Time for some more good boxing starting this Saturday, April 12, 2008 live on HBO. It is a doubleheader, first Kermit Cintron defending his IBF Welterweight Title against the only man to defeat him in the professional ranks, Antonio Margarito. Then in the main event Miguel Cotto will be putting his undefeated record and WBA Welterweight Title up against Alfonso Gomez of the Contender fame. I will start with the main event first.COTTO-GOMEZ:
Miguel Cotto is one of the hardest working fighters around today. No matter the adversity in the ring, he is going to find a way to win. As he goes up against Alfonso Gomez, most expect Cotto to just roll right through Gomez. Not so sure it will happen that way. I do think Cotto will win, but it maybe a little harder than expected. The strengths of Cotto are his relentless body punches. Cotto loves to get inside a little and bang to the body to slow a fighter down if not stop him completely. In order for Cotto to be successful against Gomez, he is going to have to cut off the ring and bang Gomez to the body. Keep his hands up to have a better defense because sometimes Cotto does get caught with clean punches. At Welterweight, Cotto seems to be a lot stronger less weight drained therefore making his stamina a lot better. For Gomez to win, he is going to have to box. Establish a jab early and often. Gomez has a heart bigger than a lion and is not afraid to trade shots with Cotto. However to be successful with Cotto that would not be in his best interest. Gomez is not as strong as Cotto, but I believe is a lot quicker. Stick and move is the key for Gomez. He has some sting in his punches, but I do not think he has enough sting to really hurt Cotto in a fight. Gomez is going to want to avoid an inside fight with Cotto where Cotto's body punches really take effect. Gomez usually has pretty good stamina and for this fight he will need it as he will have to stay on his toes to box. A major key for Gomez is to not be stationary for Cotto to catch him. He needs to be on the move as far as boxing. Many confuse being on your toes and boxing as running which is not true. He just needs to stop long enough to land his jab and a follow-up punch and then get out the way before Cotto throws back. At the end of the day I see Cotto winning a hard fought UD over Gomez. Gomez, like always, will give his all and will earn a lot of respect for that. Can Gomez win, sure but will he I do not think so. However anything is possible once you are in the ring.
Cintron-Margarito:
When Kermit Cintron gets in the right Saturday it will be about 11 days shy of 2 years since he lost to Antonio Margarito. Back then, Cintron was pumped up as a power puncher and that was about it. Margarito picked Cintron apart and TKOd him in 5 rounds. Well that was then and this is now. Margarito was then the WBO Welterweight Champion, but today he does not have a belt. Kermit Cintron has the IBF Welterweight Title and he intends on keeping it. This fight has so much underlying drama that you can't help but be excited to watch it. Revenge is on the mind of Kermit Cintron and many including myself believe he can do it. Cintron has hired and been working with Emmanuel Steward for a few fights. Since then Cintron has put his punches together a lot better and the combinations have been great. He is moving his head more and his defense is better. In order for Cintron to win this fight, he has to forget about the first fight. Do not let emotions come into the fight or he could lose before the first bell. From the first bell Cintron needs to establish his jab. Stay calm, jab and move. Margarito is a strong come forward fighter, so he will be available to hit. Margarito tends to throw lots of punches, but not all of his punches have a lot of power on them. By throwing lots of punches, that means he is open to be hit a lot. Cintron needs to use the first round or two to establish and jab and slowly follow up with a hard right hand. As the fight proceeds he will begin to find more openings especially to the body of Margarito. I think with the power Cintron has, he will slow Margarito down from throwing so many punches. Margarito has slowed some of his activity in recent fights, so maybe hard fights is catching up to him. If that is true then it is a positive for Cintron. Now for Margarito to win, he has to be aggressive. We already know he likes to come forward, but he needs to move his head more. He may want to be more economical with his punches and make more of them count. Margarito has a pretty good chin, but he does not need to overexpose it by throwing so many punches or not moving his head. Plus if he picks his punches well, he can possibly get Cintron down again. The advantage Margarito has already is he has TKOd Cintron once before. So in Margarito's mind he knows he can do it again and he has to make Cintron remember that. Margarito needs to establish a jab and good head movement. Attack to the body to make Cintron remember how hard he hits. He needs to help Cintron find the canvas again. With all that said, this fight is a pick em fight. Cintron did not look too good in his last fight against journeyman Jesse Feliciano. Plush Cintron hurt his hand, just like he had done before he fought Margarito the first time. Margarito lost his WBO Title to Paul Williams in July and appeared to have lost a little step in his fight game. I am going to root for Cintron because I like him a little better and with Emmanuel Steward in his corner I have more confidence. However Margarito beat once and it is far from impossible for him to do it again. I am just ready to see the fight.
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