COTTO AVENGES MARGARITO LOSS, MARES PROVES WORTHY CHAMPION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 04 Dec 2011
Two grudge rematches were settled decisively on Sunday, Manila Time, when Miguel Cotto retained his WBA super welterweight title against Antonio Margarito who had won a questionable 11th round TKO in their first meeting while bantamweight champion Abner Mares retained his IBF title with a convincing win over Ghana?s Joseph Agbeko who was a victim of countless low blows in their first fight which Mares won.
Filipino fight fans followed the action in the Mares-Agbeko fight card over AKTV IBC 13 at noon and will be able to catch the Cotto-Maragrito telecast on ABS-CBN Studio 23 at 7 p.m.
It was clear that Margarito was suffering from the battering he took at the hands of Ring Magazine?s pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao last November when his right eye was ripped apart which, despite the pleas of Pacquiao, referee Laurence Cole refused to stop.
Despite the lopsided mauling by Cotto, the game Margarito who was nailed with several big shots simply smiled them off but by the end of round seven his right eye, the same one closed shut by Pacquiao, was once again a total mess that even the huge pro-Cotto crowd of Puerto Ricans looked stunned by the sight.
One-eyed Margarito continued to fight gamely hoping for one devastating punch that could save the day for him but half blind it never came.
Ring doctor Anthony Curreri stopped the fight and said later ?It came to the point there was no vision at all from the eye. It would have been dangerous for him to go out there without any visual field. He did go quite a bit with the eye impaired.?
Margarito underwent surgery after the Pacquiao beating to repair a fractured orbital bone and the New York State Athletic Commission refused to license Margarito until he passed an eye examination conducted by Dr. Goldstein on November 22 when the Commission cleared the ?Tijuana Tornado? to fight. But it was Cotto who stormed through, aiming for the eye which was badly swollen and shut by the end of round seven.
Just as Cotto brutally avenged his loss to Margarito who he suspected of using loaded hand-wraps in a bloody beating he suffered in their first encounter, Abner Mares put to rest all doubts about his low-blow infested controversial win over Agbeko with a classy unanimous decision in their grudge rematch at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The undefeated Mares won by a wide 118-110 margin on the scorecards of all three judges? to maintain his streak at 23-0-1 with 13 knockouts although most boxing writers scored the fight much closer.
In the co-main event, Panama?s Anselmo Moreno who at one time last year was being considered as an opponent for WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire, retained his WBA bantamweight title in his US debut in a battle of southpaws.
Moreno completely out-boxed Darchinyan who vainly tried to connect with one big shot most of the time but couldn?t catch the skilful Panamanian champion.
Moreno, who has a 32-1-1 record, with 11 knockouts hopes to fight Mares next in a unification bout.
Photo: Abner Mares (R) connects with a right to the head of Joseph Agbeko during their title fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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