Shane Mosley vs Antonio Margarito: Who Will Win?
Sugar Fights The Tijuana Tornado for Welterweight Supremecy
Dec 9, 2008
Sugar Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito signed on the dotted line and their respective promoters, Top Rank and GoldenBoy, have begun the task of letting everyone know about it.
The fight comes as something of a surprise to boxing insiders who, after witnessing Mosley's hard fought loss to Miguel Cotto and lackluster performance against Ricardo Mayorga, had pegged Mosley as a boxer who should take an easy fight or two before calling it a career.
Margarito isn't an easy fight.
"I see an aggressive fighter (in Margarito) that throws a lot of punches," said Mosley. "He's the kind of guy I like to fight."
Since Mosley and Cotto fought a close fight (not a few writers scored the fight a draw or even had Mosley ahead by a round) and Margarito slowly, and relentlessly destroyed Cotto, there is the fear that Mosley will suffer Cotto's fate at the hands of the Tijuana Tornado. Mosley, as expected, isn't having any of that.
"In the late rounds of our fight I noticed that Cotto couldn't fight going backwards. I think I took something, I took some of his confidence. I have a bigger coat (thicker muscle) than Cotto. I can take more punishment. My sparring partners are 170-180 pounds right now."
Mosley, dressed in a navy, pinstriped suit with "Sugar" embroidered on his shirt cuffs, looked comfortable and confident, even without his father, Jack Mosley, by his side. This time around Shane is working with Nazim Richardson, Bernard Hopkins' long-time trainer.
Murmurings that the elder Mosley couldn't stomach, or condone, seeing Shane in the ring with the Margarito wrecking machine are, says Mosley, unfounded.
"I talk to him (his father) every day. Nazim helps me show some different looks."
Evasive? Maybe. Also absent from the press conference was Mosley's wife and Manager, Jin Mosley.
Margarito, looking casual in a beige polo shirt and his ever-present sunglasses, isn't concerned about Jack not being in Mosley's corner either.
"I don't worry about that. That's his choice. That's his business. It's my business to prepare myself and that's all I worry about. Almost two years ago we were offered this fight and for some reason it didn't go through but I always wanted it to happen because of the type of fighter Shane is. I will show you who I am on January 24."
GoldenBoy Promotions, of which Mosley is a partner, is resting a massive yoke on Shane's 37-year-old shoulders. (Margarito is only 30). After Manny Pacquiao all but embarrassed Oscar de la Hoya in the ring last Saturday, their namesake and cash cow is unlikely to command the serious paydays he's accustomed to, if he ever fights again. Another GoldenBoy partner, Bermard Hopkins, 44, who recently sent Kelly Pavlik back to Youngstown, Ohio with an old-school beat-down, is a great fighter, but not much of a draw.
GoldenBoy needs Mosley to win. To beat Margarito would be an remarkable boost to Shane's legacy and to GoldenBoy's coffers in the near future. To boxing observers, though, it looks like another GoldenBoy fighter jumping off a cliff.
Who will win? Margarito.
Fight Analysis
Mosley fancies himself as a technically proficient boxer, but the truth is, as skilled as he may be, he responds to hard shots by throwing hard shots. It's in his DNA.
Margarito does exactly the same thing. The problem for Mosley is that Margarito is bigger and stronger. Shane argues that he's fought bigger guys before, like Winky Wright (twice, both losses) and Ricardo Mayorga. The difference is that neither of those men throw the volume of punches that Margarito does, often averaging 100 plus punches per round.
Margarito wins this one going away. Shane will have his moments, because Margarito can be hit, but the oohs and ahhs that Mosley's punches generate from the crowd won't help him when Margarito keeps coming. And keeps punching.
Like the Cotto vs. Margarito fight before it, this fight will appear competitive for the first several rounds. Then Mosley will slow and Margarito won't.
Mosley should never have taken this fight.
Tickets for the Margarito vs. Mosley WBA welterweight title fight go on sale this Friday at the Staples Center box office. Prices are $50, $75, $150, and $300.
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