Margarito/Cotto...WOW!!!

[I'mGatMan!]

Man, if a fight was ever worth $50, this one was it. What a classic bout. It's a damned shame that another Puerto Rican champ got taken out by another Mexican challenger, but it was a great fight to watch. Definitely the best boxing match of the year.

Anyone else a boxing fan?

Chime in!

 

[gatorzingo]

Any ear chomping?

 

[Heavy]

Why is it a shame that a PR was taken out by a Mex?


.

 

[I'mGatMan!]

No ear chomping in this fight. It was actually a beautiful boxing match on the part of Cotto, but Margarito is an Abrams. He's effin' relentless. That's why they call him the Hurricane. Cotto is one of the hardest punchers in Boxing right now...definitely the hardest welterweight--but Margarito was just walking through his shots. Mexicans are just known for being tough fighters. They do NOT fall down.

Heavy,

It's a shame because I'm Puerto Rican. A bit of nationalistic pride. It's also a shame because:

1--Cotto was boxing so damned well. He's a brilliant young pugilist. He had also never been knocked out--chek that--he had never been beaten before tonight.

2--over the past few decades many great Puerto Rican champs have fallen at the hands of the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar de la Hoya. There's a huge rivalry there.

I remember watching Trinidad/De la Hoya 1 at the Mikosukee Casino down here in Miami. The crowd was all Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. The energy in the amphitheater was amazing. You couldn't cut through it with a Silent Knight.

Mexico and Puerto Rico are two cultures known for their fighters. These people are heroes to us. Kinda like Richard Petty and Dale Earndheart to racing fans in much of middle and southern America. We get raised on boxing.

I remember my father showing me video tapes of Hagler/Hearns, Leonard/Hearns, Leonard/Hagler. Still brings back memories.

I'd rather watch the sweet science than mma anyday...though I know I'm outnumbered these days. It just makes sense to me (as a sport) to have two guys working from the same skill set to try and defeat each other.

Vicious, but beautiful. Tonight was great...but a little bittersweet.

 

[Heavy]

I'm Mexican.... So yaaa! us...


Just kidding...I am Mexican but I was born and raised in Chi-Town....


Sadly I don't even speak spanish...:thumbdn:







.

 

[I'mGatMan!]

I'm Mexican.... So yaaa! us...


Just kidding...I am Mexican but I was born and raised in Chi-Town....


Sadly I don't even speak spanish...:thumbdn:







.

Oh man...I'll send you a copy of Rosetta Stone if you use a Mac!

Actually, my father was in the AF and we traveled a good bit, so I'm learning Spanish now...after marrying a Cuban-American woman who has lived in Hialeah (a wholly Cuban enclave of Miami) for 28.5 of her 29.5 years.

In Hialeah, you can't order in the drive-thru at McD's without knowing at least some Spanish.

When we first returned stateside in the mid 80's, I lived in a southern suburb of Miami called Homestead. It was one of the last "old-south" type areas of Miami. There were already a LOT of Mexicans, though. So up until just recently my Spanish has always had a Mexican sing-songy quality to it. My fam in PR tripped on me pretty hard about it when I was there in '04. By the time I went back again (after hooking up with Wifey) they tripped cuz I talked like a Cuban. Can't win.

 

[gatorzingo]

I can see the fascination in boxing. A one on one (mano a mano) sport. Attempting to out-think each other and the physical endurance.

 

[I'mGatMan!]

I can see the fascination in boxing. A one on one (mano a mano) sport. Attempting to out-think each other and the physical endurance.

Exactly! :thumbup:

Many would argue that MMA is the same, but truthfully, there are so many different styles and arts that very rarely are two people working from the same skill set. In boxing, there is one skill set. People will be more highly skilled in different areas (as in tonight--Cotto is the better/stronger boxer, but Margarito has superhuman endurance and amazing resilience) but you're not gonna see a kickboxer fighting a grappler. You're seeing two guys who are on an even keel (before taking into consideration height, arm-reach, ability, etc...).

