Live Blog: Margarito vs. Clottey and Cotto vs. Quintana

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 7:33 PM EST in Live Boxing Coverage (Round-By-Round)

Update [2006-12-2 22:16:20 by Matt Miller]: Margarito wins by UD. The judges must have been on crack, though. Margarito may have won, but the scoring was criminal. Clottey put up a great fight for a guy with a broken hand, and the fight was very close.

Kevin and I will be live blogging these two great fights tonight, right here in this thread. Kevin has picked Cotto over Quintana (though he acknowledges Quintana is a major threat) and, in an upset, Clottey over Magarito. Magarito is favored by almost 5 to 1 in the current Vegas odds, so he's going out on a limb there.

I admire that, but I don't see Margarito losing this one. It's not that I'm a huge Margarito fan. In fact, I agree that he's overhyped. But I think Arum chose this fight for a reason, and he sure as hell doesn't want to see the guy he has invested so much of his money and reputation in lose. Styles make fights, as we all know, and I think this one favors Margarito. Margarito by TKO in, say, round nine.

Scott split with Kevin on the Cotto fight, picking Quintana, and I can see why. This fight is going to be very hard fought, and I'm predicting it's the most entertaining fight of the night. I think it's basically a pick-em match, considering Cotto's problem with southpaws. Still, I'm going to go with the stronger Puerto Rican here and say that Cotto knocks Quintana out late, lets say round 10.

For the HBO fights, which Scott will be live blogging, I also don't see any big upsets in the making, though if there is one, it will be Lacy losing because he was so badly battered by Calzaghe in his last fight. I really wonder how much confidence he will have. I see Wright beating Quartey pretty handily in a UD.

For the record, I'm the Bad Left Hook fight calling champion of the world! I've only missed one call (two if you count Peter vs. Toney, but Toney won that fight). So my record is either 11 or 12 out of 13 since this blog began, depending on who you thought won the Toney vs. Peter fight. I hope to see that improve tonight.

So join us for constant live updates below the fold. We can't promise professionalism (Kevin and I will both be pretty hammered), but we do promise to be lively.

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Comments

to be concise

I'm picking Winky, Lacy (but I think he's going to have some problems), Quintana and I think today I'm swayed toward Clottey on little more than a gut feeling.

by Scott Christ on Dec 2, 2006 8:26 PM EST reply actions

Pre-fight Hype

"Overlooked Margarito," "hardnosed Clottey."

Clottey: "I need to win this fight for my country. I need to help them win the bets."

Seems like a nice guy, I liked his attitude.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:09 PM EST reply actions

BTW

Both Kevin and I will be posting under his name. We're sharing a computer right now. This is Matt. We'll try to let you know who's talking.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:11 PM EST reply actions

R1

Kevin and I both give Margarito the first round, mainly because he kept moving forward and looked like the aggressor. Neither landed anything major. Very even.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:28 PM EST reply actions

R2

Clottey really comes on strong now. Landing the left hook at will. Kevin and I both give Clottey this round easily.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:28 PM EST reply actions

R3

Clottey's defensive skills are taking over. Whoa! Huge left hook by Clottey! More pressure from Clottey. Clottey punishing M now. Clottey running with this round. The crowd is actually cheering for Clottey now. K and I easily give this one to Clottey.

Can you spell UPSET?

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:32 PM EST reply actions

R4

Margarito making an effort to stay busier. Looking better but Clottey is more accurate. I give this one to Clottey too as does Kevin. This fight could get dirty.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:36 PM EST reply actions

R5

Clottet trying to discourage M by acting as if he can't hurt him. Clottey taking this round off, it seems. Clottey seems to be taunting him, but Margarito is winning the round by default. K and I both give this one to M, but I think Clottey is fighting smartly.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:40 PM EST reply actions

R6

Pawing with his left, Clottey apparently has an injured left hand. I give round six to Margarito as does Kevin. This sucks that Clottey is injured. He was winning pretty well before now.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:44 PM EST reply actions

R7

More of the same. Clottet can't win without his left hand. Clottet is holding his own somewhat now. Now M throws a low blow. K and I both give that one to Clottey.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:49 PM EST reply actions

R8

Margarito is staying very busy now. Great round. Clottey is back now. Hitting with accuracy. Another round for Clottey. From now on, assume that Kevin agrees unless I note it here.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:52 PM EST reply actions

R9

More of a brawl now. M gets C in the corner getting hit now. Margarito takes this round pretty easily.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 9:56 PM EST reply actions

R10

Clottey's hand is hurting him badly. Clottey could win if he can stay away like he is now. He is protecting his hand too much though. The crowd is booing because they do not know that his hand is hurt. We give this round to Clottey, though, because Margarito couldn't catch him when he danced.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 10:00 PM EST reply actions

R11

Both are slowing down. Very close fight. Very close round. Margarito pulls this round out by staying busier again. But this isn't much of a win, if it happens.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 10:05 PM EST reply actions

R12

Clottey needs this round. Close. Clottey wins this very close round.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 10:08 PM EST reply actions

A judge actually score this

118-109. That's a travesty. This was a much closer fight than these scores indicated.

by Kevin Gonzalez on Dec 2, 2006 10:13 PM EST reply actions

Cotto vs. Quintana

We're ready for the big event. Kevin is NERVOUS. Cotto is K's favorite boxer (mine is Toney). But Kevin is much more level headed about his choice. I sort of blindly cheer for Toney no matter what he looks like.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:37 PM EST reply actions

R1

Very busy for a first round. Great round--a rumble. Massive action. We both give this tremendous first round to Quintana. He's simply more accurate. This is going to be a great fight, you can just tell.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:44 PM EST reply actions

R2

A little bit of a slowdown. Quintana boxing from the outside. Quintana is boxing this round instead of brawling, but it isn't necessarily more. Cotto may have the edge now. A more measured fight. We're giving this one to Cotto.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:48 PM EST reply actions

R3

Cotto looking much more comfortable in this fight than he did against Malignaggi. We give this one to Quintana. He seems to be the smarter boxer in the ring. Cotto has one punch power though.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:52 PM EST reply actions

Update

Quintana took over mid round with a big left.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:53 PM EST up reply actions

R4

Cotto the agressor, Quintana the boxer. Cotto may be taking this round late. K says it's even. I give it to Cotto. Another friend in the room gives it to Q. Super close.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 10:57 PM EST reply actions

R5

Back and forth round. Quintana is taking some big shots. Big round for Cotto. Huge body shot. Liver shot. Q is in big trouble. He somehow hangs on to survive. He's fucked. For sure.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 11:00 PM EST reply actions

It's over

Quintana quits. He is clearly in massive pain. It's a wonder he made it out of the round. That was a textbook body blow. Cotto's stock continues to rise. Quintana can recover from this because it was a one blow affair in a fight that Quintana was holding his own.

by Matt Miller on Dec 2, 2006 11:03 PM EST reply actions