I get mad at some of my fellow PR boxing fans.

[Deanrw]

Margarito is a tank who does not seem to get discouraged. I thought Cotto was going to take this, but Margarito was even tougher than I thought if that is possible.

Cotto simply ran out of gas trying to beat that tank off of him. I hope he keeps his head together and comes back stronger. For the first 6 rounds Saturday night, Cotto showed he is by far one of the most talented fighters on the planet, but who was forced to fight a pace he could not maintain for the remainder.

I hope he does not rematch Margarito immediately. He needs to get his stamina in check before tackling Antonio again. He has the tools to beat him, they just need to be honed.

[donnydarkoIRL]

Good post Dean.

[LEGION]

Margarito is a tank who does not seem to get discouraged. I thought Cotto was going to take this, but Margarito was even tougher than I thought if that is possible.

Cotto simply ran out of gas trying to beat that tank off of him. I hope he keeps his head together and comes back stronger. For the first 6 rounds Saturday night, Cotto showed he is by far one of the most talented fighters on the planet, but who was forced to fight a pace he could not maintain for the remainder.

I hope he does not rematch Margarito immediately. He needs to get his stamina in check before tackling Antonio again. He has the tools to beat him, they just need to be honed.

I hope he doesn't rematch Tony right away either, but the guy is a warrior and pride is what cost him this 1st fight, and pride might dictate if he jumps right back in with Tony.

I say pride cost him the fight because he let himself get caught on the ropes too many times, and I think his fighting spirit made him do that; and similar to Pavli/Taylor's 1st fight, ended up paying for that in the long run. Though I'm a long time Margarito fan, I definately see Cotto being able to regroup and win a rematch. He obviously has the higher end boxing skills to outpoint Tony, but he can't back straight up onto the ropes all night and end up getting bludgeoned in the end again. Remember, Tony probably learned alot from this fight, and will watch film closely to see where he might be able to improve in a rematch with Miguel, so Cotto will have to be on his A-game.

My biggest concern is the mental aspect of a rematch. Will he be able to get back in the ring with the one guy who gave him his 1st loss in brutal fashion? I think he can. I wondered the same with Jermaine Taylor after he got stopped by Kelly; but though he didn't win the rematch, he took it the distance and showed more ring smarts, instead of trying to club it out with Kelly.

I think people are not really seeing this fight as something special and how lucky we were to have the fight. Now we get to look forward to another one most likely. And if Cotto wins; can anyone say trilogy?

[killersheep]

Here's my take: During the first six rounds even though Margarito kept dialing it in and landing more and more, I thought back to the Cotto that fought Torres and I was simply amazed at how improved Miguel is I honestly think he has grown as a boxer more than anyone I can think of in recent televised history. The performance he put forth was absolutely phenomenal, there really wasn't anything that you could say definitively to change that would have altered the outcome of the fight. Although I am not a fan of either of the combatants my respect levels went up for Cotto and Margarito big time. As a result of how they both performed I also gained more respect for the resolve of Paul Williams who hung in there against Margarito and put on a pretty good performance, the power of Daniel Santos who rocked Margarito early on in their fight. The amazing versatility of Shane Mosley who closed incredibly well against Cotto. And the speed of Zab Judah, I think with a different trainer and of course some better decisions in the shower Zab could have had much more success at 147.


Kudos to Margarito for showing iron will and embodying Mexican heart.
Kudos to Cotto for giving it everything he had and showing that even in defeat he is an elite fighter in one of the most competitive divisions in boxing.

I have very little negative to say here it was truly an amazing night of two fighters at the tops of their respective games.