Promoter Bob Arum says that if welterweight world titleholders Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito win their upcoming fights, it is likely that they will meet in a 147lbs battle for supremacy before the end of the year.
Shortly after Miguel Cotto got out of the shower following his pummeling of Alfonso Gomez on April 12 in Atlantic City, Top Rank Promoter, Bob Arum told the media that he would like to match Miguel against Antonio Margarito, who was an hour removed from knocking out Kermit Cintron.
Jerry Glick reporting: All one can say is Wow! Boxing has hit a stride that has not been seen in decades. Everyone who is anyone is fighting anybody who is anybody. Including, on November 10th, Miguel Cotto will make the third defense of his WBC World Welterweight Title against former IBF Lightweight, WBC Welterweight, and WBC, WBA, and IBA Super-Welterweight Champion, Sugar Shane Mosley. Their confrontation is aptly named; “Fast and Fu rious.”
By Matthew Hurley: At the opening press conference for the July 26th welterweight showdown between WBA champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Antonio Margarito at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles Top Rank promoter Bob Arum prefaced his introductions of the two fighters with a long, somewhat embittered, diatribe aimed at the mainstream media which continues to marginalize boxing.
In light of all the stellar match ups that have been taking place starting in mid 2007 the promoter, who knows he’s got a can’t miss great fight on his hands, can certainly be forgiven his frustration. After all this is a guy who started with Muhammad Ali in 1966 going on to promote twenty seven of Ali’s fights and then saw fighters like Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran put Top Rank Promotions at center stage during boxing’s last real golden age in the 1980s. What he sees in Cotto and Margarito reminds him of a time when fights like this grabbed headlines in newspapers and turned his pupils into dollar signs.
“We all see the excitement in this great event,” he said after proclaiming that boxing is indeed not dead. “These are two guys who have thrilled us over the years with their courage and their tenacity. This is going to be a fight for the ages. We named it ‘The Battle’ and it certainly will be a battle, as have most of the fights between Puerto Rican champions and Mexican champions. That’s the great, great rivalry in the sport of boxing.”
Arum then went on to add that in the storied history of that rivalry Puerto Rico leads 38-20 which made Margarito, who hails from Tijuana, Mexico smile slightly in spite of himself.
“This rivalry is like Notre Dame and Penn State,” Arum said. “All I know about (all) those fights is that they were great, ferocious fights and this will be one of the best.”
The thirty year old Margarito, 36-5 (26) was offered a fight with Cotto at Madison Square Garden back in 2007 but opted to fight lanky contender Paul Williams instead. After a slow start the ‘Tijuana Tornado’ stepped on the gas but had fallen too far behind and after 12 spirited rounds he lost his WBO welterweight title and, it seemed at the time, his marketability. Recognizing that his slow starts had finally caught up to him Margarito made the decision to attack from the opening bell from here on out and subsequent demolitions over Golden Johnson and Kermit Cintron, in a rematch which earned him the IBF title, reinvigorated his career and broadened his fan appeal. (Margarito has since abdicated the IBF title.) With Cotto establishing himself as a pound-for-pound entrant in 2007 with wins over Zab Judah and Shane Mosley and with WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather preoccupied with anything but defending his title Cotto and Margarito thankfully turned to one another.
“The time is finally here,” Margarito said. “I don’t want anyone to miss this fight. It’s going to be the fight of the year. We know Miguel Cotto is an undefeated fighter, strong just like me.”
Antonio, who seems genuinely excited just too finally be in this situation, smiled and added, “He’s going to have to train well to fight me.”
At twenty seven years old the taciturn Cotto, 32-0 (26) appears to be entering his physical prime. He also feels that his November 12 round decision victory over Mosley elevated him to another level. Beating a highly respected veteran, and first ballot hall of famer, instilled in the Puerto Rican fighter a sense of confidence in his abilities and a realization as to how far he has come since leaving the junior welterweight division.
After stopping an overmatched Alfonso Gomez in the fifth round back in April an extremely relaxed Cotto remarked that his skills have become more refined since winning the welterweight title and that his ever improving jab has opened up a whole new bag of tricks for his opponents to contend with.
“Now I try to do everything,” he said in the ring after defeating Gomez. “I can box or punch. My jab in the last three fights has made me better.”
As always Cotto kept his comments at the press conference on Tuesday brief. “I’m going to prepare good for this fight. Tony hopes I will train pretty good for this fight. He doesn’t have to tell me. I always train hard for every fight.”
The fight, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, found a home on the west coast after Arum got the Nevada State Athletic Commission to wave their rule that all fighter’s above the lightweight division must wear 10-ounce boxing gloves. It was a stipulation that could have landed the bout in New York at Madison Square Garden where Cotto has fought several times and proven to be a tremendous draw. His drawing power on the west coast however has been marginal at best. With the commission allowing 8-ounce gloves, providing both fighters agreed, Arum was able to bring the fight to Sin City where he believes because of Cotto’s increasing marketability in the wake of his exciting defenses against Mosley and Judah and Margarito’s clout among hardcore boxing fans this collision between two hard punching in-fighters will gain momentum in the coming weeks and will be a box office bonanza by the time the opening bell rings.
Before the two fighters posed for photographs Arum, who seems to find the need to criticize Floyd Mayweather whenever reporters are around, and to an extent his September opponent and rival promoter Oscar De La Hoya, did so again but didn’t mention either by name.
“Remember and note how this press conference was conducted and how these two conducted themselves here today and how hard you’ll see on July 26th they’ll fight in the ring,” he said, his index finger pointing at the assembled press. “Remember it a month from now when you see another press conference and see how they behave, and see if that makes you proud. And then a little while later see how they perform in the ring.”
Arum paused and then the promoter who once famously said, “I was lying yesterday but I’m telling the truth today,” with all the zeal of a Carney Barker bellowed, “There’s a sucker born every second.”
Miguel Cotto – Antonio Margarito will take place on Saturday, July 26th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View.
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