Margarito (39-8-0, 27 KOs), is coming off a unanimous decision win against Jorge Páez, Jr. last March after his TKO loss against Miguel Cotto in a rematch at Madison Square Garden in 2011.
Before his rematch with Cotto, the 38-year-old Mexican-American figured in a brutal clash with then seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao in a classic title fight that took place at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in November 2010.
It was during the Pacquiao fight that Margarito suffered a broken orbital bone in his right eye which led to his inactivity for over a year.
In their 2011 rematch, Cotto started targeting Margarito’s surgically-repaired right eye until it began to swell in the later rounds, prompting the ring physician to stop the fight before the start of the 10th round. Read more:
After the Cotto fight, it took Margarito over four years of eye therapy before he got medical clearance from his eye doctors to fight again.
In his fight against Paez, Margarito suffered a knockdown but won his comeback fight via a unanimous decision.
While he got the nod of the three judges, his performance against Paez leaves much to be desired, though it is understandable because of his long period of inactivity.
It was a give and take affair in the early rounds but halfway to the fight, Margarito absorbed a power shot from Paez that sent him to the canvas. He got up and engaged Paez to the last round for a unanimous decision. Read more
Alvarez (24-4-2, 14 KOs) is a tough fight for Margarito. While they are both physically matched evenly in both height and reach with Margarito having a one inch advantage, Alvarez is like well-oiled machine having fought and won eight straight fights since losing to Mario Alberto Lozano in 2012.
While Margarito has more ring experience than Alvarez, it would be a 12-round contest that will favor the guy with better stamina and it won’t be Margarito as he obviously doesn’t have it at this time due to his long period of inactivity.
But being a veteran in the sport, Margarito could go for a knockout win in the early rounds and not allow Alvarez to drag the fight to the late rounds where Margarito would be most vulnerable.
