Mosley Stuns Margarito to Regain Welterweight Championship

Entering into his fight with Antonio Margarito, not many people felt that Shane Mosley had a chance to win. The opinion was out on Mosley, while still a workmanlike fighter and a stern test for any man, Mosley was no longer at the top of his game. Miguel Cotto beat Mosley and Antonio Margarito pummeled Cotto into submission shortly thereafter. But if there is one thing that always holds true in boxing, it's that triangle theories don't hold up and that styles make fights.

Prior to the fight, an issue arose regarding the hand wrapping of Antonio Margarito. Mosley's corner alleged that there was an illegal material which would harden and the California commission agreed, forcing Margarito to re-tape his hands several times. Whether or not Margarito was adequately prepared and whether or not the hand tape issue threw him off of his game, Margarito was dominated thoroughly by the 37 year old Mosley, who first won the welterweight championship almost nine years ago.

Of course, hardened hand tape or not, Margarito would have had to have actually hit Mosley in order to retain his championship, a feat that he simply could not manage to effectively pull off. Throughout the entire evening, Margarito looked slow of foot and a step behind. Mosley, in his first fight training under Nasim Richardson displayed a fundamentally solid game plan based around denying Margarito entrance to his comfort zone while dictating the pace of the fight.

Mosley took advantage of Margarito being a slow starter to win the early rounds of the fight. While this wasn't surprising, what was surprising was that Mosley was able to sustain his aggression and Margarito was never able to step on the gas. One of the main differences in this classic Mosley showing from his recent performances against the likes of Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga was that Mosley was able to fight for a full three minutes of every round.

One of Mosley's strategies was to ensure that he threw punches when he wanted to while denying Margario the chance to be purely on the attack. He accomplished this by often clinching or pushing Margarito away after firing his own shots, never giving Margarito a chance to respond. This kept Margarito out of his rhythm, while Mosley was able to dictate where the fight took place and how it was fought. Mosley also showed a new wrinkle against Margarito, the use of a crisp jab, one of the tools that often eluded him even in the prime of his career.

By the second and third rounds it was clear that Mosley had found his weapon for the night, a straight right hand over the top. Whether launched as a lead or as a counter shot, Margarito could not seem to avoid getting clocked flush in the face by Mosley's right. Known for his deadly left hook – which he would later deploy in typically devastating fashion – Mosley was content in the early going to rely on his right hand. Not only did this continue to win him rounds, but all of the shots actually seemed to be taking a toll on the seemingly indestructible and super-chinned Margarito.

As the fight continued, Mosley continued to frustrate the champion, to the point that Margarito looked visibly beaten by the fifth round. While the sixth was his best of the night, and one could make a case that it was the only round he won over the entire bout, Margarito never was able to turn the tide of Shane Mosley.

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The eighth round began with Margarito working his way forward and attempting to launch combinations and pin Mosley against the ropes. But the opposite happened, when Mosley landed a jarring 1-2 combination that marked the beginning of the end of Margarito's title reign. Pushed back across the ring, and battered incessantly for the remainder of the round, Margarito was finally sent to the canvas with a signature Mosley left hook before the bell.

The one minute rest wouldn't do Margarito much good, as Mosley jumped on him from the onset of the ninth. Clearly looking to finish the fight against a beaten and wobbly man, Mosley was firing shots in rapid combination as a defenseless Margarito leaned on the ropes. A final left hook and right hook combination closed the deal, as the referee stepped in to end the contest.

Welcome back to the class of elite fighters, Shane Mosley. All of the sudden the world is at Mosley's fingertips, as it once was nine years ago, after a crowning performance in the welterweight division against a favored Mexican opponent at the Staples Center. With his status renewed, perhaps retired pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather would be interested in taking the challenge. Of course there is also a rematch with Miguel Cotto to consider.

Whatever his next move is, one has to appreciate the guts and determination of Shane Mosley, a man that nearly everyone counted out. To say he turned back the clock is to cliché and does not give enough justice to his performance. Mosley felled a larger opponent, a man in his prime, who was regarded as the best man in his division. At any age, that is a feat that can be admired.

If a fighter should be judged not on his prime, but on what he accomplishes when some of his physical gifts have begun to erode, then Shane Mosley emphatically stamped his entrance ticket to the Hall of Fame and his name on the short list of the best fighters of his generation with his complete domination of the now former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.

By Jake Emen
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer