Margarito won what in the record looks like a comfortable decision. It was a much more difficult fight, in fact.
Clottey surprised many in the first four rounds, doing a good job against the Mexican. After that, Margarito recovered and looked liked the best man in many of the mid rounds, while Clottey?s perfomance became worse. Both men had injuries that affected them later in the fight. Clottey?s hand was apparently fractured and Margarito injured his wrist. At the end, Antonio won by Unanimous Decision and even one judge scored it 119-109. The actual fight was much more competitive than that, and Margarito had his hands full with Joshua Clottey.
The man from Accra, Ghana, was right in his comments before the fight. He is tough to crack and gave the Mexican a hard fight. To the surprise of many, Margarito wasn?t able to look as impressive as in past showdowns. Clottey, who lost against Carlos Baldomir by DQ in 1999 while being ahead in the scorecards, showed a polished defence and good counterpunching in the final third of the bout.
Nevertheless, he?s obviously not in Floyd Mayweather?s level. Antonio Margarito must remain active and should keep fighting Top10 contenders, and next time he must make a statement with a better performance in the ring. The one that we saw this night was definitely one of his worst. All the talking must be backed up by actions in the ring. What?s next for him? A showdown against Miguel Cotto makes a lot of sense now, if he wants to take a risk. Or possibly a young and vigorous contender, the unbeaten Paul Williams (WBO #1, The Ring #8).
