Margarito vs Cotto round by round!

I just watched the replay of the Margarito vs Cotto last weekend. That was a great fight, an instant classic, between will and skill. There was also a lot of cheerleading going on at ringside by Jim Lampley.

Listening to the commentary, one would've thought that Cotto won seven of the first eight rounds. This clearly wasn't the case, as Margarito beat Cotto up on the inside with hard flurries and battered him along the ropes. This fight reminded me of Chavez vs Taylor, where Taylor was winning rounds early by outboxing Chavez but it was Chavez who was gradually brutalizing Taylor. Cotto was outboxing Margarito early, but Margarito kept chasing and stalking Cotto, reigning down flurries and eventually punishing and stopping Cotto.

Here is my scorecard, round by round, leading up to the time of the stoppage:

Round 1: 10-9 Cotto
Round 2: 10-9 Margarito Total: 19-19
Round 3: 10-9 Cotto Total: 29-28 Cotto
Round 4: 10-9 Cotto Total: 39-37 Cotto
Round 5: 10-9 Cotto Total: 49-46 Cotto
Round 6: 10-9 Margarito Total: 58-56 Cotto
Round 7: 10-9 Margarito Total: 67-66 Cotto
Round 8: 10-9 Margarito Total: 76-76
Round 9: 10-9 Margarito Total: 86-85 Margarito
Round 10: 10-9 Margarito Total: 96-94 Margarito

Margarito wins by TKO in the 11th round when Cotto's uncle, Evangelisto, throws in the towel after the 2nd knockdown.

When it comes down to the aftermath of this sensational super fight, Antonio Margarito is once again a beltholder, and his stock goes up considerably after beating Cotto in that fashion. Lately, fans and media have been quick to label Margarito as the universally recognized welterweight champion of the world. That's premature, as he is not yet the welterweight champion of the world. Especially since Williams holds a victory over him, is still a titlist himself, and Margarito does not yet have a victory over him.

By that token, I rank Williams as the #1 welterweight and Margarito the #2 welterweight in the world right now. But for the sake of having one universally recognized champion, Williams and Margarito must rematch.