25.1.08

It's On, Part II: Margarito-Cintron Rematch On Cotto-Gomez Undercard April 12

April is shaping up to be a sweet month for boxing fans. First we had Calzaghe-Hopkins announced for April 19. Now, Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com is reporting that Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron will meet again April 12 in Atlantic City as the main undercard fight before Miguel Cotto takes on Alfonso Gomez in the main event. Throw in "Bad" Chad Dawson versus Glen Johnson, also slated for the 12th, and we've got ourselves quite a month.

Cintron simply wasn't ready for Margarito the first time they fought back in April of 2005, getting knocked out in five fairly one-sided rounds. The Killer bounced back from his lone career loss in fine fashion, knocking out five straight opponents including David Estrada and Walter Matthysse. He did have a little trouble dismissing his last foe, Jesse Feliciano, but if you saw that fight you know that was due mostly to an incredible display of chin and heart on Feliciano's part. Manager and trainer Emanuel Steward thinks Cintron is a better boxer now, and frankly, so do I.

That's not to say I expect the outcome to be different, because Margarito is coming in with some momentum of his own after destroying Golden Johnson in less than a round his last time out. I'm hedging on making a call on this fight until it gets a lot closer.

For Cotto, who seems to have inherited the title of "most ducked man in boxing" for the time being - something Margarito can relate to - he has to fight someone. So why not former Contender contestant Gomez? He's good enough to give Cotto a bit of a fight, but ultimately I expect the champ's power and underrated boxing skills to be enough to get Gomez out of there.

Edit: BoxRec.com and a few other places are reporting that the Cotto-Gomez card will take place on April 26, so keep an eye on the date. As long as it stays in April, my comment about it shaping up as a heck of a month for boxing fans still stands.

3 comments:

uatu said...

Uatu wonders if this is a wise move for Margarito. He wins, people say it's because Cintron is overrated. He loses, people say he is finished. Also, since it's an undercard fight, how much money would Margarito be making for this fight? Does this fight make sense? Shouldn't this be its own headlining fight?

Anonymous said...

This fight is great for Cintron. He'll revenge his only loss by beating Margarito and everyone will have to look at him as a top dog in the division. His nay-sayers use the Margarito loss (his only one) to say he's overrated. With that loss rectified, he'll be the best in the division. He has power and size unmatched in the division. Williams is bigger, Floyd may be quicker...but the combination of both is all Cintron. By the end of 2008, he'll be the name at the top of the list!

Nick Tylwalk said...

Here's hoping you're right. All of the staff members of BoxingWatchers.com grew up in central PA, so we love to see Cintron win as he represents Reading.