Miguel Cotto didn’t need to test the deep waters that drowned him in his first fight against Antonio Margarito three years ago.

Instead of experiencing any possible late turbulence and another dramatic Margarito comeback win, Cotto inflicted enough damage on his hated nemesis that the final rounds weren’t needed. Cotto scored a technical knockout victory in their rematch late Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Effectively landing at will on his bigger but slower opponent, Cotto built a sufficient lead with timely combinations to the head and virtually shut Margarito’s right eye through the first nine rounds. After giving Margarito a reprieve before the ninth round, ringside physicians were not as generous prior to the 10th and instructed referee Steve Smoger to stop the fight.

For Cotto, who successfully defended his World Boxing Association super-welterweight title, the victory avenges his earlier loss to Margarito.

In the weeks leading up to Saturday’s bout, Cotto believed Margarito used illegally-doctored hand wraps similar to the ones found before Margarito’s fight against Shane Mosley in 2009.

The animosity carried into the ring, as Cotto and Margarito didn’t touch gloves before the fight or shake hands at the end. In fact, Cotto (37-2, 30 KOs) took an extended look toward Margarito’s corner after the bout.

“Just to look at him and taste my victory on him,” Cotto said of his taunting glance toward Margarito. “I’m still on my feet. After nine or 10 rounds, I’m on my feet.

“I did my work and won the fight.”

Like in their first bout, Margarito chased Cotto in an attempt to wear him down. The strategy worked before, as Margarito’s pressure eventually neutralized Cotto, and Margarito scored an 11th-round TKO.

But in the rematch, Cotto remained active with his combinations and immediately found an appealing target, cutting Margarito’s right eye after connecting with a left to the head in the third round. Margarito’s right eye worsened as the fight progressed past the middle rounds.

Not helping Margarito’s cause was that the affected eye needed medical clearance from a New York ophthalmologist two weeks ago to allow Saturday’s bout to take place. Margarito first sustained damage to the eye during his lopsided loss to Manny Pacquiao in November 2010.

Margarito (38-8) did not agree with the stoppage.

“They tested my eye, put fingers in front of me, and I knew how many fingers were there,” Margarito said. “I knew one way or the other they were going to protect him because the last rounds were going to be difficult for him.”

But ringside physician Anthony Curreri believed Margarito would have risked greater damage to the eye had he continued fighting. After a brief delay, Curreri finally instructed Smoger that Margarito would not answer the bell for the 10th round.

“His eye was gradually closing throughout the fight; it came to a point where there was no vision at all coming out of that eye,” Curreri said. “Between the bleeding and that lid being closed, we felt it was safer for him to stop the fight. I think it would have been dangerous for him to have a visual field.”

Saturday’s victory should keep Cotto as a relevant factor in the pay-per-view landscape. Meanwhile, Margarito’s presence might have ended in premium fights now that he has lost three consecutive marquee bouts.

• Late Saturday, Abner Mares won a lopsided unanimous decision over Joseph Agbeko and retained his International Boxing Federation bantamweight title at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Mares (23-0-1) overcame a cut to his left eye in the second round and outpointed Agbeko (28-4) throughout the 12-round distance. All three judges scored the bout for Mares, 118-110.