Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito vowed to bring all their forces to battle in their July 26th showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Dubbed “The Battle” by Top Rank Cotto’s WBA weight crown is on the line, while Margarito is vacating his IBF belt to go after this much anticipated barnstormer.

In Mexico City’s Camino Real Hotel, dressed to the nines in a charcoal gray suit with a pink tie and a paler pink shirt, Cotto looked more like a stock broker or bank manager than his business hours wrecking machine mantle.

He politely applauded Margarito when he spoke, but when it was his turn, he insisted he will return to Puerto Rico post fight undefeated.

Miguel said: “It’s going to be an exciting and really tough fight for both of us. I think the guy who comes to it in the best shape and who trusts in himself better will win…and this guy is Miguel Cotto.

“I’m going to take advantage of the mistakes he’s going to make during the fight. I’m going to do all the things I have to do to win this fight. I’m going for it round for round, and if I hit him pretty good, then I’m going for him. I’m one hundred percent confident in myself.

Antonio Margarito who was more casually attired in blue jeans and a white short sleeved shirt pledged he’ll emerge from this fight with his hands held high in victory. He said he’s going to use his height and reach advantage to good effect and dedicate the fight to Mexico.

He’s confirmed he’s already doing light training in Tijuana and on May 26th he’ll go to Los Angeles for two months of hard slog, for hard slug.

And he warned: “If Cotto is coming for a collision he’s going to be in problems and I’ll knock him out. I’m stronger than Miguel Cotto. The fight will be easy with good training
preparation.”

Phil Landman, who’d been Miguel Cotto’s physical conditioner since he went up to the welterweight division said that one key factor in this fight is going to be endurance. He explained: “If you can go those twelve rounds with the same stamina and same intensity, especially towards the last few rounds I think that’s where the difference will be in this fighter.

Top Rank promotes both of them and Bob Arum enthused:

“I can’t imagine a more exciting fight in boxing at this time. This is the same feeling That I had when I promoted Marvin Hagler against Tommy Hearns. That only lasted three rounds, but it was a helluva three rounds! Cotto is clearly the better boxer with more skills than Margarito. While Margarito is just a beast, the way he comes in and takes an unbelievable punch, throws really hard punches. So it’s very, very hard to be certain who’s going to win a fight like this.”

Several Mexican wrestling champions were present and Bob Arum couldn’t resist quipping he was glad they’d all been named, because he wondered if Floyd Mayweather Jr. was hiding somewhere behind a mask.

He also accused Floyd of being a joke, adding: “It’s all about money. It’s all about avoiding anybody who can give him a contest. He and De La Hoya are going to fight again…like anyone cares. He isn’t concerned at all for his legacy, but Cotto and Margarito are!

“I did most of Mayweather’s fights when he was coming up, and I know his mentality. Mayweather is a coward. Not a physical coward, because no one who goes in the ring is a physical coward. He’s a psychological coward. He cannot cope with the possibility of losing. I know that. We dealt with him over the years. Even though we presented opponents to him we figured to beat, he wouldn’t fight them because there was a chance that he could loose.”

But Bob Arum also stressed he’d definitely promoted a fight with Floyd responding: “Absolutely. Of course. I’m not playing around-he is. These guys will fight any welterweight in the world. But you can’t sit around waiting for Mayweather because he ain’t going to fight these guys.”

Miguel Cotto’s and Antonio Margarito’s opinion was more coolly detached. Cotto said:

“I don’t have any message for Floyd. He has to do what he has to do. If he doesn’t want to, I can’t pull him there to face me. I can’t talk to you about Floyd Mayweather. I can talk to you about Miguel Cotto. I’m here to face ALL the names!

Antonio Margarito said he can’t understand why Floyd and Oscar are fighting all over again. He did say that he’d like to wait for the winner of the re-match. More specifically and curtly he insisted: “Floyd Mayweather is undefeated because he hasn’t fought me.”