The Battle (boxing) - Post-fight

Post-fight

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com described the fight as a "riveting slugfest with a dramatic ending that left the throbbing crowd of 10,477 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in ecstasy". The referee for the bout Kenny Bayless called it "the best fight I've ever done". Fightnews.com writers Andreas Hale and Victor Perea called it "an instant classic that gave boxing fans all over the world all they could handle...and then some". Dave Larzelere of Sporting News wrote that it "was unquestionably the fight of the year". Compubox wrote, "Margarito-Cotto was billed as 'The Battle' and it certainly lived up to the name as they proved why they are among the best boxing has to offer". BoxingScene.com writer Jake Donovan wrote that "It was brutal, and lived up to everyone's exceedingly high expectations". Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports named it the third best boxing match of 2008. The fight generated 450,000 pay-per-view buys, the third highest in 2008 for a boxing match.

Following the victory, Margarito became The Ring magazine's #1 ranked boxer in the welterweight division, and he replaced Cotto in their rankings as the #6 ranked boxer in the world, pound-for-pound. For Cotto, The Ring magazine dropped him to #3 in their welterweight rankings and #10 in their pound-for-pound rankings. With the loss, Cotto's fight with Oscar De La Hoya, which would have guaranteed Cotto $25 million, was off. De La Hoya instead opted to fight The Ring magazine's #1 ranked pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao on December 6, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Margarito made his first title defense against Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009, losing to him by technical knockout in the ninth round. The California State Athletic Commission revoked the licenses of Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo for a year on February 10, 2009, after it was discovered before the fight that a plaster-like substance on illegal pads was found inside Margarito's hand wraps. On February 21, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Cotto claimed the vacant WBO welterweight title by defeating Michael Jennings by fifth round technical knockout. In his second title defense, Cotto defeated former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey by split decision at Madison Square Garden on June 13, 2009.