http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=17130

Per Espinoza, the fight has been accepted by Margarito after HBO revised their offer on Friday night.

Margarito TKO 10 is my official pick.

I think this is Mosley's last big pay day. Hopefully he'll look to make it a good one.


Margarito via UD. Works too much for Shane, especially at this point. Mosley will have flashes of brilliance here and there kinda like Roy did against Joe Calzaghe but they'll be very few of them. Margarito could possibly stop Mosley but I'll give Mosley the benefit of the doubt that he'll go the distance due to his toughness and pride.

Which sucks, because Jin may get half. Heard on the street are rumors of divorce. No wonder Team Mosley wouldn't back down from %50 demand.

The "safe and smart" pick is Margarito by Decision or late TKO....Margarito looked like a beast in his last fight, and Mosley looked old....pulling one out of his ass...

BUT

I have a gut feeling about this one....and I'm not afraid to run with it...


Like I stated in the other thread...which was contrary to the majority's belief......all the head shots Margarito's eaten throughout his career have finally caught up with him....

So unless he's truly ready to die on 1/24/09, I don't see him being the full scale tornado with the iron beard we saw in the Cotto bout...I feel he left a good amount of his remaining essence, hunger, and chin in the ring that night and doesn't really wanna go through Hell anymore.......

Mosley will watch the tapes and consider this as well....he knows he's old and on his way out....but he still has confidence, courage, and power....so in an unexpected move, he jumps on Margarito early...ferociously....going all out for the stoppage at just the right time....no guts, no glory style.


and Mosley stops Margarito in the 2nd or 3rd Round....


Go ahead...tell me the limb's not sturdy....I don't give a fuck....GUT FEELING FTW.

The CEO ..... There is nothing in the Sun Moon and Stars .. That will give Mosley a chance in hell of winning this fight. I think many are losing track of time and looking at the Mosley of yester-year as the Mosley of today. And that isn't reality .... Mosley has looked worst and worst in each outing since Vargus. If he was unable to hurt Cotto, he doesn't have a chance in hell of hurting AM. He had a terrible time handling of all people Mayorga and won that fight BARELY.

This is going to be a CLASSIC beatdown .......... PERIOD.

Margarito = KO\TKO - I just can't see this going any other way

I will be placing BIG cash on this fight.

What's wrong with you, dbdbdb??

You used to hate THE HELL outta Margarito....

Accept my pick!

It better be big. Margarito is (-450) to win.

Sorry my friend. The realist in me is taking over.

I was never at the point of Hate -- I just believed that he would NOT defeat a BOXER in top form. As long as these guys go in there to out slug AM, they will lose. Only a disciplined Boxer will beat AM and they cannot have exploitable weeknesses such as getting winded, loitering on the ropes, no side-to-side movement etc...

That's why both Clotty & Williams gave him a hard time.

Mosley doesn't have the power, stamina or movement in this late stage of his career to offset the constant pursuit of AM.

Mosley of SEVEN years ago probally could beat AM ....... but in 2009 ..... No Way.

CEO Im with you Brother!

SHANE TKO3!!!!!

It this fight is anything but a one sided beatdown Marg lost something in the Cotto fight. That's all I'm going to be watching out for in this fight.

damarvelous1, don't let The CEO infect you with his wishful thinking -- Mosley insulted AM by insisting on a 50/50 split. HBO "According to reports" had to step in to make it happen.

But that doesn't relieve the DISRESPECT Mosley showed AM.

AM will be pissed that he's still not getting the respect he thinks he deserves and will PUNISH Mosley till he bows down.

Mark my words.

LOL.

I know I know... this is just wishful thinking. Thees only one man at 147 that can take care of Margarito!

So it turns out that Marg ain't so stupid or full of shit after all. Cause God knows that if Darchynian is worth $2MM to fight Arce, then Marg's worth a lot more in a fight with Mosley.

Once again, all of Marg's critics are proven wrong.

Marg by stoppage in 7. Hopefully someone in Shane's corner will prevent him from getting hurt too badly.

I will go with Shane by upset decision, say around 115-113. If Shane can move and box and stay off the ropes, he has a good shot by outpointing Margarito. If Mosley does try and go toe to toe with Tony too much, then he will be in trouble. But Mosley is smart and should be able to realize that, and he should have a good game plan to defeat him. Hopefully Jack is not training him for this fight, I hope he has someone else to prepare him better.

LOL. Shane's gonna get pummeled. You lost all credibility when you claimed Shane was never remotely CLOSE to being stopped (versus Forrest).

