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Cotto Summoned Great Reserve, Discipline In Taking Margarito Apart

Cotto Summoned Great Reserve, Discipline In Taking Margarito Apart – This past Saturday night WBA junior middleweight title holder Miguel Cotto 37-2 (30) did more than extract revenge over former welterweight title holder Antonio Margarito 38-8 (27), he added another year to his career and kept himself alive as a viable marquee opponent for some of the younger up and coming junior middleweights. Cotto is no longer the fighter he once was physically, but he has evolved as a fighter and showed that he is very versatile and takes what his opponent gives him.
When he fought Margarito back in 2008, without knowing that quite probably Margarito had the advantage of loaded hand wraps, he literally tried to blast his way through him. And much to his dismay he found that Antonio is a savage in the ring with a cast-iron chin. A lot of fighters with the toughness, heart and mindset of Miguel Cotto would’ve more than likely repeated the mistakes of the first fight during the rematch. Granted, Cotto boxed well during the first five rounds of their first fight, but even at that he stayed inside too long and tried to land that one big finishing shot on Margarito hoping to get him out of there, thus he left himself open for Antonio’s return. And once Margarito started to close the distance and could stay on top of him, Miguel slowly but surely succumbed to Antonio’s pressure and probable hardened hand wraps around his fists.
Well apparently, Miguel really studied the tapes of their first fight and knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish, or at least try to during their rematch. It seems as though his first priority was to never let his back touch the ring ropes. By not going to the ropes he would keep Margarito from getting set to punch with any authority. And if we know anything about Antonio, it’s that he must have his feet set and in position in order to get any leverage and power on his hooks and uppercuts. In order for Cotto to pull this off, he had to use his feet and keep Miguel turning, especially in the corners. Cotto did this beautifully and even on occasion gave Margarito a different look and circled to his right, further leaving Margarito in quicksand and forcing him to reset and start pursuing aimlessly again.
The footwork exhibited by Cotto was a sight to see and obvious to all watching the fight. This time Margarito, partly because he’s lost a step or two, wasn’t walking Cotto down. And when Margarito did land a good punch or two, Cotto smartly tied him up and halted whatever momentum Antonio was trying to build. Add to that Cotto’s punching accuracy and insistence on throwing very fast straight one-twos, Margarito was becoming befuddled as the fight progressed.
Cotto also adjusted by not running, instead he clinched and smothered Margarito and fired off quick shots to blunt his pressure and aggression. He also spun Margarito off of him beautifully the few times Antonio did penetrate his one-twos, and that not only preserved him, it frustrated Margarito. Another brilliant thing that Cotto did against Margarito during their rematch was that hasn’t been mentioned is, he seldom went to the body, something that took a lot of discipline for him being that he’s a terrific body puncher and Margarito is open to the body. By Cotto not going to the body, he was better able to protect himself because his hands were always up. Had Miguel gone to the body more, he would’ve been vulnerable up top, which Margarito would’ve fed off of had he been presented with the opportunity.
All in all Miguel Cotto fought the most complete and smartest fight of his career since his bout with Shane Mosley in 2007. Against Mosley, Cotto wisely ceded that Shane was stronger than him and would welcome punching it out with him. Therefore Cotto moved back and took advantage of Mosley trying to push the fight and walk him down by laying back and countering him, which is what he did to Margarito this time, only he got off more and took the lead frequently against the slower and more physically damaged Margarito. And this was paramount because Margarito is better fighting as the attacker than Mosley.
This past weekend Miguel Cotto showed again why he’s a real fighter. He approached the return bout with his most bitter rival so purposefully and blocked all the personal trappings out of his mind. He knew what he had to do once Margarito was in front of him in the ring and he did it to perfection. Sure, Margarito may not be the fighter he was and has no doubt slowed some, but Cotto took what he knew would be there and dominated the fight and won every round with the exception of the fourth. Now he’s avenged one of his two defeats and will no doubt participate in another marquee boxing event.
Good for him. There’s a lot of fighters around today who talk a great game and then fold like a two dollar suit in a hurricane under the bright lights. Not Miguel Cotto, he always gives his best effort win or lose. He’s a certain Hall of Famer and has been worth every penny for every fan who has purchased a ticket to his fights or bought them on PPV.
Cotto Summoned Great Reserve, Discipline In Taking Margarito Apart / Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.
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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.
Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.
It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.
Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.
Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.
Bustillo Wins Rematch
In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.
Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.
Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.
After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.
Other Bouts
In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.
A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.
SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other. There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.
It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.
Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.
Co-Feature
In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.
Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.
Other Bouts of Note
The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.
The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.
In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing
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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.
In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.
In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.
Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”
He meant it as a rhetorical question.
Semi-Windup
Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.
A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.
Also
Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.
In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.
The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.
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