Brick City Boxing

By: Saul Lelchuk

As many others have correctly said, this is a fight that could go either way, and neither a Mosley nor a Margarito victory would surprise me. But I can’t go against Margarito in this one, especially since he is at his peak, while Mosley has left his heyday a bit behind. I think that Mosley’s superior experience – compared to Cotto, for instance, let alone someone like Cintron – will help him, and I think he might fight a successful fight. But I also think that he will have a bit too much confidence in his speed to rescue him from the onslaught of the Tijuana Tornado, and I think that he will be surprised when he hits Margarito flush, with some serious shots (this will happen) and doesn’t hurt or even really fluster him.

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One of the keys, I think, to fighting Margarito is the condition in which his opponent is able to enter the second half of the fight. Whether winning or losing on the scorecards, they can’t take too much damage in the first six rounds, or they will be too slowed to properly evade him in the second half, when he comes on so strong. The Cotto fight was a perfect example of this – Cotto won the first half of the fight, but it was a Phyrric victory. He took too many shots doing it, and his legs, defense, and strength started to go soon after.

I think Mosley is a tremendously intelligent fighter, but I also think his pride, and his confidence in his abilities – in his speed and his power – will, paradoxically, prove detrimental. Eventually Margarito will start to swarm him in the second half, and then Mosley’s chin will start to be really tested. If I was betting money on the fight, I’d bet on a Margarito victory by unanimous decision. But I’m not – so I’ll take a chance.
Margarito wins by TKO in R11 or R12.