MARGARITO OVERWHELMS CINTRON

Darren Nichols at ringside

23/04/2005

MARGARITO OVERWHELMS CINTRON

Antonio Margarito, long one of the underrated titlists in boxing, overwhelmed Kermit Cintron, cutting Cintron and knocking him down four times, prompting Cintron's trainer Marshall Kauffman to stop the welterweight bout in the fifth round in Las Vegas.  Margarito drew blood in the third, then floored Cintron twice in each of the next two rounds.  After the fourth knockdown, Kauffman stepped up on the ring apron and signalled referee Kenny Bayless to stop the contest.  The official time was 2:12 of the fifth.  With the win, Margarito retains his WBO belt and now stands alone as the most qualified challenger to the true world champion at 147 pounds, Zab Judah.  Cintron suffers his first career loss in 25 bouts, but the outcome highlighted the differences in the two boxer's backgrounds. Cintron's career was carefully (and skilfully) plotted by promoter Main Events, while Margarito came up the hard way, turning pro as a teenager in Mexico and fighting anyone he could for a payday. Margarito is 31-4, but three losses came in his teens, and a fourth was a narrow loss when his bout with Daniel Santos was stopped prematurely due to cuts. Be sure to check out The Hype's round-by-round coverage of the Margarito and Mosley wins below... free to everyone, no credit card required!