Cotto to Batter Gomez; Margarito to Beat Cintron

Two days ago I mentioned that Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KO’s) would beat the crap out of Alfonso Gomez (18-3, 8 KO’s) in my Tarver vs Woods; Dawson vs Johnson post.  The reason is simple.  Cotto is the superior fighter.  Need I say more? I really don’t need to, but I will share my sterling insight nonetheless. 

At 27 years of age, Miguel Cotto is in his physical prime and clicking on all cylinders.  He’s coming off the biggest win of his career, an exciting decision over "Sugar" Shane Mosley last November.  Prior to that, Cotto handed "Super" Zab Judah the worst beating of his career.  And two fights before the Judah victory, he forced Carlos Quintana to quit in five rounds.  The Quintana win is especially impressive when you consider that Quintana went on to easily defeat the highly-touted Paul "The Punisher" Williams earlier this year.  What do these victories mean for Cotto’s fight with Gomez? They show that he is not only the better fighter, but has fought and defeated far better competition. 

Alfonso Gomez is coming off of two nice victories.  However, a win over a past-prime Ben Tackie (UD 10) and a blood-letting of shop-worn Arturo Gatti (TKO 7) are not enough to pass the "Cotto test."  Look for the faster and stronger Cotto to win by stoppage within eight rounds.

I have said it once before, and I will say it again: rarely will you see the loser (of the first fight) win the rematch, especially if that fighter was defeated convincingly.  When you get dominated (L TKO 5) the way that Kermit "The Killer" Cintron (29-1, 27 KO’s) was three years ago against Antonio Margarito (35-5, 25 KO’s), I just have a hard time seeing him turn the tables this time around.  Sorry, I am not overly impressed by Cintron’s blowout win over Walter Matthysse, nor his recent KO victory over Jesse Feliciano.  Cintron has registered five knockouts and has had Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner since the destruction at the hands of Margarito in 2005.  However, history will pretty much repeat itself in the rematch on Saturday. 

My prediction: Margarito TKO 8 Kermit Cintron