(KNOCKOUT NATION – JANUARY 25, 2009)
It was Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik all over again as HBO featured an old lion viewed as the underdog against the more youthful fighter who is in the prime of his career. Similar to the Hopkins vs. Pavlik fight, the old lion passed the test with flying colors. On Saturday night, in front of an electric, sold Staples Center crowd, Shane Mosley stopped Antonio Margarito by TKO with 23 seconds left of the 9th round. The crowd appeared to be a pro Margarito crowd as Mosley was flooded with a chorus of “BOOS” as he made his way to the ring. On the other hand, Margarito was greeted with a warrior’s welcome as he made his way to center stage.
In front of a celebrity packed, sell out crowd, Mosley proceeded to put on the best performance of his career in defeating the man many have labeled as a “BEAST”. From round one, Mosley surprisingly started out as the aggressor with Margarito appearing to get a feel for Shane’s rhythm. Mosley constantly led with his jab which kept Margarito off balance, and immediately followed up with his quick right hand. Mosley also had a well crafted strategy of tying Margarito up after he would get off his quick combinations. By tying Margarito up, Mosley was able to stop Margarito’s forward momentum and force him to set his feet over again to set up his offense.
As the next few rounds commenced, it was the quicker and busier Shane Mosley getting off first and landing blistering combinations. The end of Shane’s flurries were sometimes punctuated with Margarito’s head snapping back from Mosley’s powerful right hand. Margarito would have his moments here and there, but Shane would again tie him up whenever he sensed Margarito was getting busier.
As the rounds reached the midway point of the fight, Shane was pitching a complete shutout. It would be hard to find a single round to give Margarito, as Shane was simply hitting on all cylinders. Whether he was hitting Margarito with jabs, lead right hands, or cracking body shots, it was always Shane leading first with Margarito trying to play catch up.
As the next few rounds went on, it was becoming very apparent that Margarito would need a knockout to win on the scorecards (which was not likely to happen against Mosley). Margarito attempted to step up his aggression, but during exchanges, Mosley would still get the better of him using feints and footwork to totally confuse Margarito.
In the eighth round, Mosley hit the jackpot by landing multiple left and right hands on Margarito that had the Mexican warrior hurt and staggering. As Margarito lay on the ropes attempting to recover, a right hand and uppercut from Mosley put Maragrito down on the canvas. For a moment, it did not appear that Antonio would beat the count. However, the brave warrior managed to stagger to his feet and was saved by the bell of the eighth round.
In the 9th and final round, Mosley came out with a vengeance sensing the end was near for Margarito. Margarito still seemed affected by the prior pound’s beating he took, and this one was no different. Mosley, looking like a 20 year old fighter, was extremely aggressive. Landing hard lefts and rights, Margarito found himself again pinned to the ropes taking plenty of punishment. Margarito’s corner had seen enough, and as the ref stepped in to stop the fight, Mosley landed a final right hand that dropped Margarito down to the canvas.
Major props must be given to not only Shane Mosley, but his acting trainer for this fight, Nazim Richardson. Richardson, who has been a long time trainer for Bernard Hopkins, came up with an excellent strategy to combat Margarito’s style. It should also be added that Richardson was also able to detect that Margarito’s hands were illegally wrapped before the beginning of the bout. This catch forced the appointed officials to have Margarito’s hands re-wrapped three times to their liking to assume that all was fair. Ironically, it was said that it was Richardson who also caught the illegal wrapping of Felix Trinidad’s hands prior to his fight with Bernard Hopkins in 2001. So the question on everyone’s mind is, “Did Margario have his hands illegally wrapped for the Cotto fight as well?” At this point, no one knows, but I believe this conspiracy may be looked into.
After the fight, Shane Mosley stated, ” I won the fight with my strategy and because I was focused on my game plan. I used my left hook. It was the same left hook that caught Mayorga and Vargas. He’s a tough fighter with a lot of endurance. But because of my hard training camp, I was always alert during the fight. He was powerful but he couldn’t resist my rhythm.”
With the win, Mosley is the new WBA welterweight champion and his record improves to 46-5 with 39 KO’s. Margarito’s record now falls to 37-6 with 27 KO’s. Margarito was initially slated to face Cotto in a June rematch, but it is unknown if that fight will now be put in jeopardy. Cotto will be fighting for the WBO welterweight title when he faces Michael Jennings next month. If Cotto wins next month, perhaps the Margarito rematch will be scrapped as a rematch with Mosley can serve as a title unification bout.
No matter what happens, Shane has plenty of options. At 37, Shane continued to prove he can compete on an elite level and still has the hunger and desire to be a world champion. In addition, Shane continues to face the toughest opposition available or offered to him which seems like a rarity these days. Props to the future Hall of Famer on a job well done.
BROWN
Brownkn1@gmail.com
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