MARGARITO v COTTO

[MightyWarrior]

Is that Margarito on the right? Think it must be...with his late brother.

Great piece by Steve Kim over at Maxboxing right here

http://www.maxboxing.com/Kim/Kim072108.asp

You might find yourself rooting for Marg after reading that.

Should be fight of the year on Sat night, Margarito will be looking to walk right over Cotto, but the Puerto Rican sharpshooter is going make him pay with some brutal punishment if he does.
The shots he took off Cintron would have left most staring up at the lights, so I wonder how many more he can take?
But his chin should hold out ok you'd think, and I think he's going to catch Cotto at some point and hurt him - and he's a great finisher....Upset on the cards?
Cotto should win in the end, just, but he might have to go to hell and back to get there.

[Asterix]

I'm rooting for Cotto. I like both men, but I prefer Cotto's style over Margarito's.

[DG.]

Is that Margarito on the right? Think it must be...with his late brother.

Great piece by Steve Kim over at Maxboxing right here

http://www.maxboxing.com/Kim/Kim072108.asp

You might find yourself rooting for Marg after reading that.

Should be fight of the year on Sat night, Margarito will be looking to walk right over Cotto, but the Puerto Rican sharpshooter is going make him pay with some brutal punishment if he does.
The shots he took off Cintron would have left most staring up at the lights, so I wonder how many more he can take?
But his chin should hold out ok you'd think, and I think he's going to catch Cotto at some point and hurt him - and he's a great finisher....Upset on the cards?
Cotto should win in the end, just, but he might have to go to hell and back to get there.

Margarito by stoppage!

[Captain Hook]

This is one of those we'll just sit back and admire.....both terrific fighters, will be a bruiser.

[lefthook82]

Cotto by stoppage in and around the 8th

[Dioufy]

I really rate Cotto and if he's wins then he'll be on top of my own P4P list, but I am finding myself rooting for Margarito - he's one of my favourite fighters and you have to admire his will, heart, desire and chin. Top bloke.

[Autobarn]

Margarito is a hard nut. He is stronger and fitter than Cotto. He'll push Cotto all the way. This is the big one for Tony. Cotto's class will probably tell over the last 4 rds but this is no walk in the park.

[Asterix]

Margarito is a hard nut. He is stronger and fitter than Cotto. He'll push Cotto all the way. This is the big one for Tony. Cotto's class will probably tell over the last 4 rds but this is no walk in the park.

I don't think he's fitter than Cotto. I think they both train until breaking point.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Definetely the most exciting fight around that weight for some time.


Hatton v Mayweather was a spectacle, and a chance to see one of Britain's best against the best out there, but for quality matchups, this is very hard to beat. Two fighters at the top of their game, one a tough as granite puncher, with a terrific heart and a huge man at the weight, and the other one of the most relentless and vicious fighters around.

Either man is going to have to fight their utmost to prevail, Margarito isn't going to leave anything in the tank for this one, and Cotto is surely in for a long and very hard fight.

I love Cotto, I love the way he fights, and he is rightly the betting favourite, but if Margarito wins, this is far from an upset in my eyes. If anyone has the tools to beat Cotto it's surely antonio, height, reach, power, toughness and most importantly, desire.

The winner of this should fight Williams, and we will have the best Welterweight scene we've had since Shane and Oscar were in their pomp.

[Autobarn]

This could be Vazquez-Marquez quality. If they give each other life and death in there, who knows, there could be a trilogy.

[Lenny]

Definetely the most exciting fight around that weight for some time.


Hatton v Mayweather was a spectacle, and a chance to see one of Britain's best against the best out there, but for quality matchups, this is very hard to beat. Two fighters at the top of their game, one a tough as granite puncher, with a terrific heart and a huge man at the weight, and the other one of the most relentless and vicious fighters around.

Either man is going to have to fight their utmost to prevail, Margarito isn't going to leave anything in the tank for this one, and Cotto is surely in for a long and very hard fight.

I love Cotto, I love the way he fights, and he is rightly the betting favourite, but if Margarito wins, this is far from an upset in my eyes. If anyone has the tools to beat Cotto it's surely antonio, height, reach, power, toughness and most importantly, desire.

The winner of this should fight Williams, and we will have the best Welterweight scene we've had since Shane and Oscar were in their pomp.

