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The primary reason I am not willing to jump on Margarito's bandwagon as of yet is simple: Who really has he shown his abilities against?
People talk about how Margarito has been ducked, but do those same people know the specifics of the actual offers that have been made? I highly doubt it.
Margarito is no slouch, that is true. But when you have the kind of wide-open defense and lack of hand or foot speed, forgive me for being skeptical in the absence of an A-list fighter on his resume'. His best wins have been over Kermit Cintron. What he proved in the last fight is that yes, he can still beat Cintron. Outside of that, nothing new was really established.
Regardless of excuses or other explanations, a loss is a loss and underlines the presence of flaws. Whatever flaws exist were enough that they held Margarito back from beating 5 guys.
Top Rank has done a great job of promoting and publicizing Margarito. He is held in high esteem even without the existence of a big win. They find him guys who he runs over and it generates a wow factor.
What we still don't know is what happens when an elite fighter is put in front of him (i.e. Cotto, Mayweather) that has the tools to exploit Margarito's deficiencies. As highlight reel-worthy as beating Cintron was, Cintron is not Cotto or Mayweather.
In the absence of big fights to point at, what we get instead is talk. Talk oftentimes cannot be substantiated; it's gossip, hearsay etc. The talk I'm referring to are Margarito's camp's parade of names they allege have ducked Margarito. Lampley himself said during Margarito's walkout for the Paul Williams fight that the reputation of Margarito has been built largely on the fighters who have "ducked" Margarito and not the actual fighters he has beaten.
It can be said that the aura of Margarito stems from talk. Should he triumph over Cotto, what he will have proven is that his will and determination can overcome his glaring flaws. Until then, he is still unproven and flawed.
People talk about how Margarito has been ducked, but do those same people know the specifics of the actual offers that have been made? I highly doubt it.
Margarito is no slouch, that is true. But when you have the kind of wide-open defense and lack of hand or foot speed, forgive me for being skeptical in the absence of an A-list fighter on his resume'. His best wins have been over Kermit Cintron. What he proved in the last fight is that yes, he can still beat Cintron. Outside of that, nothing new was really established.
Regardless of excuses or other explanations, a loss is a loss and underlines the presence of flaws. Whatever flaws exist were enough that they held Margarito back from beating 5 guys.
Top Rank has done a great job of promoting and publicizing Margarito. He is held in high esteem even without the existence of a big win. They find him guys who he runs over and it generates a wow factor.
What we still don't know is what happens when an elite fighter is put in front of him (i.e. Cotto, Mayweather) that has the tools to exploit Margarito's deficiencies. As highlight reel-worthy as beating Cintron was, Cintron is not Cotto or Mayweather.
In the absence of big fights to point at, what we get instead is talk. Talk oftentimes cannot be substantiated; it's gossip, hearsay etc. The talk I'm referring to are Margarito's camp's parade of names they allege have ducked Margarito. Lampley himself said during Margarito's walkout for the Paul Williams fight that the reputation of Margarito has been built largely on the fighters who have "ducked" Margarito and not the actual fighters he has beaten.
It can be said that the aura of Margarito stems from talk. Should he triumph over Cotto, what he will have proven is that his will and determination can overcome his glaring flaws. Until then, he is still unproven and flawed.
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