Few championship fights in current historical past have been retroactively marred by an issue as severe as that which attends Cotto vs Margarito I. A spectacular bout gained by Antonio Margarito by way of eleventh spherical TKO, the talk that raged in its aftermath was not about incomprehensible judging or an ill-conceived stoppage, however whether or not the Mexican had cheated his solution to victory by utilizing plaster-fortified hand wraps. The proof for whether or not he did—whereas circumstantial—is very persuasive, and obscures eleven eventful rounds that noticed Miguel Cotto flip from matador into bull, as his face degenerated right into a bloody, swollen pancake. No official consensus has been reached as as to whether unlawful wraps had been ever used, however revisiting the bout is an eerie expertise during which one suspects the loser of competing at a really harmful drawback.
Previous to dealing with Margarito, the WBA welterweight champion Cotto had not misplaced in his first 32 skilled fights. His title, gained after 5 rounds of labor towards Carlos Quintana, was adopted by excessive profile victories towards Zab Judah and Shane Mosley, whom he knocked out and outpointed, respectively. Beforehand a lightweight welterweight champion and one of many sport’s true stars, Cotto efficiently defended his title at 147 kilos 4 instances earlier than assembly Margarito. Revered for his advantageous expertise and snappy energy punching, his early success allowed Miguel Cotto to supplant Felix Trinidad as Puerto Rico’s high boxer.
Cotto’s Mexican opponent had taken a extra circuitous course on his solution to the best struggle of his profession. A former WBO welterweight champion, Antonio Margarito’s 37 wins had been offset by 5 losses, together with one a 12 months earlier during which he’d submitted his title to Paul Williams on factors. Not a fantastic fighter—even awkward wanting in his hunched preventing stance—the iron-jawed Mexican carried a deserved repute for toughness, by no means having been really stopped in any of his 4 defeats. Feared and averted for his aggressive model, Margarito fought—however by no means boxed—as if he had been impervious or detached to ache.
Conscious it could be silly to face in entrance of a person who had a 4 inch top benefit, Cotto dominated the primary spherical by transferring round and away from Margarito, stepping in to throw sharp combos. Surprisingly, the challenger didn’t start as assertively as many had forecasted, retaining distance between himself and Cotto as he tried to ascertain his jab. The distinction in expertise was plain, and it’s to Margarito’s strategic credit score that he didn’t strive out-boxing a extra skillful opponent early.
This laboured strategy would show efficient when, in an exhilarating second spherical, Margarito dramatically elevated his work price, touchdown 33 of 90 punches and doing extra to stress and nook Miguel. The “Boricua” continued to field well, however Margarito’s stern chin and unflappable dedication prevented his victimization. The livid motion predictably overwhelmed Jim Lampley, driving him to comment, “We promised violence…you’re getting violence.”
By the third around the struggle had come to resemble the narrative that many had foreseen, as Margarito grew to become stronger and it was more and more troublesome for Cotto to beat his swarm just by out-boxing him. This isn’t to counsel Cotto turned slack, as he continued to achieve Margarito’s face with clear punches, touchdown his proper hand—not even his trademark shot—arduous and sometimes. Herein, nonetheless, is the place the struggle’s story lied; no matter Cotto’s work price, Margarito merely continued to come back ahead, strolling by way of punches, nonetheless slower and imprecise had been his personal flurries. By the tip of the sixth spherical, the challenger’s assault had begun to resemble a gathering storm—threatening, inevitable, and sure, quickly, to strike.
Within the seventh Margarito used his larger physique to push Cotto again towards the ropes, the place he used a bevy of uppercuts to hammer the Puerto Rican’s face, leaving him visibly dazed. Gamely, the champion fought on, however Margarito’s offense was unrelenting; by then he had lastly obtained the model of struggle that he at all times needed. Cotto boxed successfully within the eighth and ninth, retrieving among the momentum, however although he should have been forward on factors, his doom appeared inexorable. On the finish of the tenth Cotto was damage once more, after which within the eleventh, sustained stress pressured him to take a knee, giving Margarito the struggle’s first knockdown. His face bloodied and misshapen, Cotto went down once more shortly afterwards, overwhelmed and damaged.
Max Kellerman instantly declared Margarito’s win ‘a contemporary boxing basic,’ commentary that in posterity appears invalid in gentle of what occurred six months later, when the newly topped champion fought Shane Mosley in January 2009. Inspecting Margarito’s hand wraps earlier than the bout, Mosley’s coach, Nazim Richardson, seen one thing unusual and referred to as consideration to them; it was decided they contained a tampered knuckle pad.
Discovered to have made use of an unlawful tactic by the California State Athletic Fee, Margarito had his boxing license revoked for a 12 months, at the same time as he claimed ignorance to the insertion of plaster, whereas his coach, Javier Capetillo, mentioned that he had merely given his fighter these wraps by mistake, and that neither had been concerned in any type of conspiracy. Later that 12 months an image surfaced of Margarito’s hand wraps after the Cotto win—seemingly damaged on the knuckle (which might presumably solely occur in the event that they had been made from plaster, and never gauze), the wraps had an an identical crimson stain in the identical location because the confiscated wraps from the Mosley struggle, suggesting that they had been, the truth is, the identical kind.
One can’t say conclusively that Margarito cheated in his victory over Miguel Cotto, however the extremely suspicious {photograph}, the illogical explanations, and the sheer, heavy-handed injury to Cotto’s face are all alarmingly pointed proof. Conversely, for Margarito, one truth is indeniable—that his astonishing, even inhuman toughness is as chargeable for his victory as no matter unlawful means he could have used.
It’s price asking, nonetheless, whether or not the identical mercilessness that appears a constituent of his boxing character may need additionally allowed him to both clandestinely justify, wilfully overlook, or unapologetically make use of fortified wraps. Whereas there may be a lot ethical grandstanding every time efficiency enhancers are mentioned in different sports activities, their use in boxing, given its extremely harmful, even mortal, stakes, borders on the abjectly sinister. Regardless that Cotto finally avenged this loss, this exceptional struggle stays shrouded by a black cloud that may by no means carry. –Eliott McCormick
