Antonio Margarito-Shane Mosley: Size Does Matter

This Saturday, Antonio Margarito meets Shane Mosley in a welterweight bout featuring Ring Magazine’s first and third-ranked 147 pounders. The nearly 6'0" Margarito is a huge welterweight with an iron chin.  He also possesses a gas tank that is never empty, as he routinely throws 100 punches per round.

Mosley, the former lightweight, welterweight, and junior-middleweight champion, known for his fast hands, foot speed, and “power boxing” style developed by his father Jack, secured his place in boxing’s Hall of Fame years ago.    

Margarito sports a deceptive 37-5 (27 by knockout) record; his first three losses came before the 30-year-old Mexican turned 19. His only defeats since 1996 came by technical decision against the 6'0" Daniel Santos in a 154-pound fight and a close decision loss to Paul Williams, a 6'2" freak who is currently accepting fights anywhere between 147 and 160 pounds. 

Margarito’s most recent fight against top-10 pound for pounder Miguel Cotto was perhaps his most impressive to date. Cotto was an undefeated champion known for breaking down his opponents with a vicious body attack before putting them away.  

Like Keyser Soze from the Usual Suspects, Margarito showed a man of will what real will was all about. Antonio took Cotto’s best shots and kept moving forward, gradually wearing down his opponent until the Puerto Rican had enough. 

Cotto was forced to take two knees in the eleventh round, prompting his corner to stop the fight.  This earned Margarito the WBA Welterweight championship.

In Mosley, Margarito faces a 37-year-old veteran with a 44-5 (38 by knockout) record.  At 5'9", inches, Mosley has faced many of the top fighters of the past 15 years, beating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, and Ricardo Mayorga while coming up short against Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright. 

Mosley has never been stopped in his career, and was only knocked down and seriously hurt once, in his first fight with Forest. 

While Margarito will have the strength advantage and ability to throw more punches per round, the veteran Mosley should still have an advantage when it comes to foot and hand speed. 

Shane has promised to give Margarito more angles and back up less then Cotto did.  Mosley’s once incredible hand speed has no doubt slowed down over the years, but he is still one of the fastest fighters at 147 pounds and a true warrior.

You may have noticed that throughout this article, I have repeatedly mentioned the heights of the fighters. It wasn’t by accident. Besides Cotto, the only other opponents who have wins over Mosley are the 5'11" Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest, who stands nearly 6'0". 

Margarito is undefeated in his last 30+ fights spanning nearly 13 years against fighters under 6'0". While nobody will confuse the free swinging Margarito’s style with Forrest and Wright’s technical boxing, Antonio throws more punches per round then anybody Mosley has faced during his 16-year professional fighting career.

On top of that, the 37-year-old Mosley, while still a world class fighter, is no longer the top-five pound-for-pounder he was during his prime years. 

You can expect Mosley’s speed and movement to win him the majority of the early rounds before Margarito does what he does best; breakdown and overwhelm his opponent. 

Margarito will use his size and incredible punch output to slow down and hurt the older fighter. Sugar Shane’s heart and toughness will allow him to hear the final bell, but not before he takes the worst beating of his career. 

Antonio Margarito, long considered the most avoided fighter at 147 pounds, can no longer make that claim after facing Cotto and Mosley in back to back fights. He will just have to settle for being recognized as the best welterweight in the fight game today and a probable future Hall of Famer.