Shane Mosley’s rise back to the top has now reached completion.
January 24 saw Mosley TKO then WBA Welterweight champion Antonio Margarito for the title in Los Angeles. The win came just 44 seconds into the ninth round of a fight that Mosley had been dominating right from the onset. The win was both the brightest spot on Mosley’s distinguished career and one that will stay with him for a long time not due to anything he did in the ring, but due to what happened before the fight out of the ring.
Before the fight even began, Margarito’s camp had to rewrap Margarito’s hands when Mosley’s trainer spotted a substance that was reported to be plaster-like, but also heavy almost like concrete. Margarito’s hands were wrapped three separate times before the California State Athletic Commission officials present were satisfied.
The incident has now put a lot of Margarito’s recent career—including with TKO of Miguel Cotto last summer—into question. Margarito’s performance was similar in many ways to his performance against Cotto, but with a few noticeable differences. While the Cotto fight saw Cotto land punch after punch, it was Margarito who controlled the ring and the pace; against Mosley, Margarito controlled neither and got beaten up because of it. The other major difference was that Margarito ran out of gas against Mosley long before he did against Cotto. Margarito’s win against Cotto came mainly because he was able to stay energized and keep connecting on punches; against Mosley, his hands and arms were both light and spent by the end of the fifth round when desperation began to kick in. Most people would say that Margarito’s arms being tired here was proof that the Cotto win was legit because wouldn’t any extra weight within his hand wraps have caused the same thing to have happened in the Cotto fight? Possibly. However, even the “cement hands” likely wouldn’t have been enough against Mosley who had another picture perfect performance to go with his KO of Ricardo Mayorga last September.
Mosley was an unstoppable force in this fight going wire-to-wire with constant action, most of that being power punch after power punch aimed at Margarito’s face. Mosley’s shutout on the cards was in jeopardy late in round six, but three big right hands to Margarito won the round for Mosley. In the eighth, Mosley almost finished Margarito in the final minute with an all-out assault that saw Mosley pound Margarito all over the ring keeping him on the ropes and in the line of fire. The assault didn’t stop until the fight was stopped early in round nine. Mosley nailed Margarito with an assortment of shots that finally floored the now-former champ with less than twenty seconds to go in the eighth. Margarito survived the round, but Mosley came at him with the same ferocity and speed in the ninth and referee Raul Caiz had no choice but to stop it.
Margarito’s one bright spot was the seventh round where he finally began to connect effectively and efficiently, but it was all a ruse, as this was Shane Mosley’s night and Margarito would not find the same pent up energy or the same will to continue throwing that he had against Cotto.
This fight—with the controversy and Mosley’s win—now positions the welterweight division at the top of boxing ousting the light heavyweight division with Joe Calzaghe’s recent retirement announcement. The welterweight division at this moment comprises the best personalities, biggest draws, and best fighters in the sport. Shane Mosley, at 37 and champion again, leads the pack that includes Ricky Hatton who is becoming more and more popular in America, Manny Pacquiao, who’s staying in that division for now for a fight against Hatton in May. There’s also Paul Williams (possibly the most overlooked and ducked fighter in boxing right now), Floyd Mayweather (should he decide to return to boxing), Oscar De La Hoya (should he decide to fight again), still unbeaten and young Andre Berto, the entertaining and still effective Luis Callazo, as well as some other fighters who have name value amongst fight fans. Such fighters include Zab Judah, Jose Luis Castillo, and Joshua Clottey. With Mosley, there are plenty of possibilities. Because of the Margarito controversy—and that being his only loss—a title fight with Cotto wouldn’t be out of the picture, as well as a potential fight with Williams should Mosley not outright refuse to fight Williams. There’s also the possibility, a very good one that is, that the current champion Mosley would defend against the winner of Pacquiao/Hatton. From a financial standpoint either man would draw big money with Mosley, but Pacquiao would be the man people in boxing would want because a fight between Pacquiao and Mosley would certainly do near a million buys if not more. Plus that fight, more so than a Hatton/Mosley fight, might be enough to bring Floyd Mayweather out of retirement should the pound-for-pound comparisons start.