 

[BlackNinja]

I would have never guessed that Cotto would have lost let alone get knocked out! I see a rematch in the not so distant future. I'm a huge boxing fan and Cotto is my man - Pac Man is fantastic and Calzaghe is too - Klitschko (?) is great but doesn't really have much for competition other than Peter (maybe his brother). I would have loved to see a rematch between him and L. Lewis!

Some of my favorite matches (that I was old eneugh to see) were; Corrales vs. Castillo - Hagler vs. Hearns - Leonard vs. Duran - Vazquez and Marquez trilogy, and many others (too young for Ali; but have seen many of his fights. Tyson put most people on the mat within 3 rounds, until Givens - rather Douglas/Hollyfield).

 

[I'mGatMan!]

Yeh, I thought Cotto was gonna take this--especially after seeing the way Mayweather handled a very similar Ricky Hatton. I kinda figured smart boxing would overcome resilience again, but obviously Hatton and Margarito are not cut from the same cloth.

Calzaghe's nice too. Such a shame he's spent almost all of his career fighting outside of the US. Now he's old and on the wane. He won't last too long fighting the caliber of boxers we have over here. He DID dismantle Peter Manfredo pretty handily though. I thought he beat Hopkins pretty clearly as well. Would have been nice to see him fight the likes of Roy Jones Jr. in their primes. Ooooooooh.

Pavlik is alright in the middleweight division, but who's his real competition--after beating Taylor? Edison Miranda has shown some promise, but it'll be a while before he's ready for Pavlik. He's got to work on his endurance, he's got to become more disciplined, and he needs to strengthen his defense. He's been training in Puerto Rico for the past couple years, though, so he WILL get better.

Klitchko has no real competition. The heavies are boring these days. The Leaonard/Duran "No Mas" fight is classic, as is Leonard/Hearns. Vazquez/Marquez, and Pacquiao/Barrera were nasty too.

I don't know about a Cotto/Margarito rematch yet. I think we need to see how Cotto bounces back. He'd never lost before, and then to have to take knees twice... It's the kinda stuff that can destroy a guy.

I hope he has the heart and courage (and the brains) to take a rematch, and then really work on his stamina. I know Paul Williams beat him not too long ago, but then he came back and DESTROYED Kermit Cintron. He's a tough fighter, man...and to train strictly for stamina is gonna be hard for Cotto. I guess we'll see.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I do like to watch boxing. I watch more MMA, but still love a great boxing match.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

great fight!! i was pulling for cotto as well, but he just couldn't hurt margarito.

a rematch would end the same way. styles make fights. margarito's chin is just too strong, cotto doesn't hit hard enough.

 

[I'mGatMan!]

great fight!! i was pulling for cotto as well, but he just couldn't hurt margarito.

a rematch would end the same way. styles make fights. margarito's chin is just too strong, cotto doesn't hit hard enough.

And the funny thing is that he's consistently been referred to as a monster puncher. Is Paul Williams that much stronger? He's definitely taller, and it didn't help that Cotto had his head down and his guard low for the later rounds. Margarito was killin' him with those uppercuts.

I think a rematch might end the same way too, but I think it needs to happen. Where does Cotto go from here? Up/down in weight? No point if he doesn't have at least one Welterweight belt as well. Who is Margarito gonna fight next? Mayweather is supposedly retired, so I guess we'll hafta see...

 

[MORIMOTOM]

id guess de la hoya is on the horizon. and i think margarito would knock out oscar as well.

cotto is "heavy handed", but doesnt really have that one punch knockout power ala mike tyson. he punishes his opponents into submission. relentless body attack and a big left hook, eventually they just collapse.

margarito seemed to just wade through all that. cotto got frustrated and tired. then margarito started landing those rib shots in the 7th-8th rds. his nose was all busted up, probably couldn't breathe real well. and also likely swallowed a lot of blood from the cut lip.

cotto is certainly still a top tier fighter, but i don't think he'll ever beat margarito.

and i was very disappointed cotto didn't stick around for a post fight interview. showed a lack of class imo.

 

[mountainsofalaska]

I would have never guessed that Cotto would have lost let alone get knocked out! I see a rematch in the not so distant future. I'm a huge boxing fan and Cotto is my man - Pac Man is fantastic and Calzaghe is too - Klitschko (?) is great but doesn't really have much for competition other than Peter (maybe his brother). I would have loved to see a rematch between him and L. Lewis!

