Did Margarito cheat in his fight against Cotto?

Outside of either Marga-cheat-o or one of his trainers admitting to it, there will never be conclusive proof of it.

HOWEVER:

I believe that there is some circumstancial evidence that implies as much.

#1: Mosley vs Marga-cheat-o is the only fight in which we are 100% certain that Marga-cheat-o didn't have his wraps loaded with plaster. It's also the only fight in which Marga-cheat-o's opponent didn't wear down. It was the worst fight of his career, and, once having been considered the most durable fighter in all of boxing, was KO'd by a blown-up lightweight.

#2: Cotto's face blew up in a way that, while plausible, seemed uncharacteristic for him. There has been cut-prone fighters in the past that would blow up like that, but Cotto has never done so in the past. And he did fight Mosely, the same guy that demolished Marga-cheat-o.

#3: Plaster takes time to harden. I think it's likely that it took Marga-cheat-o's plaster-soaked wraps a good 6 rounds to harden. Against both Cotto and Paul Williams, Marga-cheat-o surged after round 6. There was another fight in which Marga-cheat-o was being outboxed against an African fighter (i think), in which the fight had to be stopped due to a freaky cut. I believe these 3 fights infer that Margo-cheat-o's hands become harder once the plaster sets.

#4: Cotto's behavior. It's very subjective, but I imagine a fight between a guy wearing 10 oz gloves, and a bare fisted fighter would be very similar. Cotto simply couldn't find a way to land good shots without paying dearly. He didn't know what to do, so he tried to reduce the amount of actual fighting with some rather useless side to side movement. The fact that Cotto quit tells me that he was hurt rather than debilitated. He had his wits about himself, but he just couldn't handle the pain. I think that this could be a sign of getting hit with plastered hands rather than a typical hand. I once sparred an opponent that used 18 oz gloves while I used 16 oz gloves. I was able to stay in there while the opponent couldn't trade. It was a very obvious advantage that we didn't realize until we started sparring. My opponent's behavior was similar to Cotto's.

#5: comparative study using similar opponents. Both Mosley and Margarito fought Cotto. Mosley and Cotto was mostly a draw. Cotto and Marga-cheat-o was a wipeout after 6 rounds. Given that Cotto and Mosley were similar in talent, then both fighters should turn in generally similar performances, meaning close decisions all around. Mosley blasted Marga-cheat-o.

The difference maker is that Marga-cheat-o didn't have his hardened plaster "kicking in" for him against Mosley like it did against Cotto and Williams. It explains why he was such a great late-rounds/attrition fighter.

I just watched Bloodboxings new video on youtube, and he was saying a lot of things that make sense and I think that everyone should check it out. You don't know all the facts, so don't start trying to tear this man down. With all of the rat bastards in boxing today they just might of wanted an excuse to discredit Margarito win or lose. It is not like the higher ups wanted him to win against Cotto, so they want to make it seem like he cheated. He is not as marketable as Cotto stylistically and he doesn't have the mainstream audiences attention like Cotto. When Margarito beat Cotto, he took away a huge payday for everyone in boxing, because a fight with Mayweather was finally starting to get on the horizon. If they find a way to prove this is right, the loss could be erased and the fight could still happen. All I am saying is in boxing you will never find a clear angle in the controversey. Blood put it best when he said "It is not guilty until proven innocent, it is innocent until proven guilty."

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

Did Margarito cheat in his fight against Cotto?

After he was easily beaten by Mosley, it kinda makes you think.

Margarito Boxer

This will bring boxing down a notch. We have to wait for the results somewhere Feb 10. Investigation is ongoing now. But if hardening matter was in the gauze then Margo and trainer should be banned from Boxing. And perhaps law suits left and right from previous boxers follow up. Especially from Cotto, his face was badly batter.

One fact to point out here is every boxer gets assigned a person from the boxing commission as neutral observant. from the time the boxer steps into the locker room all the way till the final glove is done.

This person assures the proper bandage is placed and no illegal matter is inserted in the gloves.

Great answer Elmer. I like how you really took your time typing all that. I just want to add that I watched the Cotto fight again and noticed in just round 2, Cotto's nose was dripping blood and his face was all bruised up. Remember Cotto was still doing well in the earlier rounds.

After Mosley fought Margo for 8 1/2 rounds, his face looked untouched. I think to say this is the first time Margo tried to do this is kinda naive, don't you think? Why with Shane, when Margo is expected to win 4:1? Doesn't it make sense for him to try to do this to Cotto since he(Margo) was the underdog.

I think only the hardcore Margo fans deny this. I myself is a fan but cheating is just wrong. Boxers have families, they have to be there for their kids. The risk you put them through by cheating is extremely selfish and not excusable.

I truly think that he did cheat!

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the hard, and illegal substance that was found inside his gloves.

I am a fan of Miguel Cotto & I really couldn't believe that Margarito beat him. I guess the fight of margarito vs. mosley comes to show that margarito did cheat.

It irritates me so i'm hoping for a rematch so my boy Cotto can show the "tijuana tornado" what it takes to win . . . without cheating.

I have to grudgingly admit, ElmerFuddstein has pretty much given a flawless answer, and whether you believe the best or worst of Margarito, you cannot argue with Elmer's deductive reasoning, GREAT answer Elmer, thumbs up.

If he used this type of padding against Mosley, he probably used it against Cotto and probably other fights as well. No one can prove it, but my guess is he probably did.

I must say so, they found plaster, thats horrible, he shud be suspended for a while. If it wasnt professional boxing, if you pack your gloves you get beaten to within an inch of your life