Margarito vs Mayweather, but Mayweather will have to become like "The Great Houdini" and summon all his cronies and promotional team and create the illusion that it somehow would be a good fight. Although one of Mayweather's top weaknesses is tall fighters with reach. Maybe if they fight in a different country and allow and advertise Margarito is allowed to wear plaster wraps, maybe people would think he has a shot at that point. At this point, Margarito has been a fighter in denial, and most fighters won't bother with him unless beating him somehow helps improve their own stock. I feel Margarito vs Chavez Jr would be very entertaining, as that thing called defense won't show up that night, and you might set a record for total punches combined. Paul Williams has a January fight and should he win I think a rematch against Margarito would be another entertaining bout.

   I'm very curious what the forum members here feel about the futures of both. Please pipe in any info as well regarding rumors or anything that might give us a little thread to hang on to!!!!

Margarito is/ should be done, but if he does fight it would have to be against Paul Williams, not interested in seeing Floyd fight him or Cotto after dodging them for years. Margarito has very little options as most top fighters will just run though him now that he has been exposed.

Cotto should be careful, Paul Williams, Alfredo Angulo, Delvin Rodriguez and Carlos Molina, not Kirkland, Canelo or Sergio they will be bad news for Cotto at this point of his career.

Margarito had no value to anyone except an unknown up&comer you needs a name somehow. Cotto finally showed defensive skills, but Margarito's punches are so predictable because he never feints. So it's hard to tell how much Cotto's defense has improved. I wouldn't count him out because only Manny beat him, and Clottey (IMO) won the fight mainly because he was a one-legged fighter. I know Cotto had that gash at 3rd round, but one eye versus one leg isn't close. When you have no balance and unable to step into a punch, you are done. He went toe-to-toe and lost to SD. I will wait and see who and how he performs without trying to guess,

Margo...... ...Please.. Cotto, NO MAS!

MargaCheeto Future: There's also a bit of a built in story of the old Mexican star who brought disgrace on a proud tradition (even if Mexican fans do remain supportive of Margarito) against the new talented son of the country's greatest boxer of all time.

Cotto: Actually better fighter than before as he learned defensive to offensive stance without resetting. One fight against an almost has-been (more like without plaster a never-been), doesn't prove his skill set improvement until he fights a real fighter with speed, power, and accurate punching. I still think a rematch against Manny is perfect timing for him. Manny seems very distracted, and Cotto seems very focused. Manny is still faster and stronger, but I feel it would be much more competitive in a rematch. Mostly it depends on the first round... if Cotto's power increased with his weight, Manny will give him respect, if it hasn't, Manny will walk through him.