Five Reasons Shane Mosley Knocked Out Antonio Margarito

Ok, can someone please hand me a towel so I can wipe the egg off my face? Shame on us all for discrediting a true warrior and most likely first-ballot Hall of Famer in Shane Mosley.

With that said, here are five reasons that Mosley was able to shock the boxing world and knock out Antonio Margarito.

1) Speed Kills

It is one of the oldest sayings in boxing. Better yet, it is one of the oldest sayings in pro sports. Simply put, speed kills. You can't gameplan for speed, and you can't train for it.

I'm sure Margarito brought in many sparring partners with quick hands and movement. Problem is, there is no way to replicate Mosley's speed.

There was no way for Margarito to know how fast Shane would be until the fight began. Shane was able to beat Margarito to the punch early and often, and this was a key to this fight.

2) Miguel Cotto

Shane Mosley, you should send a fruit basket or something to Miguel Cotto. Over the first six rounds of his fight with Margarito, Cotto showed you both how to beat Margarito and how not to beat Margarito.

The how: get off first, jab, punch in combination, stay on your toes. The how not: lay on the ropes, move straight back, let Margarito answer your combinations. Try to knock Margarito out.

3) Nazim Richardson

This point almost led to me picking Shane to win this fight. Almost.

If you haven't heard of Richardson, he is the trainer who led Bernard Hopkins to his near shutout and complete undressing of Kelly Pavlik last year. This guy has come out of nowhere to become one of the best trainers in all of the sport.

He is a masterful tactician, and his advice in between rounds was as good as anything I have ever heard a trainer give to his fighter. He devised a wonderful gameplan for Shane to follow, and it was executed to near flawlessness.

4) Everything in boxing starts with the jab

Another one of the oldest sayings in boxing. Say it with me. Everything in boxing starts with the jab.

Now not only did Shane use his jab like he hasn't in years, but he also correctly shot it to Margarito's chest, and not his head. It would have been harder to reach the taller man with an up jab, rather than shoot it straight into his chest.

The combination that Mosley threw all night was textbook, and he couldn't miss with it. Double jab to the chest, left/right to the body, finish with overhand right and hold. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Mosley threw this combination so many times I started calling it out as he was doing it.

5) Mosley's chin

After Shane won the first six rounds, I began to think that Margarito's camp might as well throw in the towel. Shane was beating Margarito from post to pillar, and hitting him at will. Margarito is not a one punch knockout artist, and Mosley has never been knocked out. I didn't imagine that Shane would get the knockout, but I did figure he was gonna give Antonio a frightful beating down the stretch.

One of the key reasons why Mosley was able to improve on the first six rounds of success that Cotto had against Margarito was his ability to take a punch.

We all figured there was no way Shane could knock out the "Tijuana Tornado." Turns out we should have been thinking there was no way Margarito could knock out Shane Mosley.

Random Thoughts

I really didn't think Mosley would use Hopkins' strategy of holding after getting off. I just didn't think it was in his mentality as a fighter. Turns out I was wrong. Not only did he use Hopkins' strategy, he used it to get the knockout rather than ride out a decision.

Thing was, you could always hit Margarito. He would take five to land one or two. Hopkins showed Mosley that Margarito can't answer if he immediately tied him up after landing.

Mosley actually looked stronger on the inside. He grappled with Margarito and actually shoved him around the ring on several occasions.

Did anyone else notice Mosley buckle Margarito with those body shots in the FIRST ROUND? I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought, yeah okay, Margarito is gonna come on strong later.

Richardson said it best, however, with this quote to Shane between rounds: "He is gonna hit the gas pedal later on the fight, and there ain't gonna be no gas in the tank."

What was the deal with that illegal substance that Margarito was caught with in his handwraps? Could that have been the key to his previous successes? Is that why he beat Cotto?

I smell a built-in reason to make the rematch with Cotto more interesting this time around.

That was about as frightful a beating I have seen issued by a 4-to-1 underdog. I am trying to remember a fight this one-sided when a guy came in as that big an underdog. Shows what we know.

Everyone figured Margarito was some sort of terminator after his come-from-behind knockout over Cotto. Turns out even terminators can be shut down and short circuited.