MARGARITO VS. MOSLEY PREVIEW AND PREDICTION

Posted on | January 23, 2009 | 1 Comment

** In-Depth Preview and Analysis **

By Tony Penecale

For years, the idea of fighting Antonio Margarito was about as appealing as getting a root canal. There was high risk and minimal reward for taking on the tough but mostly obscure Mexican known as “The Tijuana Tornado”. But in the last year, he has become a breakout star in the boxing world with his impressive performances on HBO, dismantling Kermit Cintron and Miguel Cotto. Shane Mosley has been a star in the boxing world for over a decade. Combining a wonderful blend of speed, power, and charisma, “Sugar Shane” became marquee when he beat Oscar De la Hoya back in 2000. His star has somewhat faded but it still has some sparkle to it. Margarito is looking at a lucrative rematch with Cotto while Mosley would like nothing better than to disrupt those plans. Will “Sugar Shane” be too Sweet for Margarito? Or will “The Tijuana Tornado” blow Mosley away?

AGE, RECORD, AND STATS

Margarito: Age: 30 years old
Record: 37-5 (27 Knockouts)
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 147 ** Weight for last bout (7-26-08)
Reach: 73”

Mosley: Age: 37 years old
Record: 45-5 (38 Knockouts)
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 153 ** Weight for last bout (9-27-08)
Reach: 67”

RING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Margarito: WBO Welterweight Champion (’02-’07)
IBF Welterweight Champion (’08)
WBA Welterweight Champion (’08-Pres)

Mosley: IBF Lightweight Champion (’97-‘99)
WBC Welterweight Champion (’00-’02)
WBC Junior Middleweight Champion (’03-‘04)
WBA Junior Middleweight Champion (’03-‘04)
Ring Magazine #1 Rated Pound-4-Pound Boxer (’00-‘02)

STYLE

Margarito: A tall, lanky fighter with long arms and power in both hands, Margarito fights aggressively, usually starting slow and finding the range for his straight right hand and left hook, thrown effectively to the body and head. Not afraid to take a punch, Margarito will stand directly in front of his opponents, using his superior strength to put them on the defensive. Once the action starts heating up, he fights like his moniker of “The Tijuana Tornado”. Margarito will be continuing with his longtime trainer, Javier Capitello.

Mosley: A well-schooled boxer with exceptional speed and power in both hands, Mosley boxes well from the outside, employing a strategy called “power boxing”. Is very effective with combinations and employs a solid body attack when in close. Is adept at controlling the pace, using angles and feints, forcing opponents into mistakes. Will roll his shoulders and use upper body movement to slip punches and freeze opponents. For most of his career, Mosley was trained by his father, Jack. They have parted for this bout and veteran Philadelphia trainer, Nazim Richardson, most known for his work with Bernard Hopkins, will be manning the reigns in Mosley’s corner.

STRENGTHS

Margarito:
1) Power – Margarito possesses punishing power in both hands which includes an arsenal of right hands, left hooks, and uppercuts. Several respected fighters were blown away under Margarito’s powerful attack.
2) Chin – In bouts against respected punchers like Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams, and Joshua Clottey, Margarito has stood toe-to-toe and taken their best offerings without blinking.
3) Killer Instinct – Once an opponent is hurt, Margarito swarms power punches like a shark swarms to blood, attacking with an assortment of punches until his adversary is no longer standing.

Mosley:
1) Speed – Mosley is quick both with his hands and feet. He can land rapid combinations, move out of harm’s way, and land again before his opponent is even able to set.
2) Experience – Mosley has been a championship caliber boxer for a decade now, tangling with top names such as Oscar De la Hoya, Winky Wright, Fernando Vargas, Vernon Forrest, among others. There isn’t a style that he hasn’t faced.
3) Durability – Mosley has a solid chin. He has been down once in his career and hurt only on a handful of occasions, even though he has faced several heavy-handed punchers.

WEAKNESSES

Margarito:
1) Slow Starter– Margarito is very deliberate in his style, plodding forward and firing long range punches. Opponents have found pockets of success in boxing and moving on angles, landing punches before Margarito can get set. Margarito often doesn’t get his momentum going until after a few rounds.
2) Easy to Hit – Margarito lost to Paul Williams and was trailing early to Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto because he was leaving himself open to punches over the top of his long arms. He is very willing to take punches to land his own.

Mosley:
1) Diminishing Power – Mosley’s punching power has diminished over the last several years. While still an impressive boxer, he doesn’t take his opponents out like he once did. It took Mosley 12 rounds before he could finally score a knockout over the faded Ricardo Mayorga.
2) Sizzle – At times, Mosley’s offense will contain more sizzle than steak. As he has aged, he has adopted a style with more moving and feinting, and while his moves are slick and eye-catching; there is more style than substance which doesn’t score points.

