Margarito-Mosley

Last July, Antonio Margarito beat Miguel Cotto in a classic welterweight title fight; the referee called it the best fight he’d ever been in the ring for. Tonight on HBO, Margarito will take on Sugar Shane Mosley. I asked my son to preview the bout; here is his take:

Tonight Sugar Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito will meet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The fight will take place at 147 pounds and the WBA Welterweight Title will be on the line. Mosley came in right on weight, while Margarito was about a pound under. Margarito is coming off an exciting 11th round stoppage of former champ Miguel Cotto, while Mosley is coming off a last second knockout of the fighter formerly known as Ricardo Mayorga.

Margarito is in his prime while Mosley is surely past his at 37 years old. On the other hand, Mosley is a likely hall of famer, while Margarito was largely ignored before his last win. Both fighters have an exciting style, and the fight should be full of action. Margarito is the favorite, however there have been some big wins for veterans lately (see Hopkins v. Pavlik) that suggest Mosley might have a shot.

My prediction is that Antonio Margarito, the bigger, stronger fighter, will win by late stoppage or unanimous decision. Hopefully Mosley will prove that he still has a full tank and this fight will start 2009 out on the right foot for boxing.

Margarito’s relentlessness against Cotto was awe-inspiring, but can he rise to that level again? Through their careers, Mosley has been regarded as the thoroughbred and Margarito as the mudder. If Mosley isn’t yet over the hill–he has won six of his last seven fights, after all–we could see an upset. One way or another, it will be an interesting fight.

This video previews the match with excerpts from both fighters’ bouts with Cotto:

UPDATE: It wasn’t a great fight, but it was a great performance by Mosley. Margarito was a 4-1 favorite, but it was all Mosley from the beginning. Mosley was sharp, fast and powerful. Unlike Cotto, Mosley not only won the early rounds but caught Margarito with hard, effective punches that set Margarito up for a 9th-round knockout. Mosley, a hall of fame fighter, has never looked better. It’s hard to figure: Cotto beat Mosley, Margarito KO’ed Cotto, and Mosley crushed Margarito. Boxing has seen a series of upsets lately; this is one of the more stunning ones.

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A controversy may be emerging: Mosley’s trainer reportedly spotted some hard substance being incorporated into Margarito’s hand wraps. Margarito’s hands were eventually wrapped three times. Shades of Dempsey-Willard?

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