In Los Angeles, California, before a record Staples Center crowd of 20,820 fans, Sugar Shane Mosley, 46-5 (39) knocked Antonio Margarito, 37-6 (27) down at the end of the eighth round with a flurry of punches and finished the job at the beginning of round nine, a round in which Margarito didn't land a single punch. But then, he didn't have a chance to.
As so often happens in boxing, the odds were wrong (4-1 in Margarito's favor) and the experts were wrong (including this writer). Margarito destroyed Miguel Cotto last July by constantly coming forward while taking Cotto's best shots. Tonight it was Mosley, 37, who came forward, often muscling Margarito's back to the ropes and letting his faster hands go wherever Margarito, 30, was open, which seemed to be everywhere.
A flawless fight plan combined with the perfect opponent gave Mosley what may well be the sweetest victory of his career. In the middle of the ring, Mosley landed counter rights over Margarito's long left jab. A lot of counter rights. When Margarito managed to bull his way inside, Mosley tied him up, preventing the Tornado from blowing his head back with those trademark Margarito uppercuts. And then there was the speed. Looking very comfortable at 147, Mosley threw combinations with a looseness and fluidity the appeared lacking in recent fights. Sure, he looked good, but he hasn't looked this good.
Margarito wasn't without moments, but they were of the sort that only a hardcore boxing geek would notice them. In rounds three and four Margarito, while being dominated, worked effectively to Mosley's body. Short uppercuts to Mosley's gut, thrown with both hands in round four, hinted at possibilities in later rounds. But by round six Shane had weathered all that and crashed three right hands into Margarito's skull, backing him up to the ropes and blinding him with flashes of lightning.
Early in the fight, Margarito somehow managed to land his jab. It's a long - slow - ponderous jab, but it landed. Shane, the smart, experienced fighter, simply took a half step back and timed Margarito's stick with rights that couldn't miss.
At various times during the fight Margarito's legs crossed up as he stumbled around, trying to gain balance and leverage. Other times he stood directly in front of Shane, feet squared, taking punches.
Mosley always moved first, leaving Margarito unable to plant and fire.
A left hook seemed to start the flurry that sent Margarito down at the end of round eight, but Mosley landed so much punishment, with such ease, it's hard to tell where Margarito's problems started.
At the beginning of round nine, with the pro-Margarito crowd mostly unglued, Margarito walked out into the center of the ring, in the center of the arena, to take his beating, knowing that he had been saved by the bell in the previous round. His corner wanted to stop the fight before the bell, but Antonio would have none of it. He was going to make Shane Mosley knock him out.
 |
