To Miguel Cotto it is all about vengeance

Miguel Cotto has only one agenda Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden. He wants vengeance and is not shy about saying that he will kill Antonio Margarito. That is anger and talk about revenge coming from the WBA super welterweight champion. The malice and hatred of his adversary will go away after the fight, as is commonly done at the conclusion of a boxing feud. Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank However, Cotto, who had an open workout, in front of media in New York City Tuesday, is focused to inflict damage on Margarito. As the countdown continues to Cotto-Margarito II, on HBO Pay-Per-View, supplemented with an outstanding undercard, the emphasis is on how Cotto will react when he sees Margarito in the ring after their first meeting in 2008, a bout that left him with a battered face and without a title. There are those who firmly believe that Cotto will lose the return bout, more so because vengeance is on his agenda. They believe that Cotto will forget the boxing basics, that the vengeance will shift his plan to be a boxer. It is his first fight under new trainer Luis Diaz, a Cuban who befriended Cotto when he was an amateur. And Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward, who worked the last two Cotto title defenses, against Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga, is one of those believers saying off the record, that Cotto will not defeat Margarito. A comment that was made before Cotto made the change, and something that supposedly led to differences between Cotto and Steward. Philosophical differences will not win fights. Cotto knows that as a three-division world champion, as does Margarito who had to redeem himself after getting caught and suspended for fighting with tainted hand wraps. The issue of how Cotto got beat, the lasting image of a brutal assault has been chronicled and at one point had the champion perceived as a defeated fighter that would not recover. Steward changed that image in two fights. Cotto looked aggressive, better hand speed, good foot work, and there was a different perspective about him. He would fight at 147 or a catch weight at 154, handling the latter weight to his advantage. More so, after the Mayorga fight, earlier this year, Cotto was on the trail of Antonio Margarito and the fight was made in September. Referring to vengeance and administering punishment, it is all because of the fight in March with Margarito. “We have families. We have people who love us and depend on us,” he says. “My health is the most important thing in my life. I have kids and they depend on me. The reason I’m doing this is my kids.” In reality, he is doing this for a living, one of the highest grossed paid fighters on pay-per-view, but vengeance against Margarito is also a significant factor. Cotto will go after the injured right eye of Margarito, which became an issue last week before the New York State Athletic Commission. Boxing, the commission, and HBO PPV expect a good fight, though it is expected to be a war from the onset. Adding to his vengeance was a war of words with Bob Arum, promoter of both Cotto and Margarito. He was not content that Arum was siding with the Margarito tainted, and plaster like substance hand wrap controversy when it came to Margarito being implicated. And last week Arum abruptly stopped a media conference call when Cotto said, “The contract is to fight in New York. I won’t fight anywhere else.” Arum was livid. The fight and entire card were in jeopardy, hours before the NYSAC made their decision to license Margarito. To some, Cotto has become difficult to work with. The reason, according to those in the fold, has been that loss to Margarito that was inflicted by tainted hand wraps. At the HBO 24/7 –filming of the network telecast that documents the fighters, it was evident that Cotto had revenge on his mind. A Top Rank source who escorted Cotto and Margarito to the studio, said, that Cotto would not ride in the same elevator with Margarito at the Los Angeles location where the filming was held. Then, the truth was told. Cotto only wants to get his hands on Margarito and fight without a disadvantage. There is still speculation that Margarito enabled his punishment with tainted wraps. The guilty verdict came when Margarito defeated Shane Mosley by knockout back in January of 2009. “I know what happens when you are in a fight,” comments Cotto. “You receive punishment. It’s part of the job.” He speaks about continuing to fight, and seeing his children who are at ringside for his fights. But maybe not this time at Madison Square Garden, because this could be brutal and he does not want his children to witness what he intends to inflict on Margarito. A fight of this magnitude there is expected to be vengeance. Cotto wants that. But he has to remember, a title is at stake and boxing is what he has to do. Link