Exclusive report and photos from Saturday’s fight
California is known for its earthquakes and on Saturday night huge shock waves jarred the sold-out crowd at the Staples Center during the Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley fight for the welterweight crown.
It was a big upset as the “Tijuana Tornado” met the power puncher from Pomona in front of the largest crowd ever at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
HBO’s Larry Merchant called L.A. “Margarito-ville,” which certainly rang true as Antonio entered the arena to thunderous applause. The pro-Margarito crowd filled to the rafters as excited fans waved flags and signs in support of the beloved Mexican fighter.
Introduced as “the challenger,” the 37-year-old Mosley quickly quieted the crowd, causing aftershocks as the boxer-puncher surprised everyone with superior hand speed that set the pace for the rest of the fight against his taller opponent.
In the epicenter of it all, the veteran “Sugar” Shane executed his perfect game plan under new trainer Naazim Richardson and stopped the gritty Margarito in the ninth round of the bout.
On Sunday morning I woke up to a “Rocky” movie marathon playing on cable TV and it reminded me that the recent wave of boxing seems to favor the older or smaller underdogs.
After seeing B-Hop’s win over Kelly Pavlik and witnessing Pacquiao upset over De La Hoya, the underdogs (in age or size, or in Mosley’s case both age and size) continue to shock everyone in the fight game. It’s not just the fact that they won that’s surprising, it’s how they won that’s shocking people the most.
And with almost 21,000 spectators watching on, the 4-1 underdog Mosley (now 46-5, 39 KOs) displayed his famous hand speed, delivering quick and powerful body shots as well as fast and crisp counters in the opening round that muted the boisterous crowd. The brave Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) never gave up and fans continued to cheer and root for their hero even during his post-fight interview in the ring.
While nothing compares to the electricity and spectacle of a title fight in Vegas, it was a genuine party-like atmosphere at the Staples Center beginning with the Tecate girls greeting the ticket holders outside the arena with smiles, flags, and beads. And the fight promoters gave everyone an opportunity to watch the bout by offering reasonably-priced tickets (compared to Vegas prices) that were appreciated by all especially in these current economic times.
It was definitely a thrilling night of live boxing in the hub of downtown L.A. even without the neon lights, glitz, and glamour that Vegas offers. A bonus of the Staples Center (home of NBA’s Lakers, Clippers and NHL’s Kings) is their seating plan that offers a closer proximity to the ring when compared to the cavernous Vegas venues.
We had a memorable night with a cool L.A. crowd. Here’s what we experienced as Mosley wins one for the ages:
While walking up to the Staples Center entrance, we run into some pals from World Boxing Hall of Fame, new President and former fighter Mando Muñiz, Frank Martinez, Raymundo Camacho and Ricardo Flores. HBO Sports conducts an interview with Mando as the fans start to enter the walkway in droves.
Next while meeting up with some girlfriends (Marlene, Sharon and Melinda) and one of our favorite writer’s “Will/Bill” in the arena lobby, a calm and confident Jack Mosley walks by us with a cheerful hello for our group.
Waiting for the main event to begin, we see fighters Victor Ortiz and Alfredo Angulo being approached by tons of fans as flashbulbs go off. We also see Jerry Ferrara (“Turtle” from “Entourage”), actors and boxing buffs Mark Walhberg, Sylvester Stallone, and a couple of football players and basketball players making their way to their seats in anticipation of the showdown in the ring.
And outside of the ring, there’s heavy action in the crowd too. We see and hear several loud fights break out in the stands when some fans, possibly fueled by the $11 beers, get raucous in the rafters during the main event.
When the fight ends, everyone is stunned and shocked in a similar reaction that took place when Pacquiao beat Oscar. “It’s deja vu all over again” I think to myself as everybody roams around the floor in stages of disbelief.
We go say hi to HBO’s “unofficial ringside scorer” Harold Lederman and also run into crowd favorite Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola and young prospects Shawn Estrada and Walter Sarnoi. Chris is a great, down-to-earth guy who yells “Holy Sh**!” when we ask him what he thinks of the fight. Arreola and Lederman have a minute to greet each other and share a laugh before the popular heavyweight boxer and the gregarious Lederman make fans happy and pose for pics.
We say hello to former WBHF Prez Adolfo Perez, then chat with a few of our buddies before heading out of the Staples Center. In the hallway by the front entrance, we see a victorious Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (who barely broke a sweat, scoring a KO in 43 seconds of the first round against Edel Ruiz) pass by us as everybody congratulates him on his quick win.
Outside of the auditorium, we see Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora as he takes time to sign autographs for the fans in the “chill” of our So Cal climate.
As the crowd filters out into the night, the downtown streets take on a New York-style ambience. Well, as close to that feeling as we on the West Coast can ever actually experience since the city of L.A. is spread out so vastly.
On this same night, a local radio station hosted a concert right across the fight venue, so the area cafes, restaurants, and clubs are all open late with long lines of patrons. Nokia Theatre’s “L.A. Live” is the new entertainment complex that was built to draw out people to the downtown zone and it features their own version of neon lights, glitz, and glamour–L.A. style. It actually felt safe walking around these streets you normally wouldn’t want to be strolling down. But with the masses of fight fans and concert-goers milling around, it was downright cozy.
We hang out with cornermen Jesus “Maestrito” Garcia, Gil “Candyman” Nieves, and friends Paul Anderson, Frank Martinez and his co-workers until reality hits and we all say goodbye, board the freeways, and head home after a good time at the fights.
And even though Los Angeles has had a long history with its love of boxing–many historic bouts were held at the venerable Olympic Auditorium and the famed Forum–people still wondered if the sport and the city could weather the MMA storm that blows its way toward boxing.
The Margarito-Mosley battle made the statement that boxing is back in L.A.–and in a big way.
Almost a decade after his victory over Oscar De La Hoya at the same venue, L.A. local Mosley and the Torrance-born Margarito reintroduced the fight world to world-class boxing in Los Angeles. We don’t need a Richter scale to know that this town is big enough for both of them.
So what’s next for Margarito and “Sugar” Shane?
A Cotto rematch? A Pacquiao bout? Paul Williams? Mayweather?
Whatever happens, I think that Margarito, 30, will regain his championship ranking in the ring. He is the type of boxer who will never ever give up. Resisting his corner’s efforts to stop the fight after the eighth round, Tony courageously entered the ninth round–which became his final round. Like Margarito himself said right after the fight, he just had a bad night in what was arguably Mosley’s best night of his career that cements his already-certain Hall of Fame status.
Whatever future decisions the two well-respected warriors make, rest assured that boxing made its mark in L.A. once again!
And hopefully we will all get to reap the benefits of watching more fights of this magnitude taking place in the City of Angels. How sweet it is. Just like “Sugar.”
Photos courtesy of Michele Chong and Steve Harpst: Snapshots from the Staples Center; Jack Mosley, Robert Guerrero, Walter Sarnoi, Shawn Estrada, Harold Lederman, Chris Arreola, Sergio Mora, Mando Muñiz; Inside the fight venue through Round 9