As Boxingtalk first broke the news that Main Events and ESPN were preparing to feature Kermit “the Killer” Cintron vs. Antonio Margarito in the first ever ESPN Pay Per View, the cauliflowered ear of Argentinean Sebastian Lujan forced the table to be set. With his first ever fight against a tier 1 fighter, and his first ever fight in America, Sebastian Lujan came out of the gate swinging and landing overhand rights and lefts without even considering the jab. The frustrated Margarito seemed unsure how to deal with the incoming onslaught while his punches lacked the pop of any type of warning of what was to come. After Margarito settled down by using his jab, the right hand began to land with more accuracy. What came next was the staple of a professional boxer with ripping body shots that slowed Lujan down almost instantly. While Margarito was clearly controlling the fight well into the tenth round, the determination of the Argentinean was literally leaking out of his head as the fight was stopped from a stomach turning cauliflower and an unembroidered dangling ear.
And now for my favorite boxing cliché, “the stage has been set.” Main Events and ESPN are gearing up a most anticipated night of action which will feature two of boxing’s biggest gentleman and most exciting fighters. This is the Cintron-Main Events coming out party, and they are laying it all on the line with Cintron coming of off two consecutive hand surgeries and an 10 month lay off. The problem here is that the PPV is scheduled for April 23 and is less than 3 months after Cintron’s last surgery. However, with the amount of leather that Antonio Margarito ate last night against an unproven undisciplined fighter, one must wonder how the WBO champion can withstand that type of onslaught from the hardest hitting fighter in the division who has the power to easily transfer into multiple weight classes above him.
Margarito must have a better start against Cintron than he did against Lujan, or the main event of the PPV will be short lived. With the body frames of both fighters matching up for a perfect and what could become a tactical show of beauty, the bomb dropping uppercuts of both fighters must be looked at very closely in order to understand who will come out on top. Barring a hand injury and ring rust, Cintron should be able to overpower the formidable WBO title holder and claim what is his by round 9. So what is next for new the golden boy of Main Events? Well, it will certainly not be Zab Judah or Oscar De La Hoya. Look for De La Hoya to dangle 10 million in front of Judah and retire as the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. (I think DLH is done with Mosley, and I really don’t think the fans are looking to see this fight until both Mosley and DLH win some fights for themselves.) Well, if all goes as I see it, look for Cintron to take on the winner of Rivera-Daamgard in a unification bout for the WBA and the WBO titles while the two other belts begin to be full of paper. At this point who do you think will be the recognized champ and the big money fight everyone is looking for?
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