Miguel Cotto truly believed in his heart that Antonio Margarito used loaded hand wraps in their first meeting in 2008, he wanted his revenge in front of a Puerto Rican heavy crowd in New York City.
From the start of the fight, Cotto was clearly too good for Margarito. Margarito looked slow, plodding forward looking to trap Cotto against the ropes. Meanwhile, Cotto circled away with ease, targeting the right eye of Margarito which had been nearly destroyed by Manny Pacquiao.
As the rounds wore on, the good moments for Margarito were few and far between while Cotto blasted him with combinations and throwing left hooks that first bloodied, and then swelled the eye of his rival.
Before the start of the ninth round it appeared that the doctors were ready to stop the fight due to the swelling of his eye. He was allowed to continue on for another round, but after the round, the doctor looked again and decided that there was no vision in the eye and called off the fight. The corner of Margarito and the fighter himself begged the doctors to allow the fight to continue, but the doctor said no and referee Steve Smoger was left with no choice but to waive it off.
Margarito's inability to do much damage throughout the fight compared to the way that he caused tremendous swelling and bleeding on Cotto's face does lend some weight to Cotto's feelings that Margarito's gloves were loaded the first time around.
Cotto said that Margarito means nothing to him anymore. He looks ready to move on with his career and his life.
While Margarito taunted continually throughout the fight and said afterward that Cotto does not hit hard, simply didn't have the skills to compete tonight. And regardless of how hard Cotto does or does not hit, he hit hard enough and often enough to win almost every second of this fight.
Margarito's days as an elite fighter are done as is this chapter in boxing history. Miguel Cotto has his redemption and that's how this rivalry will be remembered.
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