Antonio Margarito vs. Jorge Paez Jr.: It has been over four years since Antonio Margarito (38-8, 27 KO) last fought as a professional but all that will change come Saturday night when Margarito makes his return to the ring on beIN Sports Espanol. Margarito will take on Jorge Paez Jr. (39-7-2, 23 KO) in a 10-round bout in the junior middleweight division. The last time Margarito was involved in a prizefight Miguel Cotto was giving him a beat down, and specifically targeted Margarito's surgically repaired right eye. That fight was retribution for Cotto who lost to Margarito three years prior in a fight many people now believe Margarito was wearing loaded gloves for because he was caught with loaded gloves a year later against Shane Mosley. Margarito is a tall, orthodox fighter with good power, although that power can be questioned now. While Margarito has a nice jab but his power punches were always his money maker. Like many Mexican fighters, Margarito likes to get inside and trade heavy leather and he always had a good left hook and heavy right hand, even if both tended to be wild. One advantage Margarito will have against Paez is experience. The infamous fighter has always taken on the best including Cotto, Mosley, Manny Pacquiao, and Paul Williams but he could never beat those fighters outside of his win over Cotto in their first fight, a win that is now tainted. Paez has never faced opponents near that level and his biggest fight to date was a loss to the undefeated Jose Benavidez. In his past five fights Paez hasn't been very good, going 2-2-1 against solid, but far from spectacular, competition. Paez is an orthodox fighter but he will have to overcome the jab of Margarito who is 4-inches taller and get inside to do damage to Margarito's eye. The younger fighter doesn't have much of a jab and often uses a straight right hand in place of it. His best punch is his looping left hook and that is the punch that could win him this fight. Margarito's eyes was seriously damaged against Pacquiao and then made worse by Cotto and if Paez can target and land punches on that eye he could force a stoppage. Clearly Margarito is a vastly better fighter than Paez is but Paez fought four times in 2015 while Margarito has been inactive for four years. That inactivity along with his eye will be Margarito's downfall. He may find a groove in the middle rounds but Paez will land enough left hooks to win the fight by the way of 9th round stoppage.
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