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| Heavily hyped, rising contender Kermit “The Killer” Cintron had the confidence of many to upset one of the more unsung world champions, Antonio Margarito, on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The young Pennsylvanian had only been boxing for six years, |  |
but so far, in his twenty-four-fight career, the big puncher had stopped twenty-two opponents, including most recently Teddy Reid in a thrilling two-way struggle in July of last year. Cintron had been absent from the ring for nine months with a hand injury following the Reid victory but looked in perfect shape as he and Margarito were introduced by Jimmy Lennon Jr. The high school wrestler actually seemed bigger than Margarito who generally towers over opponents at a very long armed five-foot-eleven. When the bell rang both men took the time to study the other, but Cintron was the aggressor, darting in, looking to land that vaunted right hand which had ended so many of his fights so far. As the fight wore on however, Margarito was able to get closer and closer to his prey.
Soon the lanky Mexican champion began to open up with his volume punching style and remained calm despite fielding a few good right hands from the challenger. The same could not be said of Cintron who visibly began to show signs of losing his mental focus under Margarito’s pressure. Cintron began to grab and hold his opponent when winged counters failed to keep Margarito at a distance. Clearly, contending with an organized, composed and determined tenured world champion was a far more difficult task than outgunning the likes of former regional light welterweight titlist like Teddy Reid, however dangerous the unpredictable and heavy-handed Baltimore man was.
As the action progressed, Margarito became more and more difficult for Cintron to handle and the Reading native began a series of canvas trips. While he did absorb some good shots from the WBO boss, it seemed more a matter that the challenger had lost his composure under the malicious attention of one of the more adept finishers in the game.
With Cintron nearing the end of his rope, his corner wisely threw in the towel to save their man from needless further punishment and the damaging knockout that was sure to come. Despite the spotless record, nothing on Cintron’s resume had come close to preparing him for the cauldron of stress, which is served up routinely as the house specialty at Chez Margarito
With time off to recover and a regimen of steadily more difficult hurdles to master, Kermit Cintron may yet be back to contend for a world title. For now, he serves as yet another example of a prospect that was rushed into a top level contest with a battle- hardened but unforgiving champion before, for whatever reason, he was psychologically ready to do so.
Richard Eberline can be reached at richardeberline@fastmail.fm
