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Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley

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It's On
DateJanuary 24, 2009
VenueStaples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBA welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Antonio Margarito Shane Mosley
Nickname The Tijuana Tornado Sugar
Hometown Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Pomona, California, U.S.
Purse $2,400,000 $2,400,000
Pre-fight record 37–5 (27 KO) 45–5 (1) (38 KO)
Age 30 years, 10 months 37 years, 4 months
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 145+3⁄4 lb (66 kg) 147 lb (67 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA
Welterweight Champion
The Ring
No. 1 Ranked Welterweight
The Ring No. 6 ranked pound-for-pound fighter		 WBA
No. 4 Ranked Welterweight
The Ring
No. 3 Ranked Welterweight
3-division world champion
Result
Mosley defeats Margarito by 9th round technical knockout

Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley, billed as It's On, was a professional boxing match contested on January 24, 2009, for the WBA and vacant Lineal[1][2] welterweight championship.[3]

Background

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Following his upset victory over WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in July 2008, Antonio Margarito's promoter Top Rank were planning for a summer rematch with a potential interim fight in between. In autumn 2008 a deal was agreed with Golden Boy Promotions for Margarito to face former 3 weight champion Shane Mosley on 24 January 2009, with $2 million for each man on the table. However, on 18 November, Margarito's managers informed Top Rank that they were passing on the fight, instead looking for a more lucrative bout. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer expressed his displeasure saying "Margarito talked and talked and talked and as soon as Shane accepted, he was all of a sudden very quiet, and now he doesn't want the fight. Margarito always says he's the most feared fighter in the world. He should shut up about that now." He added that he would now focus on making a match for Mosley with WBC champion Andre Berto instead.[4] However, after the proposed Berto vs Mosley bout also hit trouble, HBO reached a deal with Top Rank where an undisclosed additional payment was made directly to them and to Margarito, allowing the bout to be formally agreed on 24 January as part HBO World Championship Boxing.[5]

At the 9 December press conference, Margarito told the reporters "I have being looking for the biggest fights for a long time, and this one against Mosley is one of them. As I proved with Miguel Cotto, I have never ducked anyone in my career and I'm looking forward to showing the fans again why I am the best welterweight in the world. I fear no one. This fight will be my moment to shine and I will not let it pass by." Mosley meanwhile said "I'm glad Margarito decided to step up to the plate and fight me. If Margarito thinks he is the bigger puncher than I, he is delusional. I will definitely win this fight, especially with the type of fighter he is. He is going to end up getting knocked out because he'll come right at me and I'll catch him."[6]

Mosley's build up to the bout had been hit by multiple issues, firstly he had fired his father as his trainer (for the second time), he was still dealing with the legal issues surrounding his involvement in the BALCO scandal and he had separated with his wife (and now former manager) Jin.[7]

Mosley, was a 4–1 underdog with the bookies.[8]

Tampered handwraps controversy

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Slowly before the bout, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, observed that Margarito had a pasty white substance in his handwraps.[9] One doctor described this material as plaster hidden in the wrapped hands of Margarito, leading to accusations that he may have been trying to cheat.[10] At Richardson's insistence, California State Inspector Dean Lohuis called for Margarito's hands to be rewrapped. According to Judd Burstein, the attorney for Mosley, Margarito had wet pads in the wrapping. Mosley's doctor, Robert Olvera, likened the material to the type of plaster used to make casts. Burstein said he seized the pad removed from the wrapping and another pad found in Margarito's dressing room. Both were placed in a sealed box that was given to Lohuis for further study.[11] The California Department of Justice laboratory later confirmed the substance to be similar in nature to plaster of Paris.[12]

The fight

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In in front of largest crowd to ever see an event at the Staples Center, 20,820, the Mosley dominated Margarito, using his superior hand speed, pinpoint accuracy, consistent body punching, countless huge right hands to the jaw and tying up when Margarito backed him into the ropes, to wear Margarito down and stop him. After knocking him down with a series of heavy overhand rights at the end of the eighth round, Margarito was unable to avoid punches during a heavy barrage from Mosley early on in the ninth, forcing the referee to step in as Margarito slumped to the canvas a second time, giving Mosley a first world title in almost 5 years (and his first at welterweight since 2002).[13][14][15] Margarito had never previously been stopped.[16][17]

At the time of the stoppage Mosley led on all three scorecards 80–71, 79–72 & 78–73. HBO's unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman as well as the Associated Press had scored it 79–72 and ESPN's Dan Rafael had it 80–71, all for Mosley.[18][19]

Aftermath

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Speaking after bout, Mosley said "It was my strategy, my focus and my game-plan that won it. I knew it was going to be a tough fight but it was a great plan. It was my left hook. I caught Vargas with it and Mayorga with it. He's a very tough fighter and he had a lot of endurance. I prepared very hard. I trained hard so I was focused and I was always alert during the fight. He was very powerful but he couldn't resist my rhythm."[20][21] A dejected Margarito said simply "I feel OK. I was just getting caught over and over." His trainer Javier Capetillo expanded "Something happened in the first round. We were too slow. I didn't think he was reacting properly. It was frustrating to watch because he kept getting caught with overhand rights."

