http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=15142 The stage has been set for a rematch between the two men regarded as the top welterweights of our sport. When Antonio Margarito stopped Miguel Cotto on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, WBO welterweight champion Paul Williams and his trainer/manager George Peterson, were more than thrilled with the end result. According to Peterson, the probability of landing a unification fight with Cotto, had he won, was very low. Bob Arum was planning to go in two directions if Cotto had pulled off the win. The first was a possible December fight with Oscar De La Hoya. If a De La Hoya deal fell apart, Arum was already talking about a unification fight with Joshua Clottey in Puerto Rico [if Clottey went on to beat Zab Judah on August 2 for the vacant title]. Since Williams beat Margarito in 2007 with a close, but unanimous, twelve-round decision, Peterson says a potential rematch with the "Tijuana Tornado" is a realistic possibility. Peterson believes that Williams would stop Margarito in the rematch. "Paul would beat Margarito for a third time. The first time he beat him up during training camp [referring to their infamous sparring session], the second time he beat him in a sanctioned bout. The third time he wouldn’t just beat him, he would knock Margarito out. They say Margarito has never been knocked out, well Paul would knock him out if they fight again,†Peterson would tell BoxingScene.com "None of these guys want to fight Paul. When he beat Margarito, they pretended like Paul didn't exist. He knocks out Quintana in one-round and they still pretend like he doesn't exist. Margarito wants to be the best, let him fight Paul and lets find out who is the best welterweight in the world." Talks are still ongoing for Williams to face Winky Wright at 160-pounds, but Peterson reveals that nothing is close to signed.
i would love to see margarito avenge that loss, but i wouldnt be too confident picking him in the rematch. i like williams though. the dude's willing to face anyone from 147 to 160.
I think Margarito lost the fight moreso than Williams won it. To me, the fight proved that Margarito is capable of wearing down williams, could outwork him, and hurt him. I'd take Margarito in the rematch.
that's what everyone says, but williams came out throwing like 100 jabs in the opening seconds of the first round. margarito can try to start fast himself, but i wonder how he'll be able to get past williams long range and swift footwork without getting hit (even if most of them are blocked). he also lost the last round, which was pretty damn crucial. hopefully this fight gets made before williams can no longer make weight.
Exactly. And contrary to popular thought, I think Williams is capable of hurting Margarito. He really didn't put too much mustard on his shots the last time though.
I think a rematch would be very close again. It's not just a matter of Margarito starting faster and that alone translates into a victory. Williams reach and power don't male it easy to get on the inside even for somebody with the chin and relentless aggression of Margarito. Also we've basically seen the best of Antonio and know exactly how he will fight. Perhaps Paul can make further adjustments.
Arum is looking to 'protect' Margarito from rematches with Williams and Clottey, which means sadly, I'll probably have to ignore Margarito's fights for a while and I really didn't want to, putting it mildly it's infuriating, the cautious managerial side of boxing... ...I also marvel at Sergio Diaz's frantic urgency to organise a fight with Zab Judah,....FUCK YOU. I WAS happy,.. until reading bits and pieces of what's planned around Margarito's near future, it didn't take very long to be snapped back into reality :shit: , with De La Hoya, Arum and co at the helm, we'll have 1 good fight decorated with a pile of shit :shit::shit::shit::shit: ...and if sheer and dominant capitalism is to prevail at the expense of the fans, then I'd rather see the sport DIE as a living organism, just so all the parasites can go down with the fucking ship .
This Fight is the LOGICAL Next Step for Margarita... REED Seriously DOUBTS that Cotto will Want a RE Anytime Soon, if EVER...The Floyd Angle is Always There, but Now that Cotto has Decisively LOST, REED Thinks the Likelihood of Floyd RETURNING has LESSENED... Cotto was on the Verge of the Type of MAINSTREAM Appeal that would have DEMANDED Floyd UNretire & Face him...For Better or Worse, Margarita DOESN'T Posess that...HARDCORE Fans would like to See Floyd-Margarita & Floyd's Legacy WILL Suffer a Bit if he NEVER Faces Margarita, but it's Still NOT the Type of Fight the PUBLIC will Demand... If Margarita can AVENGE the Loss to Williams, he can RIGHTFULLY Call Himself "The MAN" @ 147...ALL Roads to Welterweight Legitimacy will HAVE to Go Thru HIM... REED Wonders if this RE will B COMPROMISED @ the Negotiating Table, though...Coming Off the Cotto Win, is Margarita Gonna Take PARITY or LESS than that for the Williams RE???...Will Williams Accept LESS than HALF or Slightly MORE, KNOWING he was Scoreboard Over Margarita???... REED:kidcool:
I'm actually surprised at the number of guys who asked me about this fight so far today. More are talking about this fight than the MMA fight on CBS. I kinda think Margarito beating Cotto helps boxing especially when it was said so many times that this is a guy Floyd was afraid to fight. When you look at how Cotto attempted to use footwork and speed to beat Margarito and how Margarito kept coming regardless, in my eyes it makes a fight with Floyd more intriguing. I think the general public would feel the same.
I scored Williams-Margarito a dead-even draw. Would love to see a second match - would be just as intriguing - and in my opinon close - as the first. Gotta love Williams' heart and desire to take on anyone. Peace.
Honestly, I'd like to see Margarito get a big money fight before getting to Williams. He's certainly earned it. Also, I firmly believe that Margarito would fight Williams immediately after a DLH showdown. Supposedly there's some beef between Arum and Goosen over how a Pavlik fight fell apart, so Williams might have to wait to get the rematch.
Yup...which is why I really don't think PBF will fight Margarito. It's not an attempt to discredit PBF, it is my judgment. I don't think he'll fight Cotto either, unless Miguel looks like damaged goods in his next fight. Peace.
Sure - Margarito deserves it. As for fighting Paul...if he starts faster and forces Williams to smother himself and/or go backwards....Tony has huge chances of winning a rematch, even on points. Peace.
It's not about whether I believe he wins the fight, I'm saying he's more marketable now than he would be after a fight with Williams. USA Today is reporting that the PPV for the fight was tracking fairly high. A match with Williams won't make him a PPV entity. Let's say he gets a fight with Oscar and beats Oscar...that's more money for he and Williams. I'm usually about guys taking the best fights out there but when you consider Margarito opted to fight Williams last year INSTEAD of Cotto then worked his way back...I'd say he's long overdue for a real big money fight. Not to mention, they can sell the fight based on his history with Oscar. I forget which fight it was but Merchant said on air that Oscar said there were two fighters he'd never fight. One was Jose Luis Lopez, the other was Margarito. If Eaner were around, I'm sure he could fill us in on the sparring between Oscar and Margarito. It's my understanding that Margarito gave Oscar good work. Enough to the place where Oscar said he wouldn't fight him. My guess is, Oscar had his mouth all fixed for a fight with Cotto and Margarito's winning threw a monkey wrench in the program. Oscar's pretty much run out of options...he's gotta fight someone worth a damn.
:atu: Holy shit...was just talking about you. Congrats! It's a shame Berto doesn't get the fight. I'd love to see Margarito beat that bum.
Berto is a bum. He's in with a guy who couldn't punch at 135. An absolutely useless fight. Would be funny to see Forbes out work him.
I know...and agree with your take as I said. I was just commenting on the fight itself and how it might play out. It's funny.....'cause if Cotto had beaten Margarito and the history you've written is true, I can't see DLH wanting to fight Cotto either.
