[1] The WBA welterweight title bout took place on July 26, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, and resulted in an eleventh round technical knockout victory for Margarito.

Press conferences were held in Mexico, Los Angeles, New York City, and Puerto Rico to promote the world title bout.

[2] Cotto's first title defense came against mandatory challenger Oktay Urkal in a bout that took place on March 3, 2007, at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[7] Despite the no contest, the bout between Cotto and Judah went ahead as planned, taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 9, 2007.

[17] The match took place on April 12, 2008, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and resulted in a victory for Cotto after the ring doctor stopped the fight after round five.

[21] His second title defense came against former WBA welterweight champion Andrew Lewis at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on February 8, 2003.

[22] On January 31, 2004, at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, Margarito defeated Hercules Kyvelos by second round technical knockout in his third title defense.

[23] In his next fight, Margarito moved up in weight class for a rematch with Daniel Santos, who possessed the WBO junior welterweight title.

The fight took place on September 11, 2004 and ended in a technical decision victory for Santos after Margarito was cut over the right eye by an unintentional headbutt in round six.

[25] On April 23, 2005, Margarito defeated the less experienced Cintron, knocking him down four times en route to a technical knockout victory in the fifth round at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

[27] After Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Zab Judah on April 8, 2006, he rejected an $8 million offer from promoter Bob Arum to fight Margarito on August 12, 2006, citing a hand injury as the reason he did not take the bout.

[28] On December 2, 2006, Margarito successfully defended the WBO welterweight title for the seventh time with a unanimous decision victory over Joshua Clottey.

The match took place on the undercard of Cotto's fight with Alfonso Gomez and Margarito knocked out Cintron in the sixth round to win the title.

According to Bob Arum, the match took place in Las Vegas to promote Cotto to a new audience while also appealing to Margarito's Mexican American fans in California.

[35] Press conferences were held in Mexico, Los Angeles, New York City, and Puerto Rico to promote the world title bout.

[41] Dave Larzelere of Sporting News wrote that the bout had "the potential to be one of those epic Irresistible Force vs. Immoveable Object kind of battles that we talk about forever afterwards, à la Hagler/Hearns or Corrales/Castillo".

[43] The Arizona Republic wrote, "Cotto, an impassive and intimidating Puerto Rican, and Margarito, a patient and tough Mexican, are another chapter in a rivalry rich in legends and still productive".

[45] Margarito, traditionally a sluggish starter,[46] anticipated to emerge swift, but it was Cotto who got off to a more effective start by throwing numerous punches and applying plenty of movement.

Mobility represented the key for Cotto in the third round, efficaciously blending boxing and brawling while trying to minimize the blood flow from his nose and a small cut over his left eye.

[48] Dan Rafael of ESPN.com described the fight as a "riveting slugfest with a dramatic ending that left the throbbing crowd of 10,477 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in ecstasy".

[37] De La Hoya instead opted to fight The Ring magazine's #1 ranked pound-for-pound boxer Manny Pacquiao on December 6, 2008, at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

[58] On February 21, 2009, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Cotto claimed the vacant WBO welterweight title by defeating Michael Jennings by fifth round technical knockout.

[59] In his second title defense, Cotto defeated former IBF welterweight champion Joshua Clottey by split decision at Madison Square Garden on June 13, 2009.