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There is a small contingent of Margarito fans that believe he is this assasin that is feared by everyone in boxing. And indeed, Margarito does deserve some consideration as a tough contender in the welterweight division. He was for awhile the most underappreciated, if not underrated fighter in boxing's glamour divisions. But it's gotten out of control, he's been blown way out of proportion.
Cliff Rold, a writer for this site that I hold in the highest esteems, once said that Margarito was "the most underappreciated, underrated, avoided welterweight of his generation."
I tend to lean more towards Sergio Martinez's assessment, which is quoted as follows:
"His boxing skills are very limited and his defense is practically non-existent. He throws very wide looping shots, leaving himself open for counters, and has poor balance. He also telegraphs the majority of his shots and has nothing in the way of lateral or upper body movement. Plain and simple, he is what he is, which is a come-forward mauler who relies heavily on his conditioning and heavy hands to wear his opponents down and outwork them over the course of a fight. He does not have much of a variety in his punch arsenal so is usually predictable."
My gripe is, what are the grounds on which Margarito is qualified as an assasin? Was it his KO of Kermit Cintron, who came within a punch or two of falling to David Estrada in 2005? Or his domination of Antonio Diaz, whose biggest win came against Micky Ward?
We can speak hypothetically for hours about what Margarito would do "if" he got a fight with one of the elite's of boxing. Posters here talk about people being afraid of Margarito. But what if Cotto did fight Margarito, and wound up keeled over like Carlos Quintana? Or what if he got a fight with De La Hoya and caught the Ricardo Mayorga treatment. How about if Floyd Mayweather bounced the hittable Margarito off the canvas a half dozen times like he did Diego Corrales?
If those things happened, what excuses would come out? People need to look at Margarito for what he is, which is a tough laborer who is in a position to fight some big names. But to think that people are afraid of this 5-defeat wearing guy, none of which came against elite fighters, premature hype.
At the end of the day, it's very difficult to root for Margarito when people try to make a big deal out of a fighter who in the grand scheme of things, hasn't accomplished anything yet. I esteem Margarito for what he is, which is a good fighter trying to do something great. But he hasn't done anything great as of this post.
Cliff Rold, a writer for this site that I hold in the highest esteems, once said that Margarito was "the most underappreciated, underrated, avoided welterweight of his generation."
I tend to lean more towards Sergio Martinez's assessment, which is quoted as follows:
"His boxing skills are very limited and his defense is practically non-existent. He throws very wide looping shots, leaving himself open for counters, and has poor balance. He also telegraphs the majority of his shots and has nothing in the way of lateral or upper body movement. Plain and simple, he is what he is, which is a come-forward mauler who relies heavily on his conditioning and heavy hands to wear his opponents down and outwork them over the course of a fight. He does not have much of a variety in his punch arsenal so is usually predictable."
My gripe is, what are the grounds on which Margarito is qualified as an assasin? Was it his KO of Kermit Cintron, who came within a punch or two of falling to David Estrada in 2005? Or his domination of Antonio Diaz, whose biggest win came against Micky Ward?
We can speak hypothetically for hours about what Margarito would do "if" he got a fight with one of the elite's of boxing. Posters here talk about people being afraid of Margarito. But what if Cotto did fight Margarito, and wound up keeled over like Carlos Quintana? Or what if he got a fight with De La Hoya and caught the Ricardo Mayorga treatment. How about if Floyd Mayweather bounced the hittable Margarito off the canvas a half dozen times like he did Diego Corrales?
If those things happened, what excuses would come out? People need to look at Margarito for what he is, which is a tough laborer who is in a position to fight some big names. But to think that people are afraid of this 5-defeat wearing guy, none of which came against elite fighters, premature hype.
At the end of the day, it's very difficult to root for Margarito when people try to make a big deal out of a fighter who in the grand scheme of things, hasn't accomplished anything yet. I esteem Margarito for what he is, which is a good fighter trying to do something great. But he hasn't done anything great as of this post.
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