Originally Published: July 28, 2008
Margarito-Cotto one for the time capsule
Antonio Margarito told anyone who would listen that his suffocating style would be too much for Miguel Cotto to handle -- and he proved it on Saturday.
Fightwireimages.comAntonio Margarito, left, found his range -- and Miguel Cotto's chin -- in the later rounds.
A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:
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Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto Wins a welterweight title |
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Records: Margarito, 37-5, 27 KOs; Cotto, 32-1, 26 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Rarely in boxing -- in any sport really -- does an event live up to the hype. Cotto-Margarito might have surpassed it. We all expected a terrific fight but we got one for the ages between two of the best in the world, pound-for-pound. In the end, however, it was Margarito, seemingly with a piece of steel in his chin, who took everything Cotto had to offer and never for a minute stopped rolling forward. Promoter Bob Arum's analogy was on the mark when he said Margarito was like a freight train going downhill until he ran Cotto over. But what a fight. Cotto, the 27-year-old pride of Puerto Rico, was making his fifth title defense in the much-anticipated fight. Margarito, one of Mexico's best, was gunning for a third belt. And with their styles, there was a reason that the 10,477 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena were in such high sprits. They alternated chants of "Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!" and "Cotto! Cotto! Cotto!" throughout the fight. Flags were everywhere and the atmosphere was one of the best ever for a big fight. Cotto, with an obvious speed advantage, dominated the first half of the fight. He threw lots of sharp, fast combinations to score points, but he could never hurt "The Tijuana Tornado." Undeterred, Margarito just continued to walk Cotto down. He bloodied his nose and mouth and began to take over the fight in about the sixth round. Cotto fought with the wrong game plan. He never worked the body, and he's a terrific body puncher. He also languished on the ropes, which was the one place he should never have been. When they were fighting in the center of the ring, Cotto dominated. When he was stationary on the ropes, Margarito -- whose eyes were a mess after the fight -- could finally land his punches. And when he connected during a relentless assault in the 11th, Cotto finally took a knee to get away from the incoming, just the second knockdown of his career. He showed heart to keep going because he was in bad, bad shape. Moments later, Margarito scored another knockdown. Again Cotto rose, but this time his trainer and uncle, Evangelista Cotto threw in the towel in a move that you can't criticize. It was the end of a fabulous fight and one of the best in the history of the storied Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry. Cotto went to the hospital for observation after the fight, but his pride was probably hurt more than anything else. Margarito, however, was in his glory, finally having gotten the big fight he had been denied for years and winning it in style. Now, the sky is the limit. There will probably be a rematch with Cotto eventually, but not next. Maybe Arum and Margarito can lure Oscar De La Hoya into a Dec. 6 fight? Maybe a rematch with Paul Williams? Maybe a fight with the winner of Saturday's vacant title bout between former undisputed champ Zab Judah and Joshua Clottey? That one seems most likely. Margarito already owns a win against Clottey, but Clottey was winning that fight easily through the first half until injuring both hands. If you missed the Cotto-Margarito pay-per-view, fear not. HBO will broadcast a replay Saturday night (9:30 ET/PT) along with live coverage of Judah-Clottey. If you have not seen Cotto-Margarito, do not miss it. If you do, you're banned. Fights like Cotto-Margarito are what make sitting though all the crappy fights worth it. It is the sort of fight that makes putting up with all the political nonsense in boxing tolerable -- because every now and then you get something truly special. Cotto-Margarito was truly special. |
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Cesar Canchila W12 Giovanni Segura Wins a vacant interim junior flyweight title Scores: 117-110 (twice), 115-112 |
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Records: Canchila, 27-1, 21 KOs; Segura, 19-1-1, 15 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: This fight saved a very poor undercard as Canchila and Segura, 26, made for an excellent fight -- even though it sure looked like it would end early. They both have excellent power and Segura, of Mexico but living in California, was rocking Colombia's Canchila early. He knocked Canchila down in the second round, but couldn't finish him. Canchila steadily got comfortable in the ring and went on for the well-deserved decision to claim an interim title. That became available when Segura's fight against titleholder Brahim Asloum, scheduled for Saturday night in France, was called off when Asloum pulled out of the mandatory defense. Promoter Top Rank scrambled to put Segura on its Las Vegas card and got the interim belt approved. Asloum will now be obligated to defend against Canchila, 26. |
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Michael Alvarado KO4 Cesar Bazan |
