By Marcus Richardson: Antonio Margarito could possibly be back in the ring as early as June, says fightnews.com. Margarito, 34, has had plenty of time to recover from his last fight, a loss to WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto last December. Margarito’s surgically repaired right eye remains a concern, however. This the eye that Margarito has had operated on three separate times in the past year, and it didn’t respond well under heavy bombardment from Cotto last December, swelling up and closing by the 9th round.
Margarito could fight in June or September in Mexico. The idea would be for Margarito to get a tune-up fight, likely against soft opponent, and then go after a world title next year in 2013 against one of the champions in presumably the junior middleweight division. It’s highly unlikely that Margarito can make welterweight without draining himself in the process of making the weight. However, Margarito would obviously do it if the right fight came around like a bout against a big name like Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao. There aren’t really a lot of important money fights for Margarito outside of rematches with Pacquiao and Cotto or a fight against Mayweather. The chance of Margarito getting a fight with of those guys are pretty much slim and none unless they all run out of opponents in the near future to fight.
Margarito took a real pounding in a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao in 2010 in a fight where Margarito’s right orbital bone around his right eye was fractured. It required surgery, and although the surgery was considered a success, his right eye someone doesn’t look good compared to the other one. He didn’t take a tune-up fight after recovering from the surgery and went straight into a rematch with Cotto last December. Perhaps there was some worry that by taking a tune-up that Margarito could suffer additional eye problems without the money that a fight with Cotto would bring.
As expected, the surgically repaired eye was a major problem for Margarito in the Cotto rematch and it swelled up quickly and led to the fight being halted after the 9th. It’s hard to say if the eye is in better shape having been rested since last December. My guess is it could continue to swell up and have problems when he returns to the ring. If he can get someone easy that he can blast out quickly, it won’t be an issue obviously. But if Margarito gets hit on the eye a lot against someone that is able to stick around into the second half of the fight, Margarito could have some problems.