Cotto vs. Margarito: Right Eye of Margarito Will Lead to Cotto Beatdown

The biggest body part in Saturday’s epic bout between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito has nothing to do with fists.

Nothing will be more closely examined during the Madison Square Garden bout than the right eye of Margarito. The surgically repaired eye had to be cleared by the New York State Athletic Commission just 12 days before their second career bout against each other.

It was a decision that was in serious doubt and now it turns into a big, fat bull's eye for Cotto. Margarito doesn’t think his eye is going to be an issue at all:

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He can punch me in the eye. It's not going to do any damage.

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Margarito suffered the injury when he was literally beaten to a bloody pulp against Manny Pacquiao in November 2010. His orbital bone was fractured and it looked 100 times worse than it sounds. Right after the fight it was bulging and throbbing in one of the more graphic sights you’ll ever see in sports.

Cotto is out for revenge after he was the one beat up back in 2008 against Margarito in an 11th round knockout despite being the 2:1 favorite. It was in Margarito’s next fight that it was discovered he had been putting additional weight in his gloves that caused more forceful punches.

He was busted by Shane Mosley, but Cotto didn’t catch him, yet it’s widely believed he was cheating against Cotto and other opponents before that.

That gives Cotto an extra chip on his shoulder, with his opponent's eye the target to take out the anger. A few early blows will screw with Margarito’s vision and who knows how it will react after potentially 12 rounds. He hasn’t tested it whatsoever because he hasn’t stepped into the ring since getting destroyed by Pac-Man last year.

When you combine the rust factor with Margarito’s eye condition and the extra motivation of a man that feels he got cheated—it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Cotto doesn’t supply a knockout.