Cotto vs. Margarito: Why Welterweight Leftovers Will Outshine Pac-Man and Money

While all the world wants to see is the megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, the war between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will show casual fans that boxing is more than a one-trick pony.

On Saturday, December 3 at Madison Square Garden, the fight between Cotto and Margarito for WBA super welterweight championship will be a battle for the ages.

In the first meeting between these two men, the duo put on a show that will go down as one of the better fights of 2008. Cotto was winning the fight, but a late-round surge from Margarito and two-knockdowns had Cotto’s corner throwing in the towel.

The savage beating left Cotto swollen and battered. While it was a bit uncommon to see the damage that bad, Margarito was caught six months later using a Plaster-of-Paris type substance on his hand wraps and was suspended from boxing for a year.

That finding has led many to believe that Cotto’s beating at the hands of Margarito was via cheating. Margarito disagrees.

Margarito told the New York Post about his upcoming war with Cotto:

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Mentally and physically, I do feel that I’m stronger than him. I’ve already shown it once, and I’m going to show it again. When he feels my first punch, he’s going to remember how hard I hit.

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It's clear Margarito is still cocky.

While Cotto feels he was robbed, Margarito has been slammed by the media for almost three years for cheating and feels like he has received the raw end of the deal.

All of the storylines that lead into this bout have surrounded it with a mist of intrigue that boxing has been missing. With little hope on the horizon that Pacquiao and Mayweather will actually fight, this is the kind of fight that boxing fans love and casual fans need to get behind.

Saturday night will be the kind of epic battle that boxing has needed over the past few years. If the American public can buy into the story, this could be a huge event.

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