If this rematch comes off what could Cotto do differently this time? For the first 5 or 6 rounds Cotto was boxing great, hitting Margarito almost at will but he couldn't seem to put a dent in him and it looked like he lost heart after 6 rounds when he realised this. Margaito isn't the best of technical boxers but his chin is ridiculous and his constant stalking of Cotto while taking big shots that he just brushed off broke Cotto's spirit. If Cotto went into the rematch with the attitude of just outboxing Margarito for 12 rounds then could he win this one fairly comfortable by UD or is this just one stylistic matchup that he just can't win? EDIT: Was meant for the General forum sorry
i think he'd stand a better chance second time around. he knows he cant put a dent in him, so its pointless taking the chances at any point. and it wasnt like his KO was a one punch affair, he can obviously take margaritos power to some degree, just not in the volume he did in the first fight. margarito can only fight one way, while cotto's a smart fighter, so yeah id definitely give him a chance.
I thought Cotto tried to fight a smart fight against Margarito. He was on the back foot for most of the fight, picking him off with classy shots. If that performance wasn't good enough to beat Margarito, then I can't see how he would win a rematch. Although it was a great fight, Cotto got beaten up and demoralised by Margarito. A rematch would not be good for Cotto, in my opinion.
(1) Go to the body - Margarito is a machine, so I'm not too sure if it would significantly slow him down, as it would do other fighters (wouldn't hurt to try though). Cotto is one of the best body-punchers in the business and this is a form of attack that he failed to employ first time around. If anything it would give Margarito something extra to worry about. (2) Don't hang about on the ropes so much - Sometimes you gotta go there, but Cotto seemed to base his gameplan in the first fight around slipping up and down the ropes and scoring with counters. It worked really well for the first half of the contest, but when Margarito got into the flow of the fight Cotto was forced to play rope-a-dope, just standing in the one spot and trying to use upper body movement to dodge the mass of punches that were coming his way. If he fights Margarito again he has to utilise the rest of the ring more, try and bounce around the centre of the canvas a bit, use his superior footwork to turn Margarito and even grab hold when he needs to. Fighters like Margarito are always gonna give Cotto trouble (like Lovemore Ndou did), but if he uses the right tactics he can win. Cotto's stamina over the 12 round distance is suspect though, and against these seemingly unhurtable pressure fighters he may have to build a big early lead before giving up rounds down the stretch to get the decision.
I would love to see the rematch but I only see Margarito winning again if they were to fight again. As someone has pointed out body shots would help cotto mount a challenge, with them hopefully slowing him down - but i don't see how cotto stays away from him for the full 12 rounds. P.S don't worry about it being posted here, at least you won't get the usual comments from cotto and margario fans!
I don't know part of me see's Cotto preparing himself even more and knowing what to expect, i could deffinetly see him finishing the fight. I could also see him winning on points. However Margo may put more pressure on Cotto and start earlier and really just keep Cotto running the whole fight and eventually just catch upto him like in there last fight. if i had to say one Margo KO8
