By Rick Reeno
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com

The battle for Puerto Rico happens tonight. I have to admit, Miguel Cotto (27-0, 22 KOs) picked one tough opponent to fight in his welterweight debut when he signed the contract to face Carlos Quintana (23-0, 18 KOs). The vacant WBA welterweight title is on the line.

Quintana is not only a very strong welterweight with enough boxing skills to give any of the top welterweight trouble. There is no doubt in my mind that Quintana is the toughest opponent of Cotto's career. In his last outing, Quintana dominated undefeated prospect Joel Julio before a stunned HBO audience. Julio was being groomed as the next star in the sport, and Quintana beat him with ease. It was quite a statement to make in his first major television appearance.  He also blew away Edwin Cassiani (25-3) in three rounds, who at the time was riding a nine-fight win streak that including a three round TKO stoppage of former welterweight champion Luis Collazo. Quintana was only 15-0 when he walked through Cassiani.

Cotto has seen his share of credible opponents, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricardo Torres, Randall Bailey, DeMarcus Corley, Mohamad Abdulaev, Carlos Maussa and Lovemore N'dou - just to name a few. Nobody can say that Cotto was brought up fighting stiffs. While at 140-pounds, he fought a who's who of ranked junior welterweights.

In his toughest test, he fought with all guns blazing against Ricardo Torres last September. He was in serious trouble on more than one occassion, but was able to suck it up and come back later in the fight to knockout the undefeated Colombian puncher.

Like Torres, Quintana can hit. But unlike Torres, Quintana knows how to box and use the ring when facing a stronger puncher. Also, Cotto is in against a larger man. We have all seen Cotto blow up in weight between the weigh-in and the actual fight, and it was only a matter of time before we moved up in weight. At the same time, he was rocked in at least three fights at junior welterweight, and in two of those bouts he was in serious trouble. Quintana is accurate enough with his punches that if he gets Cotto in trouble, he can put him away.

After reviewing footage of Quintana from a few different bouts, it was clear that he can take a punch, and he can knock an opponent out with either hand. The fight is a toss up and a lot of people that have good track records with fight outcomes picked Quintana to win this fight.

In the co-feature, the man known as the most feared welterweight on the planet, WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (33-4, 1 NC, 24 KOs), will defend his crown against WBO No. 5 contender Joshua Clottey (30-1, 1 NC, 20 KOs).

Clottey can punch, but has not looked that impressive in a few of his last fights. He is riding a ten fight win streak, but many say he should still be undefeated after suffering a questionable disqualification loss to Carlos Baldomir for excessive use of the head. Clottey was leading on the scorecards when he was disqualified.

To beat a fighter like Margarito, you need speed and footwork. I don't think Clottey has the speed or the footwork. At the weigh-in, Margarito looked like a middleweight next to Clottey. Clottey has a shot for an upset, not a very big shot, but more of a shot than a lot of other Margarito opponents.

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