Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley: Round By Round

Originally presented live at BoxingWatchers.com.

It's a brand new look for HBO's World Championship Boxing to kick off 2009. Tonight's fight is a welterweight championship fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley in front of an impressive crowd of more than 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Jim Lampley runs down the list of current welterweight champions and contenders. Interestingly, he includes Manny Pacquiao, the weight-hopping Paul Williams, and the currently still-retired Floyd Mayweather.

Earlier in the night, Larry Merchant sat down with Margarito. Tony says he did a lot of sparring and prepared properly for the fight. He says Mosley will be looking to do more boxing and less brawling than Miguel Cotto. Margarito also feels like tonight's fight will be a big one for his fans and his career.

Lampley and Emanuel Steward discuss some of the similarities between Mosley and Cotto. Steward thinks Shane has learned from watching Cotto's fight with Margarito.

Next up is Merchant's interview with Mosley, and Shane is honest in saying that while he feels great right now, he'll evaluate how much he still has left after tonight's fight. Mosley thinks using his jab may be the key to his chances to win.

He talks a little bit about ignoring outside distractions, and a video package goes into more detail about Shane's BALCO-related troubles, his split with his father, and his divorce.

The tale of the tape shows a two-inch height advantage for Margarito but a slight edge in reach for Mosley. Tony is 30 years old, while Shane is 37.

Sugar Ray Leonard, Mark Wahlberg, Joe Pesci and Sylvester Stallone are among the celebrities in attendance. Oscar De La Hoya is not in the house, as he is in Anaheim at the Affliction MMA pay-per-view.

Mosley comes out to "Live Your Life" By T.I. and Rihanna. It's his first fight with trainer Nazim Richardson, who is best known for helping train Bernard Hopkins. Margarito gets a huge crowd reaction as he enters to some traditional Mexican music.

Michael Buffer handles the introductions and we're all set to go.

Round One

Mosley looks like he has plenty of pep early on as he takes the fight to the champ. He lands some nice shots to the body and ties up. Now Margarito comes forward a bit. Shane digs in with an uppercut and there's more wrestling.

Mosley really looks committed to a body attack. Mosley shows some good hand speed in tight and Tony throws right back. The ref is really busy right now. Nice left to the head by Margarito.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Two

Mosley starts the second working jabs. Margarito tries to go to the body but they immediately clinch. Shane is really making it ugly, which is to his benefit. Both men try to work from very close range. Tony just misses with a big right.

Shane lands a quick combo and backs away. The fans express their displeasure with Shane's holding. Margarito lands a couple of shots but Shane fires right back. The ref warns Mosley for leading with his head.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Three

The fight has been fought at Mosley's pace so far. Shane backpedals quickly as Margarito digs in. Both fighters take some good swings in the middle of the ring. Tony lands an uppercut and complains about a headbutt again.

Mosley lands a flashy combo with a nice right hand. He lands another good right but Margarito smiles. Tony goes back to his jab, which has been his main weapon so far. Mosley lands a hard right and a left before the bell, but Margarito seems unfazed.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Four

Harold Lederman has given all three rounds to Mosley so far. Jabs both ways open this round. Shane locks up to avoid Tony's shots along the ropes. Margarito lands a nice uppercut, but Mosley is clinching whenever he can. Mosley jabs and Margarito covers to block the follow-ups.

Right-left combo as Tony comes forward. Left to the body and a big right upstairs by Mosley. That flurry may have won him this round. Another big right right at the bell for Shane.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Five

Margarito is bouncing around but he hasn't been comfortable on offense yet. He lands some jabs and tries the body. Left hook to the head by Mosley. Margarito reaches down for a combo and Shane attempts to respond.

Right hook upstairs by Shane. Nice shots land for both men. Margarito really seems bothered by the wrestling. Left to the head brings blood from Tony's mouth, and Shane lands to the body as well.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Six

Tony's corner is begging him to work more. Shane lands a right to the head and circles away. He's getting in some sharp shots that are scoring even if they aren't slowing Margarito down.

Every exchange is going at least slightly in Mosley's favor right now. Shane backs Tony up into the ropes and lands several big right hands. It's strange to see Margarito back on his heels.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Seven

Steward says Mosley can't miss with his right hand right now. He's measuring shots in the middle of the ring, though the ref has to stop it for a moment to fix Shane's glove. To his credit, Margarito is still standing and trying to throw. They battle hand to hand in the center.

Jabs are followed by a sharp right to the head for Mosley. Both fighters score with left hands along the ropes. Tony shows a nice flurry and comes forward for his best offense in a while. The fans boo loudly as the ref warns Margarito for low shots. That may have been the closest round so far.

Franchise: 10-9 Mosley
Uatu: 10-9 Margarito
Spartan117: 10-9 Mosley

Round Eight

Let's see if Tony can carry over some momentum. Back to jabs for both men. Right hand upstairs for Shane. A left hand backs up Mosley for a second. Nice right hand for the champ in response to numerous jabs.

Tony gets hit by another right as he comes in. The crowd is really trying to will Margarito back into the fight. Mosley lands a huge left-right combo and Tony is stunned. Shane pours it on and Margarito goes down! He wobbles to his feet just before the bell but he doesn't look too good.

Franchise: 10-8 Mosley
Uatu: 10-8 Mosley
Spartan117: 10-8 Mosley

Round Nine

We'll see what Margarito has left in the tank. Mosley is landing some mean shots right now. The ref steps in just as Tony goes down again, and it's all over.

The winner by TKO at 0:43 of Round Nine...and new WBA welterweight champion of the world..."Sugar" Shane Mosley.

Merchant asks Mosley if all of the distractions may have actually helped him. He gives a lot of credit to Richardson for coming up with a winning game plan.

Shane says he knew Margarito was going to come forward and thus, the plan wasn't that complicated. When asked if he thought he could knock Margarito out, he simply replies that he always goes for the KO.

Turning to an obviously distraught Margarito, Merchant asks him what happened. He gives the credit to Mosley, and says even though his corner wanted to stop the fight after the eighth, he refused.

As expected, he says Shane was bothering him by clinching on the inside. He also says Mosley studied him well. Asked about the possible Cotto rematch, he doesn't really answer, but says he'll raise his hands as the champion once again.

The announcers discuss the hand wrap controversy with Margarito before the fight. Apparently state athletic commission officials found a "hard plaster shell" being inserted into Margarito's glove after Richardson caught it and asked for it to be removed.

Tony had to have his hands wrapped three times before everything was found to be kosher.