Some of my favorite matches (that I was old eneugh to see) were; Corrales vs. Castillo - Hagler vs. Hearns - Leonard vs. Duran - Vazquez and Marquez trilogy, and many others (too young for Ali; but have seen many of his fights. Tyson put most people on the mat within 3 rounds, until Givens - rather Douglas/Hollyfield).

chico corrales was the ultimate warrior! The Castillo/Corrales fight on May 5th 2005 was the best fight ive ever seen!! I watched the taped pay per view at 10 pm at night as we had gone to dinner with friends. By 11:30 pm I was into the main bout and my teenage kids and wife were all in bed. In the 10 th round when chico was getting rocked and knocked down for the second time, my stomach was in knots untill he ROCKED/KNOCKED Castillo OUT!!! I jumped up screeming and yelling and ALL of my family came running out of their bedrooms freaked out cuz I was HOLLERING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS! They thought the house was on fire! LOL!!! They were so pissed!!!! My sons stayed up and i rewound the fight and we watched it again as the girls went back to bed pissing and moaning under their breath!! LOL! But it was the BEST FIGHT OF ALL TIME! GAT, I feel for you as Im a Cotto fan as he is a true Warrior who has the skills of Leonard and the power of Hagler on roids! I truly thought Cotto would be a defending champ for a long time!! What happens to the PR champs after a couple of defenses???? Do they live it up too much at home or what??? I know PR shows its appreciation for their fighters and THEY ARE SUPER DUPER BIG TIME STARS and are treated like KINGS when they become champs!!

 

[I'mGatMan!]

Mountains,

Trinidad and Camacho were a bit different from Cotto. Camacho was a POS degenerate. Plus he was NewYorican anyway. Trinidad seemed to lose his edge. Some of the guys do live it up, but Cotto, on the other hand, did not suffer any of this. He continued to work hard, and his boxing skils have improved and improved. He just went up against a guy who has trained his entire career to outlast his opponents. I thought Cottoa might have the strength to knock Margarito down, but after the second or third round I started questioning that.

Morimotom's synopsis of the fight is pretty much spot on, though I won't hold it against Cotto that he didn't do an interview. If I was a proud fighter who'd fought the best I could against my opponent and still be forced to kneel at his feet, I think it would take time for me to be ready to speak to anyone about it.

Plus, I'm just biased.

 

[12Bravo]

Great fight Saturday. I was cheering for Margarito but thought Cotto would win for sure. I think Cotto finally broke due to a combination on exhaustion and frustration. Cotto was moving a lot during the fight bobbing and weaving while Margarito kept a steady pace with constant pressure. Margarito was walking through some Cotto's best stuff with out batting an eye and Cotto is known for not only winning fight but also beating his opponents up. I think the fight says something about Margarito’s punching power, most of his hits did not look as clean as Cotto yet they most have done some damage judging from the result of the fight.

 

[I'mGatMan!]

Yeh...it was definitely exhaustion. I can't remember seeing such technique in a boxer (Cotto) for a very long time. He was ducking, weaving, bouncing around...it was actually beautiful to watch. Margarito just wasn't fazed though. I guess what it comes down to is that Margarito had an indomitable spirit that night. He was going to be champ, and it showed in his incredible tenaciousness. What an animal.

And you're right, Margarito's punches did NOT look clean. Nor did they seem to have the pop of Cotto's, but those punches sure wore Cotto down. And later on, when Cotto started putting his gloves up higher and keeping his head a bit lower Margarito's uppercuts were punishing Cotto. Overall, I think that if Cotto had spent the early rounds really just firing it out with Margarito, the situation might have been a bit different, but he spent so much time evading punches (and very skillfully, I might add) that he just wore himself down.

Oh well. Either way it was a great fight for fans. I wish Cotto had won, but I don't mind seeing him beaten in such a great fight.

 

[MORIMOTOM]

even arm punches have an effect. they dont knock you out, but they fatigue the arms and shoulders. eventually.

and margarito being as strong as he is, even the punches cotto blocked still generated an impact on cotto's head.

i was thoroughly impressed with margarito's performance, and cotto's.