Cotto vs. Margarito 2: A Great Rematch That Fans Shouldn't Have to Buy on PPV

As the hours tick down for the Cotto vs. Margarito rematch, fans will be getting themselves ready. Beers will be opened, bets will be made and junk food will be consumed.

And after all of this expenditure, fans will then drop about $60 to see the fight tonight.  And there is something wrong about that.

When Cotto and Margarito first met they were both considered top welterweights. Cotto was an undefeated fighter considered by many to be a real-life terminator, and Margarito was supposed to be the most ducked fighter in boxing.  It was a welterweight match that had fans genuinely buzzing.  

The undercard for the first fight was terrible, but fans got to see a good co-main event and since the main event delivered, no one cared.

The undercard for this fight is much better and that is because the fight has lost some of it's shine. Margarito is now seen as a cheater who may have done less than savory things to get to the top and Cotto is still a great fighter, but not seen as the boxing superstar he once was.  

The only thing keeping this a mega-fight is the question fans are asking about the legitimacy of Margarito's win.

And yet because the first fight was on pay-per-view, fans are expected to pay to see it?

Why?

If they do, they will be giving Margarito a bigger check which he doesn't deserve.

They will continue to pay a subscription fee to HBO who gives them fights like the mismatches with Saul Alvarez and Adrien Broner, but then makes them pay for matches like this.

And the undercard, for as decent as it is, doesn't really justify spending over $60 in this economy.

Just because two fighters might have fought on the most expensive stage boxing has to offer the first time doesn't mean that they should be entitled to it the second time around.  It might bruise some egos, but it is healthier for the sport.

It also would have made what is going to be a great night of fights just a little bit better.  And just like the action in the ring, fans deserve to see boxing give its best to them outside of it.

This isn't an article made to detract from the fight tonight.  It will probably be as exciting as the match before it and anyone who decides to plunk down the money will hopefully get everything they were promised.

But they could have been given just a little more.