By Miguel Rivera
Last month, former world champion Antonio Margarito explained that he was very upset at missing out on the one contest he desired since his comeback began in early 2016.
He wanted a third fight with four division champion Miguel Cotto, who returns on December 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Cotto is planning to retire by year's end, and Margarito will not be his final career opponent. Cotto will defend his WBO junior middleweight title against heavy underdog Sadam Ali, who moves up from the welterweight division.
Margarito (41-8, 27 KOs) split two fights with Cotto in the longstanding rivalry.
In 2008, Margarito took away the unbeaten record of Cotto in an emotional war in Las Vegas, where the Mexican slugger broke Cotto down and stopped him in the eleventh round. There was a rematch in 2011, which saw Cotto stop Margarito in the ninth round - after the ringside doctors became worried over Margarito's injured eye in the fight.
"I think I'll be back in the ring for 2018, maybe in the month of March or in April. And the truth is - I would have loved the third fight with Cotto to get revenge, but now it can't happen anymore," said Margarito to ESPN Deportes.
"The one opponent that I really wanted, the one I was looking, after everything I won't have the trilogy fight with Cotto, which is what I wanted."
According to Cotto, a third fight with Margarito was never under consideration and he would have never agreed to a trilogy bout with the Mexican slugger.
Even several years after avenging his first career defeat, Cotto harbors a real dislike for his Mexican rival. The former four division champion believes Margarito loaded his gloves in their first fight.
"I did not get any proposal [for a third fight with Margarito], I was not interested [in Margarito], I'm not interested now and I will never be interested," said Cotto.
2023-10-19 22:37:15
