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Re: Just another one of Wacko's Drunken Round by Rounds : Cotto vs Margarito!
It feels like the movies, after the hurricane hits, the bombs drop, the monster is killed, the evil is vanquished and so on and so forth, where everyone kind of comes out of their shells and there's that one moment of silent reflection. Where before all the mania that follows big events like this, before the excuses pile in and before we start looking ahead and after all the hysteria of having actually witnessed something so special dies down, I think it's important to savor this as they often provide the most proper perspective of all. It's also the moment that is most preserved in history as this is the time when journalists from around the world finish up filing their reports to their editor. I just thought I would make note of that before I make this post. Of course this time will have probably passed by the time I submit this, but still thought it was worth notig.
Anyways, obviously it wasn't the ending I expected. I really can't say enough about Margarito. Boozeboxer called him the Terminator, I don't know if he saw me say that on here, or even if I ever did or if he just came away with same impression, but he is exactly right. I've been using that word for a while now. Cotto could have brought a shotgun to the ring and it just wasn't going to matter. I don't know how the hell that is possible, but he did it.
The fight started out, and I was a bit worried from the outset that Cotto was using his legs so much. I've never seen Cotto implement footwork like that and while it looked beautiful, I worried that it would take his toll on him in the long run. Still, Cotto in the first 6 rounds was the best Cotto ever step foot into the ring. His hands were faster then they've ever been, he was as accurate as he's ever been, he was utilizing the uppercut better then I've ever seen but most of all his defense was just superb. Several times throughout that fight Miguel Cotto, when trapped against the ropes, did his best Pernell Whitaker impersonation and he was doing it well. It was one of the most beautiful displays of boxing I have ever seen. Perfection and it resulted in me giving each of the first 6 rounds to Margarito with the 2nd being the only one remotely close.
Yet spreading that over 12 rounds was going to be a problem. He was using his legs a lot, clearly more then he was comfortable with. Not only that, but as Cotto wore down more and more, he was unable to wear down Margarito by going to the body. Margarito pretty much gave up his chin in order to protect the body and on several occasions when Cotto did go low, Margarito countered with uppercuts, some of which stunned Cotto. This put a look of discouragement on the face of Cotto and when he got hurt in the 7th round, the ball just kept rolling. The ball, obviously, was Margarito who earlier in the fight had look frustrated at Cotto's slipperyness but once he had him stunned I believe Margarito read the body language and knew that there was some doubt in the mind of Cotto.
The rest is essentially history, at that point Cotto's only option was to keep using his feet because most of his reserves were spent and it was up to Margarito never took a backwards step, continued to find an occasional home for the uppercut and obviously that was enough because Cotto was spent. I don't think Cotto has any sort of stamina issues, but he's just not accustomed to using his feet that much and when you are forced to use your feet that much or else, it takes it's tool against a guy like Margarito. Not to mention he looked to have a broken nose, a cut inside the mouth and a broken will it seems. He should have no shame in his performance, Margarito was just simply a man possessed. I've got little doubt that he can bounce back, the talent is there for the world to see and was on full display for a while there.
Margarito is the story though, he's a modern day George Chuvalo, his chin certainly has to be considered among the best of our day if not the best. I mean to completely sell out his chin like he did, to get cleanly hit as many times as he did by one of the premeir power punchers in the sport yet still manage to apply for pressure for as long as he did is simply unbelievable. If anyone ever deserved a fight, it was Margarito tonight.
I think if both these guys can continue winning for a bit, a rematch could be built up to be as big as this one deserved to be.
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Originally Posted by Scrap
.......thinking it was yet to come .Damn!!! A pillar here,sorely missed and needed back.
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