Sugar Shane

First of all, let me say, in the words of Andre Berto, Shane Mosley is an ANIMAL, don't get it twisted, baby!! I was at the Mosley/Margarito fight Saturday in LA. The crowd was made up of me (rooting for Shane, although I do like Margarito as a fighter, how could you not?), two of my friends (both American guys rooting for Margarito), and twenty thousand Mexicans cheering their brains out for Margarito. Mosley is from Pomona, not an hour's drive from the Staples Center (I know because we stopped there for some Denny's on the way home), and he still gets booed on his entrance.

For those of you who don't follow boxing, let me set the stage a bit. Mosley, now in his late 30s, has been around the fight game his whole life. He started his pro career fighting as a lightweight (135 lbs), and was completely dominant at that weight. Some say Shane was perhaps an all-time top five lightweight, but there weren't too many big fights for him at that weight. He has moved up over the years to get bigger fights, in particular against his now good friend and business partner, Oscar de la Hoya. But he's not a big welterweight (147 lbs). Also, although Shane had a Hall of Fame career even before last night, he had also struggled against bigger guys, losing twice to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright, both of whom are much bigger than Shane (Vernon has spent pretty much his entire career at 154 lbs., Winky has fought as high as 170 lbs.).

Antonio Margarito is pretty much the biggest, beastliest 147-lb guy out there. He's almost 6 feet tall, with an iron chin and will to destroy his opponent. He seems to shrug off powerful punches landing right on his chin with a smile, and continues to pressure his opponent with punches round after round until finally they can take no more. How Mosley was able to watch Margarito's fight vs. Miguel Cotto, who beat Mosley at MSG in 2007, and think, "that's the guy I want to fight next," is beyond me. And anybody else in boxing prior to the fight. Mosley came into the fight as a 4:1 betting underdog. Many of his fans and boxing writers were genuinely worried about what kind of shape he would be in after the fight. I had even bet Brackchips that Margarito would win by KO.

And what happens? The Sugar Man, Shane Mosley, absolutely dominated Margarito for a little over 8 rounds, until finally it was Margarito's corner that couldn't stand to see their guy take any more punishment. Shane couldn't miss with his powerful overhand right, his whipping left hook, and a very effective jab. Perhaps even more important, he stayed off the ropes the entire fight (in contrast to Cotto), and was able to tie Margarito up and push him around on the inside. Again in contrast to Cotto, who, as I wrote in my recap of his last fight, had no killer instinct vs. Margarito, Shane was trying for the knockout from the opening bell. To everyone in the boxing world but Shane Mosley, that was pure lunacy. Margarito had had never even been knocked out, knocked down, or even wobbled in his pro career. This is basically the equivalent of seeing a wrecking ball coming in your direction, and deciding that, instead of trying to get out of the way, you'd be better off meeting it head on. Or deciding that you'll play Phil Ivey heads up for your entire roll and be MORE aggro than Ivey.

What a night for Shane. It's too bad there aren't more American boxing fans to really soak this one up for all it's worth, but if you get a chance to watch an HBO replay or anything, sit back and enjoy watching a guy take one for the stars and stripes. I have now been to three Mosley fights (vs. Cotto, vs. Mayorga, and vs. Margarito), and Shane has brought it every night. He lost a very competitive decision vs. Cotto, battled hard vs. Mayorga until he finally KOed El Matador in the last second of the 12th and final round, and now this performance for the ages against Margarito. Whomever he fights next, be it Berto, a rematch with Cotto, or if the stars somehow align and we get a dream match of Mosley vs. Mayweather, I will be either at the fight or glued to my TV.

-BRUECHIPS