It's okay, bro. It's alright to pin your hopes on a prayer.

PS - Shane and Cap't Jack already split. Shane is reportedly working with Naazim Richardson.

You should have rolled with me, bro...now you won't get full credit when it happens....

On the face of it this should be a one sided beatdown for Marg but I'm not 100% sure.

Great fighters usually have one last great performance in them and yes I consider Shane a great fighter.

He has never taken a sustained beatdown in a fight unlike say Roy who got startched twice. I think he is somewhere in between Hopkins and Jones. He doesn't have the defensive prowess of Nard but neither is he as shopworn as Roy.

It would be a collasal upset but if Shane fights the perfect fight it is winnable.

I believe it will be a much better barometer of where AM is as well. Despite this being a post prime Mosley I'd say he asks a few more questions of Marg than Cotto who really was tailor made for the TT.

I suspect Tony will win this handily but I'll be pulling for lightening to strike one last time in Shane's career and for him to pull out the W.

And don't underestimate the Nazim effect, that dude has to be one of the coolest smartest cornermen in boxing right now.

You guys "must've forgot" how good Shane looked against Mayorga. The man fought all 12 and pressed for the KO...that man looked like a champion that night.

Margarito is tough, but that's about it.

Shane SD...it'll be a close decision due to the volume of punches thrown.

So I lost all my credibility because I made a mistake that I admitted I was wrong? You were never wrong about anything? You know everything about boxing? Whatever. I am pretty damn confident in my boxing knowledge, and yes I am not perfect either, but I would appreciate you to keep the unnecessary smart remarks to yourself(and I will do the same).

Of course I would not be all to surprised if Margarito wins a decision. But it is going to be tougher then what most think, I do not see how this is a walk in the park for Tony. Mosley got speed, power, toughness, and fought alot of great fighters before. He is just not going to lay down for Margarito.

There have been many great upsets in boxing. I guess people were fools for picking Buster Douglas to win in Feb. of 1990?

I thought they did split, but I was not sure if it was still the case. Definately wanted to know for sure, did not want anyone jumping down my throat. lol

Mosley is gonna fuck this dickbag up. Fuck Margarito.

Dude, dont waste your time arguing with people on this board! We know NOBODY is perfect, just roll with the punches and have a good time! I agree with you though... Tony beat Cotto, now everyone thinks he's GOD! people forget that Shane arguably beat Cotto as well. Either way it will be a great fight!

I hope so!

I had Mosley winning the Cotto fight by a round. It STILL was a lot closer than Margarito/Cotto.

Margarito is going to walk Shane down and fuck him up.

Sorry. I missed the part where you admitted you were wrong. I thought you defended your position stating that you were at the fight and at no time was Shane close to being in trouble. If you came out after that and conceded you were wrong then I am sorry. I stopped reading the thread after that.

It's all good, bro. Im just fucking around a little bit.

I like Shane Mosley. Im a fan, but this is just a match up that I believe is all wrong for him.

Margarito's one of my favorite fighters out there and I've been rolling with Sal the whole way on him these last couple of years. But Sugar Shane's my favorite fighter in the world and this will be the first time I've ever rooted my ass off against Tony.

So for the next few months I probably won't be saying as many nice things about him as I have in the past, but before I make that turn, I just wanted to back my man Sal up one more time regarding the beast known as the Tijuana Tornado.

Damn right! ONCE AGAIN Margarito's critics are proven wrong. Just like they were when they said he would do like PBF and avoid his mandatory with Williams in 2007 to chase the bigger $ fight with Cotto. Just like they were when they said he would never beat a legitimate fighter like Cotto and would be exposed once and for all as a fraud unworthy of the great Floyd Mayweather. Love his style or hate his guts, Antonio Margarito is a motherfucking man among men.


You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw it like that. I really never understood all the 'Mosley struggled, Mosley barely won' stuff. I thought Shane overall put in a great night's work. He did struggle at times with Mayorga's awkwardness, and he did at times choose to fight Mayorga's fight. But I had him winning that fight comfortably after 11 rounds, and the way he finished it was spectacular, and IMO showed he still has a lot to offer inside a boxing ring. The man ain't done just yet, and with a new corner in place hopefully he still have some tricks up his sleeve.

Stylistically, Mosley matches up better against Tony than Cotto did. Shane has faster hands than Cotto, quicker feet, a better chin, more pop on his individual punches, and most of all he doesn't rely on beating his opponents into submission the same way Cotto does, which is a huge plus against Tony considering you can't beat him into submission.