In late January the California State Athletic Commission suspended Margarito and Capetillo, pending investigation.[22][23] At the hearing, Margarito claimed he did not know what was in the wraps, while Capetillo admitted to making "a big mistake" by placing the wrong inserts into Margarito's hand wraps. The commission voted unanimously to revoke Margarito and Capetillo's licenses for at least one year. While it found Margarito did not know about the gloves, it took the line that as head of the team, he was responsible for Capetillo's actions.

Since state boxing commissions generally honor suspensions imposed in other states, this action effectively banned Margarito from boxing in the United States.[24]

In November 2009, it emerged that red stains on the hand wraps Margarito used in the Cotto fight were similar to the stains on the inserts seized before the Mosley fight. This has raised suspicions that Margarito's gloves were loaded for that fight and possibly others as well.[25]

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[26]

Winner Loser Weight division/title belt(s) disputed Result
Russia Matvey Korobov Mexico Roberto Florentino Super middleweight (4 rounds) 1st round KO
United States Robert Guerrero Mexico Edel Ruiz Super featherweight (10 rounds) 1st round TKO
United States Adrien Broner Mexico Luis Alfredo Lugo Lightweight (6 rounds) Unanimous decision
Mexico Saúl Román Nicaragua José Varela Middleweight (8 rounds) Split decision
Mexico Juan Salgado Zambrano Mexico Cristian Favela Light welterweight (6 rounds) Unanimous decision
United States Jerry Belmontes United States Jesús Hernández Super featherweight (4 rounds) Unanimous decision
United States Luis Tapia United States Brian Ramirez Lightweight (4 rounds) Unanimous decision

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
Australia Main Event
Ireland Setanta Sport
Philippines Solar Sports
Poland PolSat Sport Extra
United Kingdom Setanta Sport
United States HBO

References

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  1. ^ History of the World Welterweight Championship Archived March 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. linealchamps.com
  2. ^ The Cyber Boxing Zone Archived June 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. The Cyber Boxing Zone. Retrieved on December 4, 2011.
  3. ^ "Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. ^ Dan Rafael (19 November 2008). "Margarito unhappy with $2M offer, passes on Mosley fight". ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  5. ^ Dan Rafael (24 November 2008). "HBO ups ante for Margarito to resurrect Mosley fight". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  6. ^ "MARGARITO and MOSLEY COLLIDE IN WORLD TITLE RUMBLE!". goldenboypromotions.com. Los Angeles, CA: Golden Boy Promotions. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 December 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. ^ Dan Rafael (4 November 2008). "Mosley fires father from corner as he looks to fight with Margarito". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Margarito-Mosley: The $25 world title fight – Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009 | 2 a.m." Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  9. ^ "Mosley blisters heavy-handed Margarito (Yahoo Sports)". January 25, 2009. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  10. ^ Dan Loumena (24 January 2009). "Margarito trying to plaster Mosley?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  11. ^ "The Fabulous Forum". The Los Angeles Times. January 24, 2009. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  12. ^ Dettloff, William. (November 7, 2010) Dettloff: Why a Margarito victory would be good for boxing Archived November 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. RingTV. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  13. ^ "Antonio Margarito and the Handwrap Issue". SecondsOut Boxing News. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  14. ^ "Mosley looks stellar in upsetting Margarito". ESPN.com. 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  15. ^ "Mosley shocks Margarito, wins belt with TKO". Yahoo! Sports. 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  16. ^ John Rawling (25 January 2009). "Mosley punches above expectations to grab title". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  17. ^ Gareth A Davies (25 January 2009). "Shane Mosley rolls back the years to dismantle Antonio Margarito". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  18. ^ John Nadel (24 January 2009). "Mosley stuns Margarito to win welterweight crown". USA Today. Los Angeles, CA. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  19. ^ Kieran Mulvaney (21 January 2009). "Keeping tabs on Margarito-Mosley". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  20. ^ Dan Rafael (25 January 2009). "Mosley shines through distractions". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Resurgent Mosley stuns Margarito". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Margarito has licence suspended over 'loaded' gloves". The Guardian. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  23. ^ Margarito, trainer suspended pending outcome of investigation – ESPN . Sports.espn.go.com (January 29, 2009). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  24. ^ Antonio Margarito license revoked for plaster-like wraps – ESPN . Sports.espn.go.com (February 11, 2009). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  25. ^ "The Fabulous Forum". The Los Angeles Times. November 13, 2009. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  26. ^ "BoxRec - event".
[edit]
Preceded by Antonio Margarito's bouts
24 January 2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shane Mosley's bouts
24 January 2009 		Succeeded by
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