By Chris Robinson
Everything will be on the line for Antonio Margarito when he faces off with Miguel Cotto a second time this December 3rd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Inactive since last November's horrendous thrashing at the hands of Manny Pacquiao, this may be the last shot at a title for the 33-year old Margarito as he attempts to lift Cotto’s WBA junior middleweight crown in the air by night’s end.
It was a little over three years ago that Margarito produced his most stirring victory as a professional, stopping Cotto in eleven heats at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and there have been several question marks floating around his career since that performance. One fight later Margarito was caught up in his infamous hand wrap controversy, an act that coincided with a 9th round TKO loss to Shane Mosley, and he has yet to capture a significant victory since then.
His rematch with Cotto is somewhat of a shot at redemption, the chance for him to prove he can beat the savvy Puerto Rican without tampered mitts, and he already looks to be in tremendous shape. Despite the fight being nearly three months away, Margarito was recently spotted at the Gonzalez Sports Academy in San Diego, California putting in serious work.
It should be noted that Margarito didn’t actually do any boxing, however, as he instead conducted a series of strength and cardio drills as the Academy trainers supervised him. It’s hard to describe in words the series of routines that Margarito finished up, but a closer look at the video will show readers exactly how hard the ‘Tijuana Tornado’ was pushing himself.
Margarito is expected to hit camp in Oxnard with trainer Robert Garcia sometime in early October but it was a refreshing sign to see him so committed as this stage.