Sad day in boxing

[CFH]

You know, I was somewhat disappointed in Cotto's performance too - especially early on. I also thought his gameplan was going to lead to disaster, but I was totally wrong about that.

While he soundly outboxed Margarito and dominated the fight, he did not look like someone who was out for revenge, just someone looking for a victory.

I think a lot of the talk in the pre-fight build up led a lot of people to think that Cotto was going to try and hurt Margarito. Aside from targeting Margarito's right eye once it began to swell, he didn't really fight with any malice.

Cotto did spend a lot of the fight running and he did look genuinely intimidate by his opponent. He also dominated the fight.

See thats fair enough CFH, and actually worth responding to... But bottom line is there was going to be no sweeter revenge for Cotto THAN a victory, and clearly he wasn't going to beat Margarito going to war no matter how shot he may have been. If a guy is fighting off the backfoot but still landing good shots and winning rounds then the onus is on his opponent to make a fight of it, Margo wasn't able to do that for the vast majority of the fight and Cotto should take a lot of pride in that.

That's fair. I think a lot of my initial disappointment in the way Cotto was fighting was that I thought it was going to lead to him getting stopped again. Obviously that didn't happen.

I do think that he looked intimidated and wary of Margarito's power, especially at first, but he comprehensively out-boxed Margarito and fucked up that eye in the process. Like Leddermen said, it is possible to win a fight by running.

The bottom line is that Cotto won decisively, albeit in a somewhat (for me at least) disappointing manner. That's much better than him going to war and losing.

[Gandalf]

I kind of agree with VD. Cotto held more and did a lot of moving.

He was extremely respectful of a fighter who was seemingly now without his wraps and who nonetheless marked him up the same as the previous fight at the end of the 9th.

Still, Cotto was the better boxer. No doubt about that. No way as tough as Margarito though.

[LobowolfXXX]

He was extremely respectful of a fighter who was seemingly now without his wraps and who nonetheless marked him up the same as the previous fight at the end of the 9th.

That's just called being smart. See also: Leonard/Duran 2 vs. 1, and 5 out of 6 Robinson/LaMotta fights. It's not a toughman contest. Cotto knew that the only way Margarito had a chance was if they slugged it out toe-to-toe; he didn't do it. Margarito knew that Cotto was going to stick and move, and target the eye, and he had no counter.