Miguel Cotto's decade in boxing can be divided into two careers: before and after he faced the loaded gloves of Antonio Margarito.
In November 2009, red stains were discovered on the hand wraps that Margarito used in the Cotto fight; red stains similar to the ones found on the inserts seized before Margarito's fight with Shane Mosley, when his trainer was discovered to trying to cheat by using the hardened wraps. This raised suspicions that Margarito's gloves may have also been loaded for Cotto's fight, and possibly others as well.
To try something like this once, a boxer should not just be thrown out of boxing for life, they should be thrown in jail for attempted murder. Harvard Law-educated Bob Arum saw things differently and rewarded Margarito with a shot against Manny Pacquiao.
For the eight years leading up to that tragic fight against Margarito, Miguel Cotto was someone else. Not only was he an undefeated world champion, perhaps most importantly to his legion of boxing fans, he was Felix "Tito" Trinidad's heir apparent. Where others would be daunted, Cotto relished the challenge to live up to that legacy. He fought for greatness and knew not just victory, but the quality of those victories were measured against a legend.
Then all of that was stolen from him on July 26, 2008 in Las Vegas.
Cotto was never the same after that fight. He left something behind in that ring that he never got back.
In the three years that Cotto has fought since, he defeated Joshua Clottey and knocked out Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga, but what we remember is the savage beating he took at the hands of Manny Pacquiao. We remember Cotto's bloodied-face taking such a pounding that his wife had to take her children and leave their seats at the fight to escape from seeing what was happening.
Antonio Margarito had his own taste of Manny Pacquiao. Those of us who were there that night in Cowboy's Stadium remember seeing something that the oddsmakers never predicted: compassion and mercy. Pacquiao so easily dominated the fight, you could see him take his foot off the gas to spare Margarito permanent damage. Manny even glanced over at the ref periodically as if to wonder why any further punishment or risk of injury was necessary.
Prior to Manny Pacquiao's overwhelming dominance of Margarito, Shane Mosley badly outclassed and knocked Margarito out in the ninth round in Los Angeles.
Margarito has been fighting as a professional for over half his life, since the age of 16. His rematch against Miguel Cotto could well be his last major payday. He remains a dangerous fighter with imposing size and ruthless determination. Mentally for Cotto, this rematch could prove to be an even greater challenge than facing Manny Pacquiao. Make no mistake about it, the horrors he endured against Antonio Margarito in their first fight are a nightmare that likely pays a regular visit.
But now, Miguel Cotto has an opportunity to add this chapter to his legacy as a way of distinguishing his legacy from Trinidad's. Cotto will be fighting for more than just revenge; he'll be fighting to reclaim the future that what was illegally stolen. The damage Margarito inflicted against Cotto could very well be something that takes its toll many years from now, that deprives family members of a loved one's clarity of mind. That's perhaps the most insidious element of what Margarito did: he didn't just steal a match, he potentially stole someone's life.
It's a fair guess to assume that comeuppance has never been fueled by as much determination as Miguel Cotto will have on December 3rd at Madison Square Garden.