It was inside of the MGM Grand earlier this year when I got a real sense of just how much disdain Miguel Cotto appears to have for Antonio Margarito.
Cotto, having just dispatched always-awkward Ricardo Mayorga in the 12th round in his first defense of his WBA junior middleweight crown, came face to face with Margarito at the post-fight presser and despite shaking hands with his former foe, you could tell how disinterested the Puerto Rican was. Margarito handed Cotto his first loss a little over three years ago via 11th round TKO and it has been a defeat that has haunted Cotto to this day.
Currently Cotto and Margarito are in the midst of a four-city press tour to announce their upcoming rematch this December 3rd, set to take place at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York. The two were spotted in Mexico today and will wrap up the tour tomorrow in Los Angeles before each man breaks for camp.
<--- Massive Slideshow: On the road with Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito as they hit up Puerto Rico, New York, and Mexico; also check out bonus shots of Nonito Donaire and classic pics of Cotto and Margarito
One fight after their first brawl, Margarito was found to have tampered hand wraps in the dressing room before getting bashed by Shane Mosley in Los Angeles, leaving room for speculation that he had been performing illegally in previous contests as well. Cotto has tried to stay mum when asked if he felt Margarito had hardened fists during their initial encounter, but you can sense the type of emotions he has heading into the rematch.
“I swear to you all and my family that December 3rd is the same story but with a very different end,” Cotto stated while in Puerto Rico on Monday. “I assure you that the preparation will be arduous, intense, hard work for me, so I don’t make the mistakes made three years ago.”
Cotto actually had fought a very disciplined fight against Margarito back on that fateful night in July of 2008, boxing well and tagging the crude Mexican with shots from all angles. But Margarito would walk through everything that Cotto threw and began wearing him down after the seventh round before dropping him twice in the 11th before the fight’s end.
There is a certain feel among those close to Margarito that Cotto simply doesn’t have the size or firepower to get Margarito’s respect, and that is reason enough for them to believe that the WBA belt will exchange hands come December. Giving his take on the fight, Margarito didn’t seem too fired up or worried at all.
“I don’t have much that to say. Just to prove that I’m back and I’m going to do my thing. I’m going to go out with my arms held high,” Margarito said with confidence.
Cotto is expected to hit Tampa, Florida this coming weekend to begin his preparation for the fight. Trainer Robert Garcia had told me that Margarito was eyeing a return to camp on October 1st but the Tijuana fighter was spotted earlier this month doing cardio and fitness training in San Diego and appears to already be in excellent shape.
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Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
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