07/26/08 Aftertaste.

Welcome to this thread and thank you in advanced for caring about my opinion (or being bored enough to read it :yep). As some of you know I'm a puerto rican boxing fan and had been picking Miguel Cotto to win against Margarito. Firstly I would like to congratulate both fighters for an excellent fight and a memorable chapter in the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry.

The Fight:

The fight it self was an absolute classic in my eyes and one that kept me on my toes through out the 10 rounds and a half. I thought Miguel fought a beautiful fight, but unfortunately was walked down by the bigger, stronger and better fighter that night. Miguel and all of his supporters have nothing to be ashamed or embarrased off in the fight, he fought his heart out until he just couldn't keep it up anymore. It should be noteworthy that Cotto had to fight the perfect fight to keep Margo off, and he also needed to use twice the energy to make it to the final round. Margarito on the other hand looked like a monster, and I could only imagine what may have been going through Cotto's mind, I mean, this guy was taking Cotto's best shots and he was still walking like if he was being punched by an amateur. Margarito truly looked like a War Machine, and a real life nightmare.

Respect:

For a while now I had commented on the hearts of these two warriors and the fighting spirits that live in them, and so I stated that no matter the outcome of the fight they both deserved praise, and after July 26, 2008 they proved me right. I knew people would try to bash Cotto if he were to lose, and when he did, they bashed him. There truly isn't anything I can do about it except disagree with many of the negative things they say. Cotto is a great fighter and even though I dont advice him a rematch (especially not an immediate one) if a year or two pass on and there are two fighter left a the top of the division (Margarito/Cotto) than I'd encourage it. It may seem like I'm contradicting my self, but the main reason I don't "advice" it is because I wouldn't want to see a career ruined because of so many tough fights. On the other hand if Miguel Cotto rebuilds himself well and fights his way back to the top, and the other guy standing next to him is Margo, than I think we could be in for another barnbunner of a fight and again I would give Miguel a fairly good chance of beating Margo (* I never said Cotto would stop Margo, or that he was so much superior etc, I always stated that it was a close fight but that I would go with Cotto*). The way I see it is that with a few adjustments and another "fight of his life effort" Miguel could make the difference from being beaten to submission to having his hand raised after 12 tough rounds. Now, lets leave Cotto alone for a while and lets give it up for Margarito, he put the relentlessness needed to hand Cotto his first loss and is now finally getting his just respect. I feel sorry for the people who have to make up rumors saying Margarito was on steroids, and I feel even worse that the rumor started in a radio station of Puerto Rico, the place I call home. The truth is Margarito looked like the same Margarito of always and if he didn't use steroids for his other fights, I doubdt he used any for this one, cause quite frankly he wouldn't have needed it. As for the fighter themselves I hope they have a fast healing up process and I hope Margarito gets the chance to fight Oscar, if that doesn't happen than I know a guy who would love to give him a rematch and a rematch I think he could very well win, not because of what he did to Cotto, but because of how he improved himself since losing that fight. For Miguel Cotto I would like to see him take the rest of the year off, get himself back together (psychologically and emotionally) and give it another run next year little by little.

 

Thnx, I too would advise him rest, but after all he didn't get all the way to the top by listening to me, so I guess thats just the attitude he has, and maybe the one he needs.