This is going to be a closer fight than most of you are picking. Margarito UD is my call, but this will not be a Cotto style beating.

Mosley fights his opponents fight so often...Mayorga was able to get him to fight his fight for God's sake.

I hate this fight for Shane.

because margarito is an asshole

Hey Fitz I mostly agree that Marg should win this fight handily but I'm prepared to give Shane the outside shot for the follwing reasons.

1. I have yet to see any evidence that Shane's legs are gone like Roy's are for instance. Sure Sugar may have lost a step or two but he hasn't taken a sustained beating against anyone, the type that puts years on a career and turns a fighter old overnight (although granted this could be the fight that does it.)

2. Experience. Shane is an old dog whose seen it all and then some. I'm sure he will be able to set a lot more traps than Cotto was and use that experience far more effectively to know when to stand and when to move. He handles pressure a whole let better than Cotto who didn't even know when to tie up FFS.

3. My most recent memory of Marg was that beatdown he put on Cotto following on from the smashing he gave Cintron. So just to add some prespective to it I recently watched his fights with PW and Clottey again, these are salient reminders that Marg isn't as impenetrable as some might think and if you have a half decent game plan he is beatable. Okay Clottey didn't win but he was halfway to doing so and I thought PW won 8 rounds when he fought the TT.

This is why I'll give Shane a shot.

Added to that Shane would have to pretty much fight the perfect fight, wind back the clock and Marg would have to maybe fight a not so great fight, so there are a few variables I'm relying on but it means I don't count Shane out completely.

To this is a much possible upset than those who picked Roy against Cunt-Slappy when Roy was clearly shot and had been for many years.

Fitz, that is just not true. You must have been watching that fight through Mayorga-colored glasses or something. It was a competitive fight but Mosley was winning pretty handily. The final KO did not just come from nowhere the way you suggest. (OK, maybe the KTFO part did, but not the part where Shane was able to crank it up and put Mayorga on his ass to close the show).


Absolutely.

By the way, does this once for all put to bed the debate over who's the tougher guy and truer warrior, Shane Mosley or Oscar De La Hoya? Can we all agree on that at least?

There's a BIG difference between Shane and Paul Williams. First and foremost, Williams was a long time sparring partner of AM, which, as you all should have learned AT LEAST by the Jones/Del Valle fight, is always more competitive because the guys know each other so well. Secondly, Paul Williams is 6'2 with the wingspan of a Condor. Regardless, I thought the Williams fight was fought pretty much even up, when all is said and done.

Bottom line for me is this - I really don't think Shane has ANYTHING that is going to keep Margarito from walking him down and punishing him.

Well that's fine, that's your opinioin. If you'd read my whole post you'd see that I'm picking Marg to win pretty handily I'm just personally not prepared to completely count out Mosley.

In the Cotto-Mosley fight Mosley was taking a pounding in the middle rounds. He was lucky Cotto gassed out. How did mosley make it through those middle rounds? He held and ran. Mosley is not a stick and move boxer. He likes to put pressure on people. And even though he is faster than Margarito, The TJ Tornado won't fade like Cotto did. People often point to the Clottey fight for Margarito's weaknesses. Clottey is a peek a boo defense master. He covered up for most of the fight and didn't punch enough. Hand injury BS aside, the reason he didn't punc was because he was too busy covering up.

Mosley is goig to land some sledge hammer right hands but that won't stop Margarito and he will be forced to move and clinch. He'll make it to the full 12 rounds but he won't be outboxing Margarito.

That's right Fitz, we all agree that he once HAD the tools to beat Tony yeah?

All I'm speculating is that is he able to turn back the clown one last time and pull one out. I've seen it plenty of times in the past, particulalrly from one of his business partners.

Do I think it will happen? Probably not.

COULD it happen? Well maybe, just maybe.

A lot of things would have to fall Shane's way, but I don't think it's impossible, just improbable.

Shane has speed and really good footwork..This is what he is going to have to use..If he wants to fight it out with Margarito,he is going to learn that he has no chance of winning..If Mosley boxes him,he can win..If he lets his pride get in the way and loses focus,it'll be Margarito all night long..I hope we see the Mosley that moves,focusing in on boxing,and throws good fast combos..

I'm not too sure Mosley didn't hurt Cotto. Something had Cotto running those last few rounds.

But I do agree that Margarito should win this one. If nothing else the work ethic will be too much for Mosley.

sure wish Mosley was closer to his prime. This would be a heck of a fight.

