By Jake Donovan

Twice in the span of 15 months, Puerto Rican boxing superstar, Miguel Cotto conceded to terms to his detriment for the sake of promotion.

The three-division champ wasn’t present at the NYSAC meeting on Tuesday afternoon (and into the evening) to hear the news that Antonio Margarito has been licensed to fight in New York, clearing the way for their long-awaited rematch on December 3 at Madison Square Garden.

But somehow you get the sense that even among a room full of smiling faces, Cotto is the happiest man on earth right now.

The drama began last week, when the NYSAC insisted that additional medical evidence was required before deciding whether or not Margarito is fit to fight within its jurisdiction. From Wednesday’s closed doors hearing all the way through Tuesday’s long-drawn out affair, the entire ordeal was taxing on all involved, complete with rumors floating around of the event changing locations should Margarito be denied a license in New York.

A conference call on Tuesday – which oddly preceded the Margarito/NYSAC hearing – revealed a new wrinkle, when Cotto decided enough was enough and that he wasn’t going to have his handlers force any more concessions upon him.

It was New York or bust, he said. Either Margarito is licensed in the Big Apple, or Cotto just doesn’t fight him at all, expressing concern over engaging in a battle deemed as a medical risk by a state commission.

He had already conceded to his promoter’s demands the first time he fought Margarito, when it was decided that the promotion stood a better chance of the East Coast media traveling West than for the opposite to be true. As a result, the fight landed in Las Vegas, which geographically favored Margarito.

By night’s end, Cotto suffered the first defeat of his career, watching an early lead dissolve as he was dropped twice and eventually stopped in the 11th round of their instant classic.

Cotto never thought much of the loss beyond figuring out where he went wrong and what he can do to correct it.

“The first fight, I got tired and he took advantage,” Cotto admitted on Tuesday of the loss that has haunted him for more than three years. “We’ve worked on that in training camp, to make sure I’m ready for anything in this fight.”

The response reflects his initial reaction from that fight, not thinking it was anything other than losing to the better man that evening.

Then came Margarito’s next fight, complete with a handwrap scandal preceding his eventual loss to Shane Mosley in a fight that forever changed his career.

Cotto began to do his own digging, and revisited photos from the night of his own fight with the disgraced Mexican. For the past several years, he suggested that only knows what Margarito did or didn’t have in his gloves the night they fought. It was only recently when he flat out stated his belief that his rival cheated and should be viewed like a criminal.

All along, Cotto had the support of the public. What he didn’t have was the full backing of his own promoter. Not that Arum dismissed the charges outright – the Hall of Fame promoter has repeatedly stated that Cotto has the right to think whatever he wants and that he has to respect his opinion.

However, the line gets blurred beyond that point. He feels there still exists an obligation to Margarito, whom Arum has vehemently defended through the entire ordeal, and still securing him high profile fights three years later, despite boasting just a single tune-up win since the night of the Cotto fight.

Fifteen months after his first loss, Cotto entered his November ’09 showdown with pound-for-pound king as a reigning two-time welterweight titlist. He wound up fighting tooth and nail with Top Rank over the conditions for the fight, which was once again in Las Vegas. Cotto’s stance was that the fight is either at a catchweight and his title not at stake if Pacquiao wasn’t willing to go all the way up to welterweight, or for the fight to be at the full 147 lb. welterweight limit with the belt on the line.

Cotto lost that negotiating battle, but managed to come to well enough terms with the only promoter in his pro career (besides his own promotional company) as he signed a contract extension. He went on to suffer a terrible beating en route to a 12th round stoppage.

Two wins later, Cotto was once again presented with the idea of rematching Margarito. This time around it was going to be on terms – fight at Madison Square Garden in Puerto Rican-friendly New York City, and at the weight of his choosing.

The demand of a 150 lb. catchweight and same-day weigh in cap of 160 lb. didn’t go over very well with the Margarito camp, which led to a compromised catchweight of 153 lb, one pound below the super welterweight division where Cotto reigns as champion. 

Cotto still gets homecourt advantage, though he insists that it was never about negotiating for any particular edge. All he wanted was for everything to be on the up and up, to enter the ring with a clear conscience and the confidence that everyone stood behind him after a decade’s worth of loyal service.

The decision made on Tuesday by the NYSAC – albeit after a delay of nearly four hours – enabled him to continue with the fight in accordance with the terms of the contract of which he signed with a hint of resignation after once vowing to never again wanting to see Margarito in the ring.

Margarito being medically cleared to fight means that the fight remains at Madison Square Garden. It means that Cotto still retains a guaranteed payday of $5 million – double that of the first man to beat him as a pro, fairly or otherwise.

Ultimately, it means that Cotto – after ten years of doing all of his talking in the ring – finally gets to stand up and be heard, and that everyone else was forced to sit down and listen.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com