Margarito: 'I told you so!'.."Whomever makes him the most money.” -Arum

The only thing bigger than Antonio Margarito’s punches, last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was the Tijuana slugger’s smile at the post-fight press conference. “I told you all,” said the triumphant new welterweight campeon, who, last night, bulled his way to an upset victory over Miguel Cotto before a deafening crowd of 10,477. “I told you all my preparation was going to give me a victory. I told you that I was a great fighter, that Miguel Cotto was a great fighter—he showed how tough he is.” In a fight that lived up-and beyond—the hype heaped upon it, Cotto boxed beautifully, but it was Margarito’s unremitting pressure that finally caught up the Puerto Rican pride in the later rounds. Cotto was battered down twice before his corner threw in the towel at 2:05 of round eleven. “I felt I hurt him in the sixth,” said Margarito, who was cheered by a, mainly, pro-Mexican media at the presser. “I knew my pressure and punches were doing something to him. I felt he was going to go down. “Each round, I came back to my corner and said, ‘I’m gonna knock him out.’ My corner said, ‘We know—but don’t get overconfident, and be careful.’” Cotto, who scuttled out of the ring after Margarito was declared his victor, was a no-show at the press conference. Promoter Bob Arum told the media that, due to his many stitches, he had gone to the hospital to be sewn up, and for cautionary tests. “I always said Cotto was tough,” Margarito was nothing but respectful to his fallen foe. “I did receive his punches. He hits very hard, but he never hurt me.” At the time of the stoppage, Margarito was ahead on two scorecards, with the third even. “He was like an express train that couldn’t be stopped,” said Promoter Arum. “Miguel Cotto fought a great fight—a perfect fight. Anyone else he fights, he wears down, but this guy, he’s an express train. It’s as simple as that.” Equally important as the win for Margarito, said Arum, was that the fight lived up to its billing. “We got a bad rap in boxing, but this fight couldn’t be anything less than what the media said it was going to be. And did either guy say anything bad about the other guy? “We don’t need all the trash talk, those who shove and talk badly about one another; then, when the bell rings, they’re pussycats.” Arum said there was no rematch clause, then reminded the media that he does not believe in immediate rematches. “Who’s next for Margarito?” asked Arum. “Whomever makes him the most money.” Margarito did not name anyone for his next fight, saying it was all up to the Top Rank boss. “No one wanted to fight him before,” said Arum. “We offered Floyd Mayweather $8 million, but he didn’t want to fight this beast . . . . And Oscar De La Hoya gave some excuse about not wanting to fight a Mexican, should he beat Cotto. “But something happened tonight that changes everything to his benefit, though. People who didn’t want to fight him before, may be inclined to fight him now. “This is a different ball game now.”