You've got a free pass to trash Marg all you want until Jan 25. And not one damn day longer!

Margarito could beat any 147lber except for Paul Williams... BUt Im not ready to count Shane completly out! I favor Margarito but its not like this will be a HUGE upset if Shane won! People are really not giving Shane enough credit... IT WILL BE COMPETITIVE, and I do not think Margarito will stop Shane.

I too feel that Shane will see the final bell in this one. It's hard for me to see Margarito stopping Shane. This fight really depends on Shane. Sometimes Shane has a tendency to get discouraged in fights. You can see it in his body language. (Especially in the corner between rounds) If that Shane shows up then he's a beaten man and this fight may not be competitive outside of the first 4 rounds.

If Shane comes to box and not look for a knockout he could outpoint Margarito. I felt that Cotto, (whom in my opinion) is not an outstanding boxer did a great job of outboxing Margarito for most of the fight until he ran out of gas. Clottey did a great job of outboxing Margarito as well.

I'm sorry but I don't see the impending doom awaiting Shane @ the hands of the supposed monster in the form of Margarito. At the end of the day, Margarito is still a face first one dimensional brawler who got outboxed by a nobody [Daniel Santos]. Personally, I think that Margarito probably left something in the ring with Cotto and Shane, even @ 37, can capitalize on Margarito's GLARING deficiencies. Besides being completely ONE dimensional, Margarito is slow as shit and has ZERO defense.

Shane by UD 115-113

I do agree with your assessment of margarito. One other thing is that Shane typically is a very good counterpuncher. Couple that with the fact that Margarito punches a lot there will be plenty of opportunities for Shane to counter and move.

That's my back up prediction....Shane by Decision.


A few more things to consider....


1. Shane has Elite level Experience.

2. According to Meth....he's bringing in The Neutralizer as a trainer.

3. Margarito's not nearly as wild and unpredictable as Mayorga. Don't get it twisted....it's a steady, fairly controlled tornado....with a repetitive pattern.


Mosley will enter the arena knowing "the crushing walls" are coming.....his plan(s) will be branded in his brain and ready to employ.....I'm thinking he's pretty much already won half the battle....

All he needs to do is be in the best condition possible and be himself.....and he can do this. Marg is a man just like him...made out of flesh and bones...not brick and mortar.

I agree with some of the points you made about AM.

He is SLOW, INACCURATE, OFF-BALANCE, HAS POOR TECHNIQUE ... One can go on & on.

BUT ... BUT ... He is STRONG as an OX, can take a hell of a punch, VERY PERSISTANT and throws volumes and volumes of punches.

His positive qualities are of the type that makes him a very tough opponent. Which means, to beat him you would have to be the TYPE of BOXER, that can cleanly place your shots and can stick and move to perfection.

Mosley {as pointed out previously} has a tendency to fight the type of fight his opponent is fighting, which will DOOM him in this fight. He doesn't have the movement necessary to get out of the way, so he will for certain fight AM's fight. He is of small stature which is not a good feature to have against AM and his remaining firepower is questionable.

I just watched Mosley versus Vargus, Mayorga, Cotto and he for certain doesn't move as well as he needs to, to beat AM.

As I stated earlier, seven years ago ... maybe he would prevail, But NOW ..... I'm getting together $1000 to put down that Mosley won't be able to beat AM. The head to head matchup just doesn't favor Mosley.
!

It's not a weightlifting contest. And besides that, Shane is a competent counter puncher...

Shane doesnt move like Cotto. Shane doesnt hit like Cotto. Shane is going to get beat worse than Cotto. Margarito will throw over 100 punches per round. Shane wont get out of the way and will probably get hit by 60 or 70 percent of them. I see this ending before the 9th. In fact, Shane is such a tough prideful guy that it will be a corner stoppage. Or better yet, Jin will jump up on the ropes and stop it.

It will be sad to see Mosley take a beatdown like this because i like and respect him. He carries himself well inside and outside the ring. Yes, every good fighter has that one last BIG win. For Shane, it was Mayorga. Every good fighter gets old too. Leonard had his Norris. Ali had his Holmes. Jones had his Calzaghe. Louis had his Marciano. Mosley will have his Margarito. Its inevitable. Great champions always seem to be the last ones to realize they are past it and shouldnt be fighting the NEW great champs who take their place...

I pick Shane by late round Cut Stoppage!

Reading that made me think about Elway finally winning a Superbowl and then coming back winning his second before retiring.

It also made me think about