Sunday, August 03, 2008 Quijano: Oscar should be fighting Margarito, not Manny By Jingo Quijano Last Round
MARAGARITOVILLE is a gruesome place where even demons fear to tread. To get there, you hit Haymaker Highway and then turn right on Pain Boulevard. Make that a hard right.
But I wouldn’t if I were you.
Its tough alleys and dark corners are littered with haunting tales of fighters who made the mistake of invading the turf owned by the baddest Mexican of them all.
In 2005, Sebastian Lujan of Argentina visited Margaritoville with the goal of wresting away Antonio Margarito’s WBO welterweight title. For his temerity, he left Margaritoville with his left ear bloodied, torn in half—and liable to fall any second. He vowed never to return.
A few months later, it was the turn of then-undefeated Puerto Rican knockout artist Kermit Cintron who was 24-0 with 22 knockouts. He banged hard on the gates of Margaritoville but got his butt handed to him instead in FIVE rounds.
He bravely returned three years later and even made a slit throat gesture at the weigh-in. The reward for his impudence was a 6th-round knockout.
COTTO’S TURN. Last Sunday, another undefeated Puerto Rican, Miguel Cotto who was among the top five best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, visited Margaritoville and came out of it spitting blood and minus his shiny WBA welterweight belt.
What makes Margarito so effective? Last Rounder St. Michael “St. Michael” (chizmozo@hotmail.com) shares his thoughts:
“I was real high on Margarito some years back, and I knew he’s one tough hombre. As much as I liked Cotto’s technique and all round boxing skills, I didn’t think he could hurt Margarito. Tony looks very beatable on tape, but keeping him off you is easier said than done.
Cotto actually fought a perfect fight in the first half, but the problem is, he couldn’t hurt Margarito. The combinations he threw though were a thing of beauty. If it was any other welterweight, Cotto may have knocked them out with that kind of performance.
I was just disappointed that nobody talked about this fight in the local and national paper. This was a can’t-miss fight for a hardcore boxing fan. I hope you didn’t miss it co’z if you did, shame on you. LOL.. Peace!”
I totally agree, St. Michael. Shame on me indeed, if I missed it. However, I did not—and unfortunately, I even missed Sunday mass for it. But I hope you can put in a good word for me with your fellow saints up there. Thanks for your e-mail.
I predicted Margarito to win via knockout because he is freakishly strong at 147 pounds and I haven’t seen him remotely hurt in a bout.
Cotto seemed invincible coming into the fight, but I noticed his vulnerability to the uppercut which is Tony’s signature punch.
St. Michael is right in that Margarito looks quite vulnerable and beatable. He’s not that fast and he’s always easy to find.
But he likes to apply suffocating pressure and always punches in combinations. He doesn’t give a damn if he misses a few or if he gets tagged as long as he gets a few digs in. Most of his knockouts are not of the one-punch variety. He likes to beat it out of them. Plus, he’s very patient and doesn’t get tired.
OSCAR NEXT. His dramatic win over Cotto propels him to the top of the welterweight food chain and Margarito deserves the big money fight on the strength of that spectacular performance.
That is why the Last Round believes it is Margarito who should be fighting Oscar De La Hoya and not Manny Pacquiao.
Why the hell should Bob Arum, Freddie Roach and company manufacture Manny into a welterweight when we have the baddest, hungriest welterweight the sport has seen in years? (to be continued)
LAST ROUND. It’s on Loft’s Renault Lao, who recently celebrated his birthday by drowning me with several last rounds. Cheers!
