MARGARITO/MOSLEY ANALYSIS
On January 24th at the Staples Center, the newly crowned welterweight king, Antonio Margarito will get into the ring and clash with the gutsy ‘’Sugar'’ Shane Mosley. In Mosley’s last fight, Mosley needed every single second of the clock to knock out the unpredictable Ricardo Mayorga.
Many observers believe that a prime Mosley would have crushed Mayorga inside 6 rounds. The fact that the knock out came on the last second of the 12th round made most observers question not just whether Mosley lost a step, but whether or not he had any steps left in him, if any at all.
I for one feel that the extra 12 to 13 pounds on Mayorga’s frame may have been a big reason for delayed knock out, we are lucky we even got a knock out at all. Then again, Mosley was pretty much counted out when he was preparing to face Miguel Cotto, and we all saw that Mosley gave Cotto all that he could handle in their meeting.
When Mosley faced Cotto, Mosley seemed to be surprised with the speed of Cotto as well as the versatility that Cotto displayed in his counterpunching abilities. Early on the fight belonged to the Boriqua Bomber, then in the second half Mosley seemed to finally figure out his opponent and rushed Cotto forcing the young strong bull to retreat and take an easy way out. In the end, Cotto got the unanimous nod, but to most of us that saw the war, the nod was anything but unanimous.
For Mosley’s next fight, Mosley will now have an appointment with the AKA Tijuana Tornado, AKA the Torture Chamber, AKA the Terminator. It really doesn’t matter which nickname you choose, Antonio Margarito at the time seems to be all those nicknames and some.
The good news for Mosley is that in fighting against Margarito, Mosley will not have to worry about adjusting to speed or any slick moves in there when facing Margarito. Margarito’s fighting style is in your face intense pressure attacks for every second of the round.
As I sit here describing Margarito’s ferocity to you, the image of Pacquiao destroying De La Hoya replays in my mind. So with the final curtain possibly closing in on the Golden Boys career, Will Mosley be next in line to face his doom? A Mosley defeat will more than likely bring an end to Mosley’s great career.
A Mosley win however would shoot Mosley right back to the top and may bring a possible date with Manny Pacquiao, the man that may have just ended his business partners Golden career. It just so happens that earlier today, Freddie Roach, the trainer of the tazmanian devil Pacquiao, stated that if Mosley can beat Margarito, that Mosley would be a name that they would entertain for Pacquiao’s next fight.
So with the possibility of his career hanging on the line as well as the added incentive of maybe putting himself in position to face Pacquiao soon after. We can all expect to see the best Shane Mosley. Question is, will his best at this stage of his career be enough to withstand and sustain the torture chamber that awaits him?
Posted By: Albert Alvarez