Blog Box

By Distinio Lois, Jr.

   This Saturday night, we fight fans will see in Madison Square Garden, the return of one of the most formidable and perhaps feared Welterweight fighters’ in boxing today— former World W.B.A. 147 Pound Champion, Miguel Angel Cotto.

    Question! Which Miguel Cotto will show up Saturday night— the pre-Antonio Margarito Champion fighter, or the post-Margarito brutal knockout victim?

    Tainted by the recent revelations that Margarito may have beaten Cotto with loaded hand wraps, we wonder if Cotto is coming back too soon after that brutal loss to Margarito. Will Cotto still have some physical or traumatic effects he suffered from that beaten?

    Cotto will face super underdog, Michael Jennings for the vacant World W.B.O. 147 lb. Title. According to Jennings, “I did not come here to the U.S. to be a punching bag for anybody including Miguel Cotto.” He further stated, “This is the chance that I have been waiting for, and I am not going to blow it, I came here to win.”

   Jennings, 31, a stranger from the UK, owns an impressive fighting record of 34-1, with 16 knockouts. He seems to be a tough opponent for Cotto since his only loss was just 3 years ago, and he is on a 3-fight winning streak. Jennings also claims to have studied Cotto’s style and has the formula to beat him. Cotto scoffs at that stating, “Jennings cannot get away from my body punching, and the fact that I have been in the ring with tougher opponents including Antonio Margarito who I was beating until he knocked me out. I will win the W.B.O. title, and it take back to Puerto Rico”.

   My pick is Miguel Cotto by a hard fought decision, not ruling out a knockout by Cotto in the later rounds.

   What can I say about the double-header Middleweight title fight from Youngstown, Ohio, Kelly Pavlik vs. Mexico’s Marcos Antonio Rubio? Simply, it is expected that Pavlik is not suffering from his embarrassing loss to Bernard Hopkins, and is back on track to defend his title successfully.

   A word of caution: Champ, don’t take Rubio lightly, because he’s a tough blood and guts Mexican fighter, ‘ala’ Margarito, Marquez, Vargas, Morales, Barrera, etc. You get the picture— I like Kelly by decision.