Sugar Shane Mosley defeats Antonio Margarito: Round by Round

The G Manifesto » 25 January 2009 » In Guide »

For Pomona’s Shane Mosley, Saturday night marked the first return to the scene of his greatest victory, a thrilling split decision over Los Angeles’ favorite boxer, Oscar De La Hoya in 2000. A massive Staples Center crowd of 20,820 relished the pre-fight festivities as Mosley entered to T.I./Rihanna’s “Live Your Life,” and Tijuana’s Antonio Margarito came in as a traditional Mexican song played, bowing to the crowd with his arms folded in front of him. Then the fight was underway:

Round 1

* What happened: Mosley’s camp said they found pads containing flecks of a substance containing a “plaster of Paris” type substance in Margarito’s hand wraps, which were cut off and sealed for further inspection by the California State Athletic Commission. Mosley was the surprise aggressor, snapping some scoring jobs and barreling a nice right straight to the champion’s belly. Another good combination and nice right to the body by Mosley made it his round, which Margarito seemed to acknowledge with a late smile toward the challenger.

* Pugmire’s take: Mosley looked fresher than he has in a few fights. Wearing black shorts as he did against De La Hoya more than eight years ago, he fought as if he has indeed turned back time.

* Judges: Max De Luca: Mosley, 10-9; Dr. James Jen Kin: Mosley, 10-9; Nelson Vazquez: Mosley, 10-9.

Round 2

* What happened: Mosley keeps the momentum, banging a right-left to Margarito’s head. Margarito sneaks in a solid overhand right, but Mosley throws him off and clearly is not intimidated by Margarito’s champion status.

* Pugmire’s take: Margarito looks as unprepared as Mosley was when he first faced Vernon Forrest after beating De La Hoya all those years ago

* Judges: De Luca: Mosley, 10-9; Jen Kin: Mosley, 10-9; Vazquez: Margarito, 10-9.

Round 3

* What happened: Mosley starts strong again with a scoring right and jab. Margarito charges forward and stings Mosley, who might be bleeding under the left eye. A big Mosley left is followed by his productive jab, and a nice combination to the head by Mosley is followed by a stiff right to Margarito’s chin. Three more strong scoring shots make the round Mosley’s.

* Pugmire’s take: Now, we’re three rounds deep, and Mosley is still charging, looking like the far sharper boxer.

* Judges: De Luca: Mosley, 10-9; Jen Kin: Mosley, 10-9; Vazquez: Mosley, 10-9.

Round 4

* What happened: Margarito’s steel chin is getting tested. Mosley unleashes an impressive flurry, starring two big rights. Margarito is forced to tie Mosley up to slow one barrage, but the Pomona product is teeing off, capping the round with a wicked overhand right to Margarito’s punished mug.

* Pugmire’s take: Mosley clearly still has world-class skills, and his training camp under Bernard Hopkins’ trainer Nazim Richardson did, as they said, produce a game plan of perfection.

* Judges: De Luca: Mosley, 10-9; Jen Kin: Mosley, 10-9; Vazquez: Mosley, 10-9.

All of a sudden, it looks like Sugar Shane is head of the class.

The Rest is Up to You…

Michael Porfirio Mason
AKA The Peoples Champ
AKA GFK
The Guide to Getting More Out of Life
http://www.thegmanifesto.com

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