Cotto-Margarito: Skip Around "The Ring?"

By Cliff Rold Loyal readers know it’s true. For all of Boxing’s troubles, Welterweight has remained the center that holds. It’s been a vibrant, dependable cog in the game for most of their life…their father’s life…even their grandfather’s life. Few divisions have had its remarkable array of quality prizefighters, quality matches and, ultimately, quality fights. It has also been one of the best places to look for World Champions who really are. The amount of time that the outright Welterweight championship has ever been vacant is minimal and less. When it was vacated on rare occasions by greats like Tommy Ryan, Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, and Emile Griffith, the void was filled in short order. Typically, the business of ‘…and new…’ was done within months. It took a little longer to fill, just over three years, when Sugar Ray Leonard’s detached retina fueled a vacancy in 1982. Donald Curry ended any argument about claims to the throne in December 1985, stopping Milton McCrory in a two round unification showdown. Consistency has reigned since. From Curry, a straight line can be drawn straight through to Oscar De La Hoya’s controversial twelve round loss to Felix Trinidad. The line picked up for most less than a year later when Shane Mosley un-controversially defeated Oscar himself. That line just died a little over a month ago with the ‘retirement’ of Floyd Mayweather Jr. In true Welterweight championship tradition, we may have a fight on tap right away that closes the circle once again. This Saturday night, at well worth its HBO Pay-Per-View price tag, WBA titlist and universally recognized division leader Miguel Cotto (32-0, 26 KO) faces off with the decade’s steadiest presence near the top of the class, Antonio Margarito (36-5, 26 KO). That it is almost pre-ordained to be a war, a Fight of the Year candidate, the next chapter in the legendary saga of Mexico versus Puerto Rico…and so on, you’ve heard it…all goes without saying. The question of concern here is a simpler one: Is the winner of Cotto-Margarito the new undisputable Welterweight champion of the World? Ring Magazine will say no. There are some fans, and some notable pundits, who might cite that as good enough for them. The rules Ring has given themselves in closing vacancies, rules they have been consistent with since they began awarding belts again, don’t allow for Cotto-Margarito to be recognized as being for their title. As their rules note: “Championship vacancies can be filled by winning a box-off between The Ring’s number-one and number-two contenders, or, in certain instances, a box-off between our number-one and number-three contenders.” Margarito is currently rated fourth, disqualifying his chances. That’s one, and maybe even two, spots too low…especially if you use Ring’s ratings, with cover dates for those published ratings supplied in parenthesis, as a sign post. In front of Margarito at #2 is long former World Welterweight champion Shane Mosley; at #3 Paul Williams, notable for having edged past Margarito last August. For those who would argue Williams as rightly one spot ahead based on the head to head outcome, so be it. Mosley should be behind both. This is not a knock on Mosley. Since losing the Welterweight championship to Vernon Forrest in early 2002, Mosley’s record at Welterweight has been 3-2 with the losses coming by wide margin at the hands of Viper in their 2002 rematch and to Cotto in a competitive fight last November. He spent all of 2003-04, and all of 06, at 154 lbs., winning and losing the World Jr. Middleweight championship from Oscar De La Hoya and to Winky Wright. Of the Welterweight fights he’s had since returning to the division in 2005, he won the first three beginning with a March 2005 win over then Ring #9 David Estrada (v. iv, 2005 cover date) and then bested undefeated but unrated Jose Luis Cruz in September of 2005. When he returned again to 147 lbs. in February 2007 after taking care of a rated but run down Fernando Vargas twice one up the scale, it was for a decisive win over #5 Luis Collazo (May 2007). It’s not a bad body of work in the division. It’s just not the body of work Margarito has assembled. Read the Rest at: http://maxboxing.com/Cliff/Rold0723m08.asp