LOS ANGELES – Some thought Sugar Shane Mosley had taken one too many punches when he said he was trying not to be over-confident for his WBA welterweight championship fight against Antonio Margarito last night.
At 37 years old, Mosley was thought to be on the downside of his career and lacking the strength to hold off the hard-punching Mexican, who had dethroned previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto last July.
But Mosley’s confidence was validated by a brilliant performance when he scored a stunning ninth-round TKO over Margarito before 20,820, the largest crowd ever at the Staples Center.
Mosley, a 2-to-1 underdog, winning by decision seemed a long shot; winning by TKO after dropping Margarito twice was simply stunning. Mosley, who captured a welterweight title for the first time since 2002, controlled the fight from start to finish, mixing a punishing body attack with hard combinations and hooks to the head.
Just about everything Mosley threw landed somewhere between Margarito’s ribs and forehead.
The culmination of punches finally took their toll on Margarito, who went down late in the eighth round and never fully recovered in the ninth, when a barrage of punches from Mosley prompted Margarito’s corner to throw in the towel 23 seconds in the round.
“I just kept getting caught over and over,” Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) said.
The new WBA welterweight champion credited the execution of a game plan devised by new trainer Naazim Richardson for the victory.
“He’s a very tough fighter and had lot of endurance,” Mosley said. “I prepared really hard and trained hard, so I was very focused and alert during the fight. He was very powerful, but he couldn’t resist my rhythm. So it made the fight easy for me.”
The start of the fight was briefly delayed because Margarito was asked to wrap his hands three times before they were judged suitable to fight. The Mosley camp had complained the gauze between the fingers in the first two wraps was too thick and hard.
Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) is a native of nearby Pomona, Calif., and fought the first fight at the Staples Center, when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya in June of 2000. But the record crowd here was clearly pro-Margarito.
The fight hinged on whether Mosley’s hand speed and foot movement would be fast enough to elude the powerful punches of Margarito. Seconds after the opening bell it was clear another part of Mosley’s game plan would include a sustained attack to Margarito’s mid-section. And when he wasn’t throwing hooks at Margarito’s body, Mosley stayed this close, tying up the long arms of Tijuana Tornado.
Mosley, who connected on 49 percent of 240 power punches, began to land hard combinations to the head in the third round. But Margarito kept coming forward, eating a big punch to throw his own leather. It was a furious pace, filled with either constant punching or aggressive clenching.
Margarito is accustomed to brutal wars, but the question was whether Mosley’s 37-year-old legs and stamina could hold up or would he fade the way Cotto did against Margarito in July.
Mosley didn’t fade. He nearly had Margarito out in the eighth. Late in the round he landed a series of devastating punches, including two overhand rights that finally dropped Margarito, who barely beat the count as the bell rang to end the round.
Mosley went for the kill in the ninth, trapping Margarito on the ropes and unloading a barrage of power punches. Margarito wilted to canvas and his corner threw in the towel to stop the fight.