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Records: Alvarado, 22-0, 15 KOs; Bazan, 48-11-1, 31 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Alvarado, 27, was matched soft against a faded name opponent in Bazan, 33, the former lightweight champ. Alvarado did what he was supposed to do -- blow Bazan out. Alvarado had his way throughout the fight until knocking him out with a nasty combination late in the fourth round. But although Alvarado scored the win, he got hit way too much, which should not have happened against a fighter who is a decade removed from his prime and has now lost three of his last four fights. If Alvarado is going to become the contender or future champion that his handlers say he can be, he's going to have to tighten up his defense or he'll be in big trouble against the elite of the 140-pound division. |
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Bernabe Concepcion TKO3 Adam Carrera |
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Records: Concepcion, 26-1-1, 15 KOs; Carrera, 19-4, 8 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Concepcion, 20, is one of the top prospects from the Philippines, but will he turn out to be more A.J. Banal and Rey Bautista -- prospects who were exposed when tested -- or Manny Pacquiao, the idol of the country and Concepcion's mentor? He looked good blowing out Carrera, dropping him with a right in the early in third and then again a few seconds later for the impressive victory. It's probably too soon for him to get a title shot, but Top Rank has talked about eventually matching him with titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez, who Top Rank also promotes. |
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Rafael Concepcion KO10 A.J. Banal Wins a vacant interim junior bantamweight title |
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Records: Concepcion, 11-2-1, 7 KOs; Banal, 17-1-1, 14 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Banal, only 19, was regarded by many as the brightest prospect from the Philippines, but that title is gone now after this disappointing knockout loss in his hometown. He was facing Concepcion, 26, of Panama, for a ludicrous interim title sanctioned by the WBA, which already has "super champion" Cristian Mijares and another bout scheduled for the "regular" title in the 115-pound division. If you can do math, that means three titleholders in the same division. But getting back to the fight, Banal lost a point after throwing a punch after the bell ended the ninth round. Concepcion rendered the scorecards unnecessary, however, in the following round when he landed two nice right hands that knocked Banal to a knee in a neutral corner. He looked alert and OK, but never made a remote attempt to rise during the count of referee Raul Caiz Jr. You might now disembark the Banal Bandwagon. It's going in for repairs. |
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Buddy McGirt Jr. Raymond Joval Scores: 99-89 (twice), 97-91 |
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Records: McGirt Jr., 19-1, 9 KOs; Joval, 37-5, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: What a strong bounce-back victory for the 23-year-old McGirt, the son of his trainer and former two-time world champ Buddy McGirt. In his last fight, McGirt Jr. suffered a seventh-round TKO loss to Carlos De Leon Jr. on April 11. But McGirt rebounded very nicely in the "Friday Night Fights" main event as he convincingly outpointed Joval, 39, a perennial contender who gave Fernando Vargas a tough fight in 2005 before losing a decision. The most impressive part of the victory was that McGirt, not known for his power, dropped Joval twice in the third round and came within a whisker of stopping him. The victory ought to give McGirt loads of confidence. |
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Jesus Soto-Karass TKO8 David Estrada |
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Records: Soto-Karass, 21-3-3, 15 KOs; Estrada, 22-5, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: In the Telefutura main event, the corners for Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito went head-to-head on the eve of the big fight. Soto-Karass, trained by Margarito trainer Javier Capetillo, scored a quality victory against the Evangelista Cotto-trained Estrada in an excellent fight. In the eighth, Soto-Karass finally put Estrada on the canvas, and although he made it to his feet, Estrada was unsteady and referee Tony Weeks called off the fight. Soto-Karass, 25, is 10-0-2 in his last 11 since shaking off a three-fight losing streak and has been beating good competition over the past two years. He might not become a world champion, but he's always been a crowd-pleaser and he deserves an opportunity to fight on a bigger stage. Estrada, 29, fell to 1-2 in last three fight, including an 11th-round knockout loss to future welterweight titlist Andre Berto in September 2007. |
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Brandon Rios KO2 Sandro Marcos |
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Records: Rios, 18-0, 12 KOs; Marcos, 29-19-2, 24 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Rios, the rising 22-year-old Top Rank prospect, opened the Telefutura show with a crushing performance against Marcos, whose claim to fame is that he surprisingly knocked out Johnny Tapia in two rounds in 2005. Rios was supposed to face Angel Recio, but he withdrew and Marcos took the fight on a few days' notice. Rios knocked Marcos down in the first round and three more times in the second to end the fight. |
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Antonio Diaz W12 Felix Flores Scores: 116-112, 115-113, 114-114 |
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Records: Diaz, 43-5-1, 29 KOs; Flores, 22-7, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Remember Diaz? The 32-year-old older brother of former lightweight titlist Julio Diaz was a top-10 welterweight contender for several years, losing two world title bouts to Shane Mosley (2000) and Antonio Margarito (2002). But Diaz, after numerous punishing fights, retired and hadn't fought since August 2005. Making a comeback, Diaz outworked Flores, 32, in a solid action scrap to take a majority decision in the Telemundo main event. Flores, of Puerto Rico, dropped his third decision in a row. |
