By Scoop Malinowski

It took a long, long time to get there. But Antonio Margarito patiently persevered through all the adversity and struggles, finally reached the top of the mountain. The new Mexican superstar, who turned pro as an unknown at 15 years of age, is the undisputed king of boxing’s welterweight division.

And he did it in his own unique brand of style. Forcing ceaseless relentless physical pressure with a bombardment of heavy volume punching from all kinds of angles, Antonio Margarito eventually broke down and busted the valiant Puerto Rican strongman Miguel Cotto in the eleventh round last night in Las Vegas to capture the WBA Welterweight championship, his third world title.

They said he was slow and telegraphed his punches but it was so strange how nobody, no big name boxer would fight him. Shane Mosley passed on a Margarito fight. Winky Wright didn’t accept an offer to face Margarito. Ricardo Mayorga, when he was undisputed welterweight champ wasn’t interested. Floyd Mayweather three times ducked $8 million to fight Margarito in 2006, this after calling Margarito “a D level fighter” and dismissing him as “easy work.”

Now we know why. They all would have ended up like Cotto last night. Bloodied, bruised and battered. Perhaps worse.

Because nothing in the world was going to stop Antonio Margarito this time, the night he finally got his chance to prove he was the best. Miguel Cotto is a true warrior and genuine, authentic champion. There is not an ounce of fraudulence or phoniness in the makeup of Miguel Cotto. But even Cotto must have had some kind of premonition about his fate as he took an entire month to finally sign the contract for last night’s clash. Margarito signed for Bob Arum without a moment’s hesitation after the win over Kermit Cintron.

All through the build-up Margarito told us he would win, even vowed to be the first man to knock out Cotto. He said it matter of factly, with all due respect. “It’s very important to me to be the first man to knock out Cotto and I will do it.”

After the victory, Margarito said, “I trusted my preparation. Obviously, Cotto is a very strong fighter. Slowly the tornado rumbled. I told my corner I would wear him down and then knock him out. He never hurt me. That was the game plan, to come out early, be strong and wear him down. I hit him with body shots, I hit him in the head and then I knocked him out.”

The fight began in Cotto’s favor. Cotto landed sharp, explosive blows early in round one and seemed to be more speedy and skillful than Margarito. The tide seemed to turn in the Mexican’s favor in round six, when he pinned Cotto on the ropes and scored repeatedly with heavy left handed uppercuts. For the first time Cotto appeared vulnerable.

Even a savvy ring observer like Arum, who promotes both fighters, was thrilled by the ebb and flow. “I really thought the way Miguel was beating him to the punch early, he was going to slow him down and take him out. It didn’t work out that way for him. Margarito was like a freight train going downhill until it finally ran him over.”

The end came in the eleventh round, in what was a very close encounter. Margarito, the hunter throughout the entire fight, finally tracked down and destroyed his most unwilling prey. Cotto gave it everything, every ounce of effort he had inside but he just could not escape destruction. Exhausted, battered, a bloody mess, Cotto took a knee to avoid another hit. After a few seconds, he decided to try again, one last desperate try to preserve his life as a champion. But Margarito would not be denied. Again he attacked, pouncing on his victim with more vicious punches, until Cotto went down to a knee again. One more right to the skull might have left him laying flat on the floor. There was no reason to take another unnecessary punch. The fight was over. It was a smart move by Cotto, he had taken more punishment in this fight than probably his previous 32 combined.

About a minute after it was over Cotto went over to embrace his conqueror, and to congratulate him. Cotto smiled to his successor and tapped Margarito on the head with his glove, showing a touch of happiness and a lot of respect to the first man to beat him as a professional. Moments later, Cotto decided to congratulate Margarito a second time, before abruptly leaving the ring by himself.

This will be a very difficult defeat for Cotto to rebound from. His will was one of the vital strengths of his arsenal but that unbreakable will has now been broken. Cotto was great last night but it wasn’t enough. Just like the great Roger Federer was at his best vs. Rafael Nadal in this year’s incredible Wimbledon final. But sometimes the great ones are at their best and they lose. So close to victory, Federer lost 9-7 in the fifth set. Cotto was so close to victory last night, but his will was broken by the stronger man.

After the win Margarito was embraced inside the ring by his idol and inspiration, Julio Cesar Chavez who was working for Mexican TV. Margarito always seemed special to me, from the first time I met and interviewed him in person, after he tore the ear off of Sebastien Lujan in Atlantic City. I did a Biofile with Margarito in the dressing room after the fight, and he kindly answered my offbeat questions through an interpreter. One answer I will always remember was what he said was his “Childhood Dream.” “I dreamt about becoming a champion,” said Margarito. “My father used to tell me, If you’re gonna do this business, don’t be in it for the money like everybody else. Be in it because you want to become a champion.”

Margarito always has exemplified that honorable sporting philosophy, through the lean years when it seemed he would never get the opportunity to shine on the big stage. Now he is at the top and will is the man they all must come to. Who should he face next?

Floyd Mayweather, if he had any honor, would challenge Margarito and make good on his promise of 2006 when after ducking Margarito he said to him, after the Mexican confronted him in person in Las Vegas at a press event. “You’ll get your shot, you’ll get your shot,” said Mayweather with his lips flapping and a disingenuous smirk on his puss. It’ll make more business sense down the road, it will be bigger and better in the future.

Well the future is now, but I can almost 100% guarantee you Mayweather would never ever find the courage to face Margarito who would slaughter the pound-for-pound phony more viciously and violently than Cotto got it last night.

The other option is Oscar De La Hoya. Margarito vs. De La Hoya has a very interesting story angle too, one which should interest HBO. It would be the Mexican legend passing the torch to the heir apparent, similar to how Julio Cesar Chavez fought the young Oscar twice in the 1990’s. Now Margarito can gain revenge for his idol Chavez who was brutally beaten by De La Hoya.

And HBO would then be in the powerful position as the promoter of the next new Mexican legend Antonio Margarito, who would of course, generate big bucks from the Mexican boxing fan community who always avidly support their icons. HBO should pressure Oscar to accept this fight which would be far more interesting and long term more lucrative than a meaningless Oscar-Pacquiao sideshow, circus, exhibition.

Margarito vs. De La Hoya is the fight. Can Margarito take the torch from Oscar? Can Margarito get revenge on Oscar for his idol Julio Cesar Chavez? Then there is Paul Williams, Joshua Clottey, Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, Andre Berto, and even a reconstructed Cotto waiting in the wings. Yes, boxing’s welterweight division can enter it’s next era of excitement and prosperity, with a helping hand from Oscar De La Hoya, that is, if he wasn’t too impressed by the spectacular, scintillating, heroic performance of boxing’s newest superstar, Antonio Margarito.

Contact Scoop: Mrbiofile@aol.com