Margarito-Cotto II set for Madison Square Garden on December 3

The long-awaited rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto will take place on Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden. Top Rank publicist Fred Sternburg

The long-awaited rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto will take place on Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden.

Top Rank publicist Fred Sternburg confirmed the agreement Wednesday, saying the fight will take place at 154 pounds with Cotto's WBA junior middleweight title at stake.

Cotto (36-2, 29 KOs) and Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) first met in July 2008 at the MGM Grand at welterweight. Margarito came on strong in the middle rounds before stopping Cotto in the 11th -- handing the Puerto Rican his lone defeat in his first 35 pro outings.

But Margarito's gripping victory was tarnished after he was caught with loaded gloves in his subsequent fight with Shane Mosley.

Cotto, who is coming off a 12th-round knockout of Ricardo Mayorga in March, is a longtime crowd favorite in New York, having fought six times at the Garden and another last year at Yankee Stadium.

For Margarito, it will mark his first action since a lopsided defeat at the hands of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in November 2010. The Mexican was forced to undergo surgery for a broken orbital bone after the fight, prompting calls for his retirement.