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Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. W-DQ4 Felipe Almanza |
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Records: Vazquez Jr., 12-0-1, 10 KOs; Almanza, 12-14-2, 6 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Puerto Rico's Vazquez, 24, the son of the former three-division titleholder, was on his way to a win, despite the odd ending. Vazquez knocked Almanza down in the fourth, but he beat the count. During an ensuing clinch, Almanza hit Vazquez with his knee and was warned. The dirty tactics did not end there. They continued to fight after the bell ended the round, forcing officials to separate them. But Almanza, of Colombia, decided the best course of action was to kick at Vazquez. Because this is boxing and not kickboxing, referee Brian Gerety disqualified Almanza. |
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Jeff Lacy W10 Epifanio Mendoza Scores: 97-93, 96-94, 95-95 |
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Records: Lacy, 24-1, 17 KOs; Mendoza, 28-6-1, 24 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Lacy is truly at the crossroads of his career. The 31-year-old former super middleweight titleholder was fighting for the first time since his shaky decision against Peter Manfredo in December. It was only Lacy's third fight since taking a beating from Joe Calzaghe in March 2006 in his only loss. But, again, Lacy looked bad as he had all sorts of problems with the hard-punching Mendoza, 32, of Colombia, in the "Wednesday Night Fights" main event. It was a terrific action fight, but it wasn't the way Lacy wanted it to go. He's lucky he escaped with the decision (the 97-93 scorecard is lunacy). Mendoza, who was coming off a knockout loss in a light heavyweight title fight against Chad Dawson in the fall of 2007, had Lacy badly hurt in the second round and again in the eighth. But give Lacy credit for surviving, even if he was only able to do so in the eighth because after being hurt, he lunged at Mendoza and they fell to the canvas. Mendoza smacked his head on the bottom ring rope and was given time to recover, a delay in the fight that might have cost him a knockout against the hurt Lacy. In any case, Lacy got the decision and was supposed to move on to a Nov. 15 showdown with 2000 Olympic teammate and former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor. However, Lacy told his hometown newspaper the Tampa Tribune over the weekend that he was going to retire. The paper quoted him as saying, "I'm retiring. There will be no fight between me and Jermain. I'm just retiring. I'm done. This business is dirty. That's all I have to say. This is a very dirty business. I would advise anyone who has kids not to ever let them fight in this business." It's hard to believe he really will retire, but who knows? Stay tuned for more of "As the Lacy Turns." |
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Jose Armando Santa Cruz KO5 Miguel Angel Munguia |
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Records: Santa Cruz, 26-3, 15 KOs; Munguia, 16-13-1, 13 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Santa Cruz, the uncrowned lightweight champion after last fall's horrific robbery against Joel Casamayor, returned to the ring for the first time since that disgusting decision and made sure the fight was not left in the hands of the judges. He knocked out Munguia, a late substitute for Christian Favela, with a thudding body punch in the fifth round of the "Wednesday Night Fights" cofeature. Santa Cruz, 27, was the boss the whole fight before putting Munguia away. It should not have come as a surprise. Munguia, 26, has lost 11 of his last 12. How on earth was this fight even approved by California officials? What a joke. Next up for Santa Cruz is supposed to be a title eliminator against Antonio Pitalua, which had been postponed. |
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Daniel Jacobs KO1 Sergio Rios |
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Records: Jacobs, 8-0, 8 KOs; Rios, 18-9, 16 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Jacobs, 21, who just missed making the U.S. Olympic team that recently departed for Beijing, is instead well into his pro career and looking like an outstanding prospect. Like most prospects, he has yet to face any adversity and Rios sure didn't provide him with any. Instead, Jacobs, the Al Haymon-managed Brooklyn native, crushed Rios, a blown up welterweight, in 2:46. It shouldn't come as a shock. Rios lost his eighth in a row, five of which have come by knockout. It was Jacobs' sixth first-round knockout in his eight bouts. |
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Carlos Velasquez TKO2 David Vazquez |
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Records: Velasquez, 8-0, 7 KOs; Vazquez, 17-13-3, 10 KOs |
| Rafael's remark: Velasquez, 23, one half of the Puerto Rican twin brothers who look like two of Golden Boy's top prospects, blew out Vazquez with a punishing assault in a mismatch. A hard left started Vazquez's problems and it ended numerous punches later when the referee jumped into save Vazquez from what certainly would have been a crushing knockout. Vazquez is now 0-6-1 in his last seven. Twin brother Juan Velasquez (9-0, 5 KOs), also a featherweight, stopped Edison Morillo (12-6-2, 1 KO) in the second round on a fight that was not part of ESPN2's broadcast. |
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
