Cotto vs. Margarito 2: Boxing Must Hope for More Controversy

If you'll allow me to quote Eric Bischoff, "controversy creates cash." It's more than a book title. The bottom line is that if you're in the business of relying on people to buy your biggest events, controversy is a must. 

As ESPN reported, Antonio Margarito has plenty of controversy around his name. He was caught plastering his hand wraps in a fight against Shane Mosley, for example. Ironically, he still lost that fight. 

However, as Lance Pugmire and Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times detailed, there is reason to believe that similar tactics were used in previous fights, including his win against Miguel Angel Cotto in July of 2008. 

It's hard to sell a fight between two completely nice, well-liked stars. In boxing, you need someone who people won't like. Those people will then buy the fight to watch the controversial fighter lose. 

That's what Margarito is right now, and that builds the sport. 

The controversy around the latest wins from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will have a similar result when they next fight. 

Yes, this is all speculation, but it's a tried and true method. 

The sport of boxing should want more controversy to surround Margarito. What good would a clean finish do? A rematch would basically go out of the window. Simply put, neither of these two men are big enough names to sell a fight without a little bit of controversy.

Controversy will come in two ways. 

The first is right now. People are still trying to decide whether or not to spend money on the fight. To entice them, either Margarito or Cotto could come out and say something controversial. However, they shouldn't say it unless it's genuine. I don't like it when controversy is forced, and that rarely works. Nevertheless, a reminder of Margarito's past wouldn't hurt. 

It also wouldn't hurt to have something happen during the fight.

The more controversy that this sport has, the better it is. Logically, that will bring us more matches between top fighters. 

That's the best thing for all parties—fans, fighters, promoters and anyone else.