Post Fight Analysis: Margarito vs Cotto

First off, I would like to congratulate both fighters on a great fight. From the opening round, I was confident this fight was going to unfold exactly as I expected. Miguel was going to work his four corners defense, and Margarito was going to be massively outclassed and brutalized. Needless to say, I was right. However, what I did not expect was for Miguel Cotto to make two fatal mistakes. 1) Neglecting body work. 2) Trying to knock Antonio Margarito out. I was astonished! Miguel Cotto of all people should know the importance of body work. Infact, the momentum of the fight changed in the middle rounds when Antonio Margarito started to invest in a solid body attack. By neglecting to invest in a solid attack to the body, Miguel Cotto did not tax Margarito's stamina, and did not limit his punch output in the later rounds. Boxing 101 tells us that if you are on the ropes and your opponent is throwing punches, you go to the body. It brings down your opponents hands, and stops the barrage. Miguel Cotto instead traded upstairs, which brings us to our next critical error on the part of Miguel Cotto. Miguel Cotto tried to knock Antonio Margarito out. The one fact that was not disputed in the lead up to this fight was Antonio Margarito's chin. Unloading powerful punches on the chin of Margarito is simply wasting your energy. This is what Miguel Cotto did. Every punch was thrown with malice and knockout written all over it. Round after round, Miguel Cotto WASTED his energy throwing HARD punches at Margarito's chin. There IS a reason why classically boxers are not punchers. It is not that they cannot punch, it is that in order to have the energy box and stay away for 12 rounds, you cannot waste your energy trying to knock your opponent out. Miguel fell into this trap. He tried to knock Margarito out while boxing. The result? Cotto ran out of energy in the later rounds. I do not fell that Cotto running out of energy had much if anything to do with Margarito's work rate as Cotto appeared relaxed, and expended very little energy defending against the onslaught. He simply punched himself out. Had Miguel invested his energy in a body attack, I feel the fight would have taken a dramatically different path. While Margarito won, and I give him all the credit in the world, he showed why he will never be able to beat Paul Williams. Round after rounds Margarito did the same thing. Round after rounds Cotto brutally beat him. Round after round, Margarito failed to adapt. Against a fighter like Paul Williams who can sustain his work rate for all 12 rounds, Margarito has no answers. He does not adapt, and is inherently unskilled. With that said. Margarito is one fucking tough son of a bitch. A true WARRIOR. Nobody is going to knock him out, and anyone that tries is going to lose. In order to beat Margarito, you have to take a page out of the book of Paul Williams. Pity Pat your way to victory.