Boxing History
On this day: Antonio Margarito defeats Miguel Cotto and defeats him in a fight that will be shrouded in controversy
The always current result will be marked with an unofficial asterisk: Antonio Margarito TKO11 Miguel Cotto. Fight fans, of course, know all about the hand wrap controversy, the most eminent of which is Mexican fighter Margarito. Fans know how Margarito was discovered to be loaded with bandages before his fight with Sugar Shane Mosley. Margarito, who took a terrifying hammer blow from a burning Mosley, was subsequently banned from boxing for a year.
The floodgates have now opened well, with people taking a closer look at some of Margarito’s past fights. Had the man, now nicknamed “Margacheato,” used stuffed wraps before? Miguel Cotto certainly thought so during the fight he and Margarito got into on July 26, 2008. It’s been 15 long years, and yet the controversy and tainted nature of Margarito’s biggest career victory has not gone away.
Fans witnessed a great fight in Las Vegas. Cotto, undefeated with a record of 32-0 and the reigning and defending WBA welterweight champion, was considered one of the best fighters in the world, and the Puerto Rican was also one of the most popular. A year earlier, Margarito had lost to Paul Williams by decision, and the Mexican was already a bit gray and tired of fighting. Margarito (36-5) reigned as the WBO welterweight champion from March 2002 until his loss to Williams, and although “Tony” bounced back with a comeback KO victory over Kermit Cintron to capture the IBF title, he was a substantial underdog entering to fight Cotto, and experts believe that Margarito had his best days
However, Margarito, who always started slowly, overcame his initial deficit by slowly wearing Cotto down until he finally administered a beating that left Cotto’s features severely disfigured. Margarito, who also attacked Cotto’s body, took control in the second half of the fight, and the man, two years older, hurt Cotto in the seventh and tenth rounds, then knocked Cotto down twice in round 11, which forced Cotto’s uncle and trainer, Evangelista Cotto, to stop fighting.
Fans were stunned and the fight continued, earning FOTY praise from many.
But did Margarito win pristine, fair and square? We will never know, but many people will forever believe that Cotto was a victim of weighted packaging, just as Shane Mosley would have been if not for the keen eye of Naazim Richardson.
Cotto, however, got his revenge on Margarito in December 2011, when Cotto hideously covered up a faded Margarito during nine one-sided sessions throughout the rematch.
Who was in the top ten boxing pound-for-pounds in the 1920s?
Welcome to Part 4 of the 13th newest boxing poll series, which will survey volunteers to determine the best pound for pound boxers from each decade. This particular poll, which focuses on boxers from the 1920s, involved a total of 20 volunteers. Each volunteer submitted a chronological list of 10 to 25 names to vote on for the best boxers of the 1920s.
The 1920s were an extraordinary and fascinating time in boxing history, with the popularity of boxing growing dramatically as the rules were modernized in a way that up-to-date fans could understand. Among the biggest stars of the era was the great Jack Dempsey, a national hero whose popularity rivaled that of American baseball icon Babe Ruth. However, it was a wealthy era of boxing, with many talented boxers competing during this period, many of whom are considered legends of the sport.
Among the great legends of all the teams that competed during this decade, one of the most notable honors was the man, the myth, the legend – the great Harry Greb, The Pittsburgh Windmill. Greb was an American boxer known for his incredible stamina and, as his nickname suggests, he had a relentless offense that he was always looking to throw, as well as being powerful and rapid with an unmatched will to win. Greb won the World Middleweight Championship in 1923, which he defended until his defeat in 1926. Greb fought 16 other Hall of Famers during his illustrious career and is widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.
So who were the top ten pound-for-pound boxers of the 1920s? And where is Harry Greb?
This edition Rummy Corner will try to answer this question based on the results of Part 4 of this Survey, in which 20 volunteers participated. Please watch and enjoy the video. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).
They say boxing is a strange mix of brutality, beauty and – for those who can do it at the highest level – perfection. And so it was that on this day in 1957, the boxing world witnessed a single punch, a magnificent one-punch knockout, an essentially flawless display of punching without being hit, that showed how, one night, this sport we all love so much can deliver all three: B, P and B, if you want it to.
How was the fight, KO?
It was on this day, in rematch for a lost fight, that the one and only, truly incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson, faced the tougher than tough Gene Fullmer. In a sold-out stadium in Chicago, the one and only boxing Sugar gave us the BEST KO of all KOs.
To this day, the great boxing trainers (perhaps a dying breed – but that’s another article altogether) show a brilliant example of pure poetic violence that was literally unleashed, not in the split second at best, on their students. Indeed, it was “The Perfect Punch.” Try as they might, no boxer has ever managed to replicate the brilliance of Sugar Ray, his superhuman blend of balance, timing, and explosively correct power. All delivered in one punch.
Fullmer went down the previously seemingly bulletproof Fullmer and never got up again before the count of 10. Fullmer was knocked down by a punch that left everyone who saw him (and Gene, by his own admission, never saw the unstoppable projectile coming) in absolute awe.
So what was the punch that did this?
Sugar Ray, who was 36 at the time, was already in his prime (or so it seemed, as it turned out, very wrongly) combing his hair back, uncorking the greatest left hook he had ever thrown – that anyone in this sport had ever thrown and thrown the country. Fullmer, who had been transported to another orbit by a divine shot from hell, instinctively tried to get up, but fell on his face, his right glove searching for the world as if it were pinned to the canvas. That was the end. But it will never be forgotten.
We’ve seen some exceptional knockouts over the years, many of them from our favorite and biggest stars. However, at the risk of making the repetition tiresome, there’s never been a knockout captured on film that was/is as epic as the one born Walker Smith Jr scored on this day 63 years ago.
How many times have you watched and admired this KO? youtube!
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