Cotto-Margarito...the arena was 40% EMPTY.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

DAN RAFAEL:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=3506804

LAS VEGAS -- Well, it lived up to its billing, didn't it? Boxing fans, with sky-high expectations for the fight between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, appropriately named "The Battle" by promoter Top Rank, got exactly what they asked for: A riveting slugfest with a dramatic ending that left the throbbing crowd of 10,477 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in ecstasy.

And when it was over, it was Margarito, the underdog, who was the new welterweight champion after knocking Cotto down twice in the 11th round before his trainer and uncle, Evangelista Cotto, climbed the steps and waived a white towel in resignation to end a sensational fight Saturday night.

Deal with it.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

THE UNLV PAPER:

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=12200

Margarito bests Cotto in welterweight bout
The most avoided man in boxing gave good reason for his title
By: Matt Maxson, Sports Editor


IN BRIEF
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley proved something outside the ring Saturday – they knew what they were doing when they avoided fights with Antonio Margarito.

Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs) recorded a technical knockout victory over previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto (32-1, 26 KOs) at 2:05 in the 11th round to become the WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion in front of 10,477 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Despite a strong start by Cotto, Margarito managed to shrug off nearly half the punches thrown. Margarito advanced through the early rounds and added his own pressure throwing nearly 100 punches a round.

Deal with it.

[revs1227]

shoulda been in ac it was a fight fans fight not a "vegas fight"

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

shoulda been in ac it was a fight fans fight not a "vegas fight"

Agreed. Miguel would have packed out AC. Puerto Ricans in the northeast have always supported him.

[javelin_fangs]

It might have only had 10,477 fans in attendence and I did notice that there were A LOT of empty seats, BUT it did over 450,000 PPV buys which at the end of the day matters more than the percentage of the arena that was full. It could have sold out to the rafters and only done 225,000 buys, like Cotto-Judah. Instead, half as many people attended (10,000 people) and twice as many homes bought the PPV (this could be 1 million more people watching out of 225,000 buys).

I'm far from a Top Rank groupie, but if the fight is as good as that one was, I'd go for the latter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[javelin_fangs]

Agreed. Miguel would have packed out AC. Puerto Ricans in the northeast have always supported him.

The theory is that putting it in Vegas got it more buys and it might be true. Apparently the fight did about 100,000 more buys than Cotto-Mosley.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

It might have only had 10,477 fans in attendence and I did notice that there were A LOT of empty seats, BUT it did over 450,000 PPV buys which at the end of the day matters more than the percentage of the arena that was full. It could have sold out to the rafters and only done 225,000 buys, like Cotto-Judah. Instead, half as many people attended (10,000 people) and twice as many homes bought the PPV (this could be 1 million more people watching out of 225,000 buys).

I'm far from a Top Rank groupie, but if the fight is as good as that one was, I'd go for the latter any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

If the fight did 450K buys, then I owe kayjay 300K points. We'll see.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

The theory is that putting it in Vegas got it more buys and it might be true. Apparently the fight did about 100,000 more buys than Cotto-Mosley.

I also feel that if the plan was to make Miguel a huge star, and this was gonna be his "coming out party", then it made sense to put it in Vegas.

One mistake that Arum made early in Migs' career was to not move him around the country and expose regional fans to Cotto.

Cotto is at risk of being Arturo Gatti (a regionally popular fighter). And that would be a shame because his talent FAR exceeds Gatti.

[javelin_fangs]

I also feel that if the plan was to make Miguel a huge star, and this was gonna be his "coming out party", then it made sense to put it in Vegas.

One mistake that Arum made early in Migs' career was to not move him around the country and expose regional fans to Cotto.

Cotto is at risk of being Arturo Gatti (a regionally popular fighter). And that would be a shame because his talent FAR exceeds Gatti.

I agree with this post completely and the same could be said about Margarito. I guess it worked to Mayweather's advantage that he never really had a "home court." He fought all over the place and in front of modest crowds and then eventually became the ultra villain, classic talent that people either want to see success or fail miserably, but they want to see him.

Top Rank's current fighters are wildly popular within their bases, but like you said a case could be made that they're just really talented Arturo Gatti's. And yes that is a shame because they should be much more than that.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

I agree with this post completely and the same could be said about Margarito. I guess it worked to Mayweather's advantage that he never really had a "home court." He fought all over the place and in front of modest crowds and then eventually became the ultra villain, classic talent that people either want to see success or fail miserably, but they want to see him.

Top Rank's current fighters are wildly popular within their bases, but like you said a case could be made that they're just really talented Arturo Gatti's. And yes that is a shame because they should be much more than that.

I can't believe how short-sighted the Pacquiao team is with regard to this prospective DLH fight. Manny does 350K when he fights a top Mexican star. And 165K when he heads the bill solo. Why wouldn't he take even short money to help his popularity and exposure take a step function increase?