Think Williams is finished at welterweight James, sure I heard he was jumping straight to middle and a fight with Winky

here it is http://www.BS.com/?m=show&id=15015

[Lenny]

and i'll go along with the majority, you can't not like Cotto and the way he goes about his business in the ring. He'll have to go through hell in this fight but see him stopping Margarito very late - should be a great fight

[chesh]

Don't think I've looked forward to a fight with such anticipation since Barrera-Morales lll. I'm a big fan of both fighters and see Cotto as only a slight favourite. Cotto on points or Marg by stoppage would appear to be the likeliest outcome. My pick - with no confidence at all - is Cotto by fairly close UD.

[G-man]

Best odds over at William Hill - 6/1 on a Margarito stoppage and 4/1 on a Cotto stoppage.

You get a free £25 bet when you open an account and stake £25 so i've put one bet on a stoppage win for both.

[Autobarn]

This is going to be great, I reckon. Margarito finally has a shot at an elite welter. He won't waste this chance.

Cotto does have that extra bit of class, but his stamina is a bit of a worry.

They don't make many fights like this, these days!

[Dioufy]

I think Margarito has a massive chance here against Miguel. Cotto has been wobbled by a few people and Margarito is a big puncher - I am not saying Cotto's chinny at all but he has been hurt (Judah, Corley and Torres). I can't see Margarito being stopped and I suspect that Cotto and his team will be aiming to box and move more. I can't see Cotto trading as much as he has done in his last few fights - Margarito just seemed to smirk and smile at Cintron's best shots, even though he caught them clean. But like I say, Cotto will use his hand speed and underrated jab to take a 8-4 type of decision, but don't rule of Cotto being on the deck, at the very least.

[EddieShredder]

"Manuel Margarito" was probably a bandito, so it's no surprise that he got killed.

[hitman_hatton1]

i think cotto wins.

margo will push it all the way though.

margo's defence just lets him down.

and his tender brows.

[EddieShredder]

I'm finding this really hard to pick to be honest, but i'm edging with Cotto. Either way, it's sure to be a cracker.... great fight that we could do with a lot more of....

One question - if either fighter were to dominate this fight, batter the other from pillar to post.... obviously they'd be sat atop the welterweight division, but where would it put them in the P4P stakes?

[DG.]

"Manuel Margarito" was probably a bandito, so it's no surprise that he got killed.

[Dioufy]

Cintron's power is overrated. He has never stopped an elite-level welterweight. Did you see his fight versus Feliciano? He threw everything at him, and Feliciano lasted until the 10th (and even then he didn't go down; it was a premature stoppage). On that same line of thought, Margarito raked Cintron with 247 shots before stopping Cintron in their last fight. That should tell you a lot about Margarito's so-called "power."

Cotto by 9th round stoppage, while losing, at most, one (early) round.

Cintron did hurt his hand in that first round (I know it looked dodgy) so your point about Feliciano is kinda futile.

And does it matter that it took Margarito 247 shots to stop him? He's not a one punch KO artist and I never acted like he was but he does have some snap in his power and was easily getting the better of Cintron up until he stopped him.

I know you love Cotto, and you have so much bias in your posts but come on, dude. To say Margarito (at most) will win just one round is a bit disrespectful to Tony. I like both guys the same and I can see Margarito hurting Cotto a little and winning some rounds.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I'm finding this really hard to pick to be honest, but i'm edging with Cotto. Either way, it's sure to be a cracker.... great fight that we could do with a lot more of....

One question - if either fighter were to dominate this fight, batter the other from pillar to post.... obviously they'd be sat atop the welterweight division, but where would it put them in the P4P stakes?

2nd?

Pacman remains on top for me until Mauyweather comes out of retirement, which he may just do to fight the winner of this.

[EddieShredder]

I'm finding this really hard to pick to be honest, but i'm edging with Cotto. Either way, it's sure to be a cracker.... great fight that we could do with a lot more of....

One question - if either fighter were to dominate this fight, batter the other from pillar to post.... obviously they'd be sat atop the welterweight division, but where would it put them in the P4P stakes?

2nd?

Pacman remains on top for me until Mauyweather comes out of retirement, which he may just do to fight the winner of this.

Yeah, I'd go with that for Cotto - just behind Pacman, but ahead of Calzaghe. If Tony won, i'd push him up to around 4 or 5...

[Dioufy]

Cotto would be P4P king if he beats Tony. I can't discard Pacman's losses and the two fights against Marquez (a lot of people think he lost both of them). Whereas for me, Cotto has plenty of talented boxer's on his list and will be no.1 if he wins on Saturday - for me.

[hitman_hatton1]

Cotto would be P4P king if he beats Tony.

no he wouldn't.

margo has lost to guys like williams and santos.

he's good but let's not overdo it.

mosley hadn't held a world title in over 3 yrs when cotto fought him.