By Rey Colon

Madison Square Garden, New York City - Miguel Cotto's Cuban trainer, Pedro Díaz, agrees with Francisco Espinoza, the co-manager of Antonio Margarito. Diaz, like Espinoza, believes Margarito could have continued when the doctor stopped the action before the tenth round got underway on Saturday night.

Margarito's right eye appeared to be swollen shut, but the boxer claims that he was still able to see and when the doctor asked him for a finger count, Margarito correctly answered the doctor three times. The doctor still felt it was too dangerous to allow Margarito to continue and he stopped the fight. Cotto, who was well ahead on the official scorecards, was declared the winner by TKO.

Margarito argued that his eye was a lot worse in last year's loss to Manny Pacquiao and he was allowed to continue until the final bell. His team argued that Pawel Wolak's eye, in the first fight with Delvin Rodriguez earlier this year, was far more swollen than Margarito's right eye and he was allowed to continue until the end. Wolak-Rodriguez also took place in New York City and regulated by the same commission appointed doctors. 

Most believe Margarito's severe orbital bone injury to the right eye, suffered in the fight with Pacquiao, influenced the doctors to stop the fight. Earlier this year, Margarito had a major surgical procedure on the eye and an artificial lens was inserted.

"I think that he could have continued. I didn't think the eye was that badly damaged [where the fight should have been stopped]. I've seen fights where [a fighter's eye] had more damage and [the fight] continued. I would have liked [for the fight to have continued]. But, I always said that we were going to give joy to the Puerto Rican people and that Margarito was going to be in the best shape of his career and his eye was in perfect condition," Diaz said.