Tweet
When Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto step into the ring, both are going to do so for vastly different reasons.
Cotto will be doing so to prove that Margarito did use illegal hand wraps against him. *In his case, his fists are the prosecutor, the decision will be the judge and the fans will be the jury. *
If Margarito loses, it doesn't matter that he officially won the first fight because in the eyes of Cotto and the fans, it will be transformed into a loss.
In Margarito's case the opposite is true. *If he can show that he is able to punish Cotto with the same power he did in the first fight, he will prove that he did it cleanly to some fans. *Others still won't believe him, but it will look goof for his legacy.
And yet he will still always be the man who almost walked into the ring with loaded gloves against Mosley.
Boxing fans are forgiving. *Sometimes they are a little too forgiving.
A boxer can go to jail for some of the most heinous things and still be loved by the fans. *Just so long as they can compete in the ring.
On the other side, if they do something inside the ring that betrays those fans and breaks the rules of boxing, they are immediately treated like a*pariah.
Margarito chose to do that, and because of it, will never reach redemption with many fans.
He didn't get it when he fought Manny Pacquiao and fought through a broken orbital bone to a decision loss, and he won't get it now.
That is because when a boxer does something illegal to gain an edge they are essentially doing what they can to kill their opponent over money and a belt.
And because the fighter facing them doesn't know about the other's cheating, he will continue to go round after round even if it causes him serious damage. *It happened with Billy Collins Jr. when he faced Luis Resto.
It might have even happened to Miguel Cotto when he faced Margarito.
Luckily, in Cotto's case the damage wasn't permanent. *Now, even if Margarito didn't cheat against him, he is giving Margarito another chance to make millions of dollars.
More importantly, Cotto is taking a chance by stepping into the ring with not only Margarito, but his demons from that night and how it might have been different.
Where as Margarito now lives in the shadow of what he did in the Mosley fight and what he might have done in the Cotto fight, Cotto seeks to escape it.
It is easy to see which takes more courage.
And that is why even if Margarito does get his hand raised on Saturday, he still won't have won.
Link
Cotto will be doing so to prove that Margarito did use illegal hand wraps against him. *In his case, his fists are the prosecutor, the decision will be the judge and the fans will be the jury. *
If Margarito loses, it doesn't matter that he officially won the first fight because in the eyes of Cotto and the fans, it will be transformed into a loss.
In Margarito's case the opposite is true. *If he can show that he is able to punish Cotto with the same power he did in the first fight, he will prove that he did it cleanly to some fans. *Others still won't believe him, but it will look goof for his legacy.
And yet he will still always be the man who almost walked into the ring with loaded gloves against Mosley.
Boxing fans are forgiving. *Sometimes they are a little too forgiving.
A boxer can go to jail for some of the most heinous things and still be loved by the fans. *Just so long as they can compete in the ring.
On the other side, if they do something inside the ring that betrays those fans and breaks the rules of boxing, they are immediately treated like a*pariah.
Margarito chose to do that, and because of it, will never reach redemption with many fans.
He didn't get it when he fought Manny Pacquiao and fought through a broken orbital bone to a decision loss, and he won't get it now.
That is because when a boxer does something illegal to gain an edge they are essentially doing what they can to kill their opponent over money and a belt.
And because the fighter facing them doesn't know about the other's cheating, he will continue to go round after round even if it causes him serious damage. *It happened with Billy Collins Jr. when he faced Luis Resto.
It might have even happened to Miguel Cotto when he faced Margarito.
Luckily, in Cotto's case the damage wasn't permanent. *Now, even if Margarito didn't cheat against him, he is giving Margarito another chance to make millions of dollars.
More importantly, Cotto is taking a chance by stepping into the ring with not only Margarito, but his demons from that night and how it might have been different.
Where as Margarito now lives in the shadow of what he did in the Mosley fight and what he might have done in the Cotto fight, Cotto seeks to escape it.
It is easy to see which takes more courage.
And that is why even if Margarito does get his hand raised on Saturday, he still won't have won.
Link
Comment