The Stage is Set for July Fireworks By Steve Kim (April 14, 2008) Photo © German Villasenor Send this page to friend Give us your feedback Everything went as planned for Top Rank this past weekend at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's perfunctory tune-up title defense against a former reality show contestant went as scripted, as he halted Alfonso Gomez in five. Before that, Antonio Margarito would make it two-for-two by battering Kermit Cintron with a variety of body shots, stopping him in six. Forget the 4th of July, it's the 26th of that month that figures to have all the fireworks when Cotto and Margarito are scheduled to collide. "Top Rank fighters fight," stated Bob Arum at the post-fight press conference. "Antonio and Miguel are Top Rank fighters; no nonsense, they come to fight. A lot of people who watched that fight said that Miguel Cotto is the best fighter in the world. You have to judge, but he's damn, damn, good. And I think that some of you people who may have misguidedly cast a vote for 'fighter of the year' and neglected the fact that this man on my right (Cotto) beat Zab Judah and beat Shane Mosley, two real fighters. No Mickey Mouse, no 24/7's, no dropping F-bombs, but real honest working fighters." Geez, guess who Arum is alluding to? To him, this is about guys who would much rather engage in boxing than every other extracurricular activity. "This is about honest guys who come to fight, who conduct themselves like gentlemen. This is what this sport really has. It's not Floyd Mayweather and his F-bombs, that's not the sport. It's not old fighters that hang on past the time they should retire. That's not what the sport is about. It's fighters in their prime who come to fight and are real gentlemen," Arum would continue. While Mayweather continues to hold the 'real' welterweight title hostage, Dr. Arumstein, who helped to create this monster, continues to poke and prod at his former protégé. And by matching Cotto and Margarito, he hopes to shame Mayweather into facing the winner eventually. Cotto basically toyed with the overmatched Gomez over their five rounds, flooring him twice and cutting him. It was a systematic destruction from a fighter who regularly takes apart his foes in systematic fashion. As you saw his clean visage afterwards it was as though he had come out of the shower, ready for a night on the town. Gomez looked like his face had been through a meat grinder, and he covered it with sunglasses. This was a 401k fight for him, one that ensures a nice nest egg for his future. It wasn't too long ago he was making a relative pittance for scrapping with the likes of Jesse Feliciano. The assault and battery he took at the hands of Cotto netted him a high six-figure purse. He was never going to win this fight (that's why he was tabbed by Top Rank) but just getting to this plateau (and it's payday) is a victory in itself for Gomez and his management. Before Cotto's easy night, Margarito would once again overpower Cintron with a heavy diet of hooks and uppercuts to the midsection. The storyline coming into this bout centered on the psychological rehabilitation of Cintron, who since breaking down in tears after getting stopped by 'the Tijuana Tornado' in April of 2005, had put together five straight knockout victories under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward, winning the IBF title in the process. There had been whispers that perhaps Margarito, who had just celebrated the dreaded 'three-oh' in mid-March, was a declining - and overrated - fighter in the wake of his loss to Paul Williams. At Friday’s weigh-in, after both fighters went nose-to-nose, Cintron would back away and give Margarito the throat-slash gesture in what was perhaps a moment of false (or even misguided) bravado. Margarito would respond by rubbing his eyes, to mock Cintron for the emotional breakdown he suffered after their initial encounter. After a back-and-forth first that saw both men land their share of leather, the withering body attack of Margarito would chip away at the interior of Cintron. Like Paul Bunyan he would keep hacking away, but instead of an ax, his tool of choice was a grinding left hook. And it was finally 'tiiiimmmmberrrr' in the sixth, as a perfectly placed left to the ribs of Cintron sent him down to the canvas writhing in pain, unable to beat the count. "I knew Kermit was going to come out fighting. I knew he was going to come out prepared," Margarito would say through his manager, Sergio Diaz. "But I was prepared myself. I was prepared to go home with that title." While Cintron landed some hard shots, he never found the success he enjoyed in the first half of the opening round. As Margarito was able to gauge the speed and power of Cintron, he slowly walked him down. "By the second or third round I had seen that he was starting to fold. But I wasn't going to go out to try for the knockout, I knew eventually the knockout was going to come," he said. Give Cintron this, while he imploded in his first fight versus Margarito from the mere stress of the moment, this time around he stood in there and tried to fend off Margarito with much more vigor. But while both fighters can pitch, it's Margarito's superior ability to catch and keep his poker face intact that is the big difference between the two. More than once Cintron would double-over in pain from a body shot and turn his back to punches and complain to the referee. But it was this tornado's swath of destruction downstairs that paved the way for Margarito's conquest. "I noticed in the prior fights that Kermit, when he's defending himself from punches to the head, he leaves his body open," he remarked. "So I noticed that and that was part of my plan, going in, feinting on top, but going down to the bottom and I knew eventually he was going to fold." It set the stage for his long-awaited shot at a blue chip, marquee name that he's been yearning for. As he exulted with his cornermen in the immediate moments after his victory, he would then run over to Arum, who was just making his way into the ring, and he seemed to be saying to him, 'Bob, you promised me. C'mon now.' Arum responded immediately by nodding his head in agreement. "The time is here, the time has come," Margarito would say in regards to July 26th. "They've given a date. I know Cotto's going to come in 100-percent. This is going to be a bloody war. But I'm going to be ready, he's going to be ready. I have a big heart, he has a big heart. The people better be ready for a big fight." JULY 26TH The emails are already pouring in about Cotto-Margarito (maybe they could bill this one 'Immovable Object vs. Irresistible Force) and where the fight is headed to. Arum made it clear that while he has reserved July 26th, no venue is in place as of yet. Las Vegas (specifically the MGM Grand from what Arum told me on Friday night) had shown a high level of interest. But there's one glitch - their rule that says fighters weighing over 135 pounds must wear 10-ounce gloves. What has really irked Arum is that he has tried in vain to set up a meeting with those in charge of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to perhaps get something done about this, but to no avail. It is believed that Nevada is the only commission with this rule. And from the very beginning it had its detractors (me included), who believed this was nothing more than just a political move and a misguided over-reaction to the death of Leavander Johnson. Poor administrating that night - not 8-ounce gloves - killed Johnson. The job of the commission in Nevada, from what I've been told numerous times, is to protect the financial interest of the state. Well, it looks like in this instance, if they lose this fight, which figures to be a pretty big promotion, they have failed. This is another example of why boxing needs to be run by boxing people, not bureaucrats or politicians. USS JOHNSON Perhaps Chad Dawson is still the future of the light heavyweight division, but this much is clear, Glen Johnson is still very much a factor in it's present - and unless the WBC does the right thing by mandating a rematch (much like they did on the behalf of Antonio Tarver in 2004 versus Roy Jones) he'll continue to be avoided. But once again, even in 'defeat', Johnson shows why he is one of the sport’s marvels. At age 39, Old Man River keeps flowing. To me, Johnson is like one of those old great battleships. He's big, strong, battle-tested and taken some strong blows to the hull. But most of all, he seems damn near unsinkable. More on Johnson later this week on Maxboxing. ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESS Folks, just so you know, the most affordable way to get into Atlantic City, New Jersey is to fly into Philadelphia and take the train (which costs you eight bucks). Flying directly into Atlantic City is not cheap. I've had more than one email asking this. I have a feeling if Cotto-Margarito ended up on Venus, boxing fans would find a way to get there. WIDE AWAKE I gotta hand it to Arum. On Friday night at the Tropicana, Top Rank had a Telefutura show and the 76-year old promoter was on press row watching the fights. Now, I figured for a show of this caliber he would be disinterested or perhaps even doze off like Tommy Lasorda would during the middle innings of games during his last years with the Dodgers. Instead, Arum, would watch the action taking place between Henry Bruseles-Ben Tackie and Jesus Soto-Karass-Chris Smith intently while keeping a running scorecard and commentary with everyone around him. I can't lie, I've fallen asleep more than once watching 'Solo Boxeo' and 'Friday Night Fights'. The man still loves his boxing. And I respect the hell out of that. FINAL FLURRIES I thought the pre-fight feature on Cintron and his uncle, Benjamin Serrano, was outstanding. I wish HBO would get back to doing more of these vignettes, which used to be their trademark....I was told by one source that Marco Antonio Rubio will be Kelly Pavlik's opponent on September 27th....If Jermain Taylor doesn't face a Roy Jones, Felix Trinidad or Ricardo Mayorga, he could be in there with Brian Vera, who just recently upset Andy Lee....Anyone else notice Marshall Kauffman, Cintron's former manager/trainer in the third row of the fights on Saturday? I have a feeling he wasn't too broken up over the results....There should be a rule, if you got KO'd and broke down emotionally the first time you faced a fighter, you are not allowed to do the 'throat-slash' gesture to them prior to the rematch....After all these years, Mel Kiper Jr's hair is still strong..... For Questions or Comments E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com Today's Boxing Press Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums