Despite intense speculation that the December 3 rematch between WBA light middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and challenger Antonio Margarito would either have to be switched to another venue or would be canceled altogether, it was announced today that the New York State Athletic Commission had cleared the fight to take place in its original venue of Madison Square Garden.

33-year-old Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) a former WBO, IBF and WBA welterweight champion, did not have a license to box in the state of New York, and because of the Mexican's past indiscretions (Margarito was banned for 16 months for using illegal hand wraps prior to a WBA welterweight title bout against Shane Mosley in 2009) and a severe eye injury that he sustained in a fight against Manny Pacquiao last year, there were serious doubts that he would be granted one.

Had the NYSAC chosen not to grant Margarito a license, promoter Bob Arum, who handles both boxers, had spoken about switching the venue to the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A furious Miguel Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs) then announced that if the fight was not  held in New York, he would pull out altogether. The 31 year old Puerto Rican has a huge following in New York, and has sold out Madison Square Garden several times during his professional career. By comparison, Texas has a large Mexican population, and Margarito would undoubtedly have the edge in fan support on fight night had the bout been held at the Cowboys Stadium.

The injury to Margarito's eye was the result of a broken cheekbone he suffered during his WBC light middleweight title fight with Pacquiao. After the bout, Margarito was forced to have an operation on his damaged right eye to remove a cataract and insert an artificial lens.

A three-man panel heard evidence from three doctors including the specialist that carried out the actual operation, and satisfied with their findings, the panel subsequently decided to grant Margarito his license.

The original 2008 fight between Margarito and Cotto was a sensational affair that saw the Puerto Rican lose his WBA welterweight title and unbeaten record to a man many thought was past his prime. Cotto was a two-weight world champion, undefeated in 32 fights, with big victories over the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Quintana, Zab Judah and Shane Mosley, and arguably the best fighter pound-for-pound in the world going into the first Margarito fight. 

By comparison, former two-time world welterweight champion Margarito was seen as little more than a one dimensional slugger: undoubtedly brave and tough, but slow and plodding -  and another guaranteed easy victory for the supremely talented Puerto Rican.

But when the two finally met, it was a dogfight.  Round after round both men beat the living daylights out of each other, the difference being that Cotto was marking up badly and his face was changing shape as the fight progressed, while Margarito had little facial damage to show for the blows he had been taking apart from a swollen left eye. A sustained barrage of shots in the 11th round sent Cotto down twice and forced referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight, handing Margarito the WBA welterweight title and the biggest victory of his career.

Controversy arose six months later, when prior to Margarito's first title defense against Shane Mosley at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Mosley's trainer Nazeem Richardson entered Margarito's dressing room just as his bandages were being applied. Noticing what he saw as plaster-of-Paris inserts in the bandages,  Richardson reported his findings to an LA boxing commission official and demanded that Margarito's hands be rewrapped.

Mosley proceeded to deliver the mother-of-all beatings to a lackadaisical Margarito, hammering him without mercy for nine one-sided rounds before the referee came to the Mexican's aid. No doubt Mosley's fury and Margarito passiveness during the fight were both the result of the discovery by Nazeem Richardson of the plaster-of Paris-inserts.

When the scandal broke, the immediate speculation was that Margarito's destruction of Cotto must also have been aided by the use of illegal hand wraps. The Puerto Rican's face was reduced to a bloody swollen mask by the end of the fight, and Cotto himself is in no doubt that Margarito did indeed fight knowing full well that his wraps contained plaster-of-Paris, and the subsequent damage he was capable of inflicting.

"Playing with the health of somebody else, attempting to kill - he used plaster on his wraps, he used a weapon on me - he has to be treated like a criminal," said Cotto during a pre-fight press conference. "In sports we use only our skills and conditioning. I've carried my loss like a man for the last three years. I didn't ask for the people to erase the defeat. That's not the issue. He has to accept what he used and what he did in 2008."

When asked if he would have any issue in targeting Margarito's right eye, Cotto said ominously: 

"I'm going to use any kind of advantage I feel I have over him, everything I have in the ring. I'm going to fight like always, with my heart and my soul. I'm going to do my work."

Big Fights Odds: Miguel Cotto 1/2, Antonio Margarito 13/8 bet365