If the victory over Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto was the birth of a boxing superstar, then his fight against Shane Mosley, last night at the sold-out Staples Center, downtown Los Angeles, was Antonio Margarito’s baptism by fire.
Outclassed by Mosley and losing nearly every round, Margarito lost his claim to the welterweight throne when he was stopped 43 seconds into the ninth round, in a lopsided clash for his WBA welterweight belt.
Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) took the lead early in the first with hard left uppercuts from the inside and straight right hands from the outside. At first, Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) only smiled as he continued forward, throwing off balanced punches that missed more than they landed.
By the later rounds, the smile-but not the battering-disappeared.
As Mosley’s game plan for the fight became apparent, he boxed from the outside and clinched on the inside, but only after landing hard shots to the body. Margarito began to complain of Mosley’s head when they were in close quarters.
In the second round, Mosley continued to land the quicker punches as he attacked Margarito with jabs to, both, the midsection and the forehead, followed by by what became his weapon of choice-the straight right hand.
Margarito had no answer, but to continue to charge forward and wing punches from odd angles.
By the third round, Mosley began to get braver, throwing more-and landing-more punches at close range. The “Tijuana Tornado” remained on the receiving end, but continued to walk towards his rival. The spoiler from Pomona, Calif. seemed to land his right at will, though Margarito began to land heavy punches at the end of the round, but not enough to win yet one stanza.
In the fourth, Mosley continued to execute his flawless game plan, holding on the inside and landing hard rights from the outside. Midway through the round, both fighters began to exchange heavy punches with Mosley landing more cleanly and frequently. Margarito has no answer but a shell defense and a smile as the bell rang to end the round.
Margarito began with a surge of energy in the fifth with most of he pro-Mexican crowd of 20,820 chanting his name. Although Mosley was the smaller fighter, he continued to control the inside, grappling and holding Margarito to slow down the pace. Midway though the round, Mosley landed a multi-punch combination.
By the sixth round, it was obvious that there was no stopping Mosley’s right hand. When Margarito began to gain momentum, Mosley would shut it down by clinching inside. Near the end of the round, Mosley began to land hard right hands that sent Margarito to the ropes. Once there, Margarito tried to launch an assault, but Mosley’s right hands were too quick, and too many.
Near the end of the first minute of the seventh round, Mosley landed a devastating right hand that landed flush to the jaw. Although both fighters began to show signs of fatigue, Mosley continued to control the action, both, from the outside and the inside.
The second half of the round was all Margarito, who landed some telling punches over Mosley, seemingly enough to win the round in the eyes of two of the three judges. One minute into the eighth, Margarito landed a hard right hand while the crowd continued to show a now-desperate support, still chanting the Tijuanan’s name.
But, just as Margarito began to force the action, Mosley clinched again, slowing down the pace of the bout. Mosley missed a huge uppercut but then connected with a stunning right hand that sent Margarito reeling.
Mosley continued to land clubbing right hands, ultimately sending Margarito down to the canvas. Margarito, barely able to beat the count on wobbly legs, somehow survived the round, but as soon as he sat on the stool, he was bombarded by bottled water and the voice of his trainer, Javier Capetillo, pleading him to regain his senses.
At the bell to announce the ninth round, the experienced Mosley went after Margarito with all
guns blazing, completely overwhelming Margarito. Several big straight right hands prompted the third man in the ring, Raul Caiz Sr., to stop the fight, after Margarito’s corner threw in the towel at the 43 second mark of the round.
According to Compubox numbers, Margarito landed only 108 total punches of 485 thrown, while Mosley connected with 70 more, throwing only 22 more. But in non typical Margarito fashion, the “Tijuana Tornado” only landed 78 power punches of 303 thrown giving him a 26% connection ratio while Mosley landed almost half of his 240 power punches thrown, connecting with 118 giving him a 49% percentage.
With the win, Mosley was crowned as the new WBA welterweight champion.
Photos by MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images