LAS VEGAS -- If Antonio Margarito thought he had trouble getting a fight before, he may never find anyone brave enough to take him on now. Not after the way he pounded heavily favored Miguel Cotto on Saturday in a World Boxing Assn. welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand.
In a dominating performance, Margarito had the previously unbeaten Cotto on his heels throughout the fight before knocking him to the canvas twice in a 30-second span late in the 11th round. Cotto's corner then threw in the towel, stopping the fight with 55 seconds left in the round.
Cotto, trailing on two of the three scorecards when the bout was halted, had been knocked down only once in 32 professional fights.
"Obviously, Cotto is a strong fighter," Margarito said. "But as the fight went on I told my corner I would wear him down and then knock him down. I told them [that] the knockout would come and the knockout came.
"He never hurt me, really."
Certainly, Cotto couldn't say the same, bolting from the ring immediately after the fight. With a look of shock on a face that was bloodied and swollen, Cotto huddled alone in his dressing room with his wife and three children before leaving for an expected trip to the hospital.
Where Margarito (37-5, 27 knockouts) goes from here is tough to say, but at least he'll be calling the shots. With his punishing, aggressive style, the 30-year-old from Tijuana has been the welterweight other fighters love to avoid, with even Floyd Mayweather Jr. reportedly turning down $8 million for a fight with him.
Now that he owns the championship, though, anyone with designs on the title will have to come through him.
It's unlikely Oscar De La Hoya, still the most bankable name in boxing, will offer to make Margarito the opponent in his planned retirement bout in December. And Mayweather may simply choose to stay retired if coming back means fighting Margarito.
Which could make a fight with Shane Mosley, if he beats Ricardo Mayorga in September, or a rematch with Cotto (32-1, 26 KOs) among the most likely next steps.
"Life continues," said Cotto, 27, whom many considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world before Saturday. "It's not over for me. I'm going to take a long rest [then] decide what to do next."
