While I sat ringside earlier this month, watching what amounted to a glorified sparring session between Oscar De La Hoya and Steve Forbes, I was reminded of just how ridiculous boxing can get. This was boxing without the drama. It was absurdly obvious that Oscar De La Hoya is getting hit far more than ever before, by an opponent that wouldn’t last 3 rounds with the likes of Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito. It is even more apparent that he will yet again lose in another bore-fest against Mayweather Jr. this September. By about round 4, as the cameras stopped flashing and the crowd became quiet, I began to daydream about a real fight, with real competition while checking my flight time on my Blackberry.

I will not tell you that Antonio Margarito 36 -5 -1 (26 KO’s) is pound for pound the best in the world, because he is not. I will not tell you that he requires some ridiculous pedigree from his competition, because he doesn’t. He is just a flat out, smack down puncher, who takes chances without making excuses. He is that boxing hard luck story that would make a great movie of the week. Margarito finally got his day in the sun against rugged Philly fighter Kermit Cintron to obtain his second world title, and instead of playing it safe and fighting a sleeper, he has accepted the challenge of arguably the biggest puncher in the welterweight division, Miguel Cotto. Now that’s drama.

The 30 year old welterweight from Torrance, California, has been fighting very tough fighters for most of his seemingly translucent career. He suffered 3 losses during the first 2 years of his professional career. It looked as if he was destined to be a ham and egger, who would probably make a career sparring with better fighters. Something must have clicked in October of 1996, because he would not lose a fight again until he was stopped by Daniel Santos in 2004. Since then, he has only lost one close decision to then rising star Paul Williams, who some were calling the next Tommy Hearns until he was beaten by Carlos Quintana earlier this year. Again, he faced a tough fighter like Williams, head on, with no regrets.

Margarito, like Cotto, is that type of fighter who really believes he can beat anyone. He is as old school as it gets; quiet, confident and determined. You get the feeling that he wants to win for a deeper reason that is more content then bling. He really wants to know if he is the best, without playing it safe, and without lip service. I do not know Antonio Margarito, whose alias is simply “Tony” very well at all, but whenever I have gotten the opportunity to ask him a boxing question, he has always given me a boxing answer, one that is all business and directly to the point. He is either the greatest acting boxer on the planet, or incredibly sincere about the answers he gives. Whether we believe his bravado or not, the point is he believes it with every ounce of his existence. After he knocked down Kermit Cintron en route to win the IBF welterweight title on April 12th of this year with a devastating liver punch, he was mocking Cintron, pleading with him to get up. That was not acting. You get the feeling he really believed he wanted a better showing from Cintron and that he wasn’t done yet. Top Rank, promoter of both Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito seems to go after a different type of fighter these days. Bob Arum has been putting together some beautiful sound bites about the difference between his guys and everybody else. When asked in 2006 if Cotto and Margarito would ever fight, his answer was simple, taking an obvious shot at De La Hoya and Mayweather. “Yes, of course, why not? These guys aren’t worried about dancing in the ring or how pretty their face is. They are fighters.”

Whether it was the rift between Top Rank and Golden Boy, or just the dislike of Bob Arum, De La Hoya and Mayweather steered very clear from both Cotto and Margarito and decided to either fight each other or lesser competition. In the meantime Cotto and Margarito have been building a fan base and selling tickets. The glare of their talent has become just too bright too ignore, and now De La Hoya is hinting at a possible Cotto meeting at the end of the year. In the meantime, boxing fans will be treated to what might possibly be fight of the year between Cotto and Margarito. This fight is going to send a message to the media, the fans and Golden Boy promotions. These two champions can no longer be ignored.