PREVIOUS BOUT

Margarito: Margarito took on Miguel Cotto in a can’t-miss matchup. Cotto used his underrated boxing skills early, building up a lead. Margarito continued to apply constant pressure and continually backed Cotto to the ropes, bombing him with right hands and uppercuts. Margarito floored a worn-out and bloodied Cotto twice in the 11th round, prompting the towel of surrender from Cotto’s corner.

Mosley: Mosley had a tough time with the crude and aggressive Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga’s aggressiveness and wild punches controlled the pace early. Mosley started to control the pace and land hard shots to the head and body, forcing Mayorga to clinch and wrestle. Mosley finally broke Mayorga down, hurting him in the 11th and flooring him twice in the 12th, leaving Mayorga unconscious in the final seconds.

3 BEST PERFORMANCES

Margarito:

1) Miguel Cotto (7-26-08) – Margarito cemented his star status by hammering the undefeated Cotto into defeat. Cotto boxed well early and built a solid lead. But Margarito walked through Cotto’s best punches and gradually wore him down; dropping him twice in the 11th round before the bout was halted.

2) Kermit Cintron (4-12-08) – This was a rematch to Margarito’s dominant victory over Cintron three years prior. Many thought the roles would be reversed as Cintron had improved tremendously under the tutelage of Emmanuel Steward. None of that mattered in the ring as Margarito relentlessly hammered Cintron with right hands, finally deflating him for the count with a vicious body shot in the 6th round.

3) Golden Johnson (11-10-07) – Coming off a decision loss to Paul Williams, it was wondered if Margarito was on the downslide. Margarito promised to start faster and he made good on that statement, attacking Johnson early and driving him to the canvas three times for a 1st round stoppage vicory.

Mosley:
1) Oscar De la Hoya (6-17-00) – Mosley had moved up from lightweight only nine months prior, skipping over the junior welterweight division, and challenged on of the sports top boxers. In a thrilling encounter, Mosley rallied down the stretch, out-punching the bigger champion in winning an exciting split decision.
2) Fernando Vargas (7-15-06) – The first bout between these two warriors saw Mosley win when Vargas was unable to continue due to damage around his eyes. It was competitive enough to warrant a rematch. Mosley rendered the rematch a mismatch, keeping Vargas off balance, before flattening him with a homerun left hook in the 6th round, setting up the stoppage moments later
3) Wilfredo Ruiz (6-27-98) – Mosley was originally set to defend against Ivan “Mighty” Robinson in Robinson’s hometown of Philadelphia. When Robinson was injured in sparring, Ruiz was brought in and while Mosley was expected to win, he stole the show. Ruiz was wobbled in the opening seconds and Mosley dished out a shellacking before finishing Ruiz with an impressive combo in the 5th round, wowing the hard-to-impress Philadelphia crowd.

QUESTIONS

Margarito: * Will he look past Mosley at another match with Cotto?

* How will he match Mosley’s speed and movement?

* Has he lost his hunger now that he is finally on top?

Mosley: * Can he still box at a fast pace 12 hard rounds?

* Does he have the power to discourage Margarito?

* Will the change in trainers help or hurt him?

PENECALE PREDICTION

Mosley will be determined not to fall behind like he did against Cotto and Mayorga and he will start briskly, boxing from the outside and circling behind his jab. Mosley will feint, jab, and move, avoiding Margarito’s straight-forward advances.

Despite Mosley fighting as high as Junior Middleweight, Margarito will clearly be the stronger and more physical combatant, and he will try to use his strength to muscle Mosley around the ring and back him up. Mosley will continue to box, jabbing from the outside and occasionally trying to leap in with left hook. Margarito will throw his long jab and Mosley will take advantage landing several right hands over the top, but the iron-jawed Margarito will not be fazed.

Throughout the middle rounds, Margarito will try to find a home for his right hand over the top and left uppercut. Mosley will have moments when he tries to step in and land punches to Margarito’s body, but that will also give the opportunity for Margarito to reciprocate with his own body punches. Mosley will land a higher volume of punches but they won’t carry the same weight or damaging effect that Margarito’s have.

The brisk pace will seem to affect Mosley’s 37-year-old legs more as the bout progresses to the 7th round and beyond. By applying steady pressure, Margarito will be forcing Mosley to continuously work and not allow him to slow the pace. Margarito will also continue to impose his body attack and throughout the 8th and 9th rounds, there will be more occurrences of Mosley clinching to catch a breather.

Mosley’s heart will keep him in it. He will go back to his “Power Boxing” technique in the 10 th round. He will double his jab and follow with a right hand, landing several flush against Margarito. He’ll use pivots to move out and land his left hook. But the hard-charging Margarito will keep right in “Sugar Shane’s” face.

The final two rounds will see a weary but proud Mosley fighting his heart out but he won’t have enough to pull it out against a younger and bigger fighter. Mosley will take some flush punches but he has a good chin and a heart to match it. He will last the distance but it will not be his night.

The winner by Unanimous Decision is “Tijuana Tornado” Antonio Margarito!!!

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