Why We Love Antonio Margarito

By Mad Love on 07/27 at 07:13 AM

By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent

I refuse to start this piece with my typical jabs at the world of mixed martial arts.

Despite the lack of primetime talent, EliteXC’s event wasn’t too shabby, and watching Robbie Lawler TKO Scott Smith in Round 2 with a pair of knees to the head was definitely entertaining.

Having said that, there’s absolutely no way you can deny the fact that boxing was king Saturday night, as the all-out brawl between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito may have been one of the best fights of the year.

While not to the extent of De La Hoya versus Mayweather, HBO did their part to create some unique storylines leading into the fight. In addition to that, you had Mexico clashing with Puerto Rico in a way that hasn’t been seen for quite some time.

If you haven’t been paying attention for the past few years, Margarito’s the one fighter none of the “big names” ever wanted to get in the ring with. De La Hoya’s dodged him with more success than Vince Vaughn wearing a blindfold, and it’s a well known fact that “Mr. Pound-for-Pound” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. turned down an $8 million payday because he didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

Enter Miguel Cotto, who decided to accept the challenge rather than duck-and-hide like so many of his peers.

Unfortunately for Cotto, things really didn’t turn out as planned. Even though he appeared to be landing the better punches throughout the first several rounds, there was one small problem, and it was his undoing.

In short, the problem was Margarito, who took blow-after-blow and kept coming. Cotto would nail him cleanly and keep moving, which worked quite nicely for the first six rounds. Even though I wouldn’t agree with them, the analysts went as far as declaring it a one-sided boxing clinic.

Sadly for Cotto, this so-called early domination was nothing more than Margarito doing what he does best. There was no confusion, nor was there an inability to effectively land punches. In fact, having watched it a second time, Margarito seemed to have Cotto’s number most of the fight.

He simply looked unstoppable. He took solid punches from a guy with proven power as if they were coming from a toddler. The shock of being so ineffective only made matters worse for Cotto, who looked beaten, both physically and mentally.

In the end, the “Tijuana Tornado” simply destroyed a previously unbeaten Cotto. He broke him down and beat him to a bloody pulp, so much so that Cotto’s trainer was forced to step in and waive the white towel.

If you missed it, I’d highly recommend you watch this one. I know 11 rounds might be a bit much for the MMA’ers, but trust me when I say it’s worth it.

It’ll be interesting to see if De La Hoya’s willing to fight Margarito, or perhaps the Pretty Boy will un-retire and take on a REAL challenge, although that’s unlikely.

For now, all we can do is give up some well-deserved love for Antonio “the Tijuana Tornado” Margarito, who’s a guy no one wants to fight, while at the same time being a fighter everyone should want to watch.