The Battle (boxing) - Bout Summary

Bout Summary

Margarito, traditionally a sluggish starter, anticipated to emerge swift, but it was Cotto who got off to a more effective start by throwing numerous punches and applying plenty of movement. Cotto picked up where he left off in the second round, approaching directly at Margarito though easily getting by harm's way once Margarito sought to counterpunch. That, nevertheless, changed approximately a minute into the round, as Margarito landed a right hand that momentarily had Cotto by the ropes. Margarito directed his assault to Cotto's body, but Cotto landed various left hooks. Blood started descending from Cotto's nose, but did not discourage him from closing the round by landing a punch upon Margarito. Mobility represented the key for Cotto in the third round, efficaciously blending boxing and brawling while trying to minimize the blood flow from his nose and a small cut over his left eye. Margarito continued targeting the body, but drew two distinguish warnings for low blows in the span of less than a minute. Margarito closed the gap sufficiency in the fourth round by landing a right uppercut and attacking Cotto's body to slow him down. In the fifth round, Cotto provided plenty of lateral movement which frustrated Margarito. Cotto persisted on the move and would land a flurry of punches prior to directly escaping harm's way. Margarito landed a straight right hand that had Cotto temporarily unsteady with ten seconds to go, but Cotto eluded all of the ensuing punches until the final bell.

While Margarito did not land a lot of punches, he remained the more engaged fighter in the sixth round. A left hook to the body had Cotto on the defensive early in the seventh round, but he was able to fend off additional difficulty. A right hand from Cotto slowed Margarito, but he returned with punches that forced Cotto to clinch. Margarito commanded the bulk of the round, throwing 130 punches in the round according to Compubox. Cotto was advocated by his corner in between rounds to stay off the ropes. He obliged, providing lateral movement throughout the round but with approximately 30 seconds left, Margarito was able to trap Cotto in a corner, but Cotto managed to escape. It was more of the same in the ninth round, with Cotto going back and forth between southpaw and conventional stance. Margarito continued charging ahead, although Cotto would counterpunch sufficiency to avoid Margarito. The same pattern applied as in the previous two rounds, with Margarito charging forward and Cotto using movement while anticipating chances to counterpunch. Margarito immediately concluded the gap in the final 15 seconds, landing a left hook, left uppercut and right hand that had Cotto against the ropes. Halfway through the eleventh round, a left uppercut by Margarito left Cotto vulnerable as he took a knee after Margarito landed a right uppercut and two right hands. Cotto managed to get up, but he went down again, despite Margarito not landing another punch. The referee moved in to count, but Evangelista Cotto, Cotto's trainer and uncle, climbed on to the ring apron and threw in the towel. The official time of the stoppage was 2:05 of round eleven.