Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito II: December 3 Is New Tentative Date

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports that Bob Arum has set aside December 3 as the new tentative date for a rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. The fight was previously targeted at September 17, but then Margarito's eye injury put that off. Cotto was then said to be set to return on October 1 or October 8, but now it looks like everything is being pushed back as late as possible this year to set up the Cotto vs Margarito rematch.

Rafael also reports that while Showtime has rights to first negotiation for Cotto's next bout, Top Rank is also free to explore their options with HBO for the fight.

Cotto (36-2, 29 KO) last fought on March 12, defeating Ricardo Mayorga on Showtime pay-per-view. Margarito (38-7, 27 KO) hasn't fought since his November 13 blowout loss to Manny Pacquiao, which resulted in a fractured orbital bone and eventual surgery on his eye. There was talk that he had a detached retina, but Margarito denies that the injury was quite that serious.

The fighters met in July 2008 in what would up being a Fight of the Year candidate, with Cotto suffering the first loss of his pro career. Since then, Margarito's notoriety has increased in a big way, as he was suspended in California for one year after being caught attempting to load his gloves against Shane Mosley in January 2009, which has given his career an asterisk in the eyes of many, including the Cotto win, which was really Margarito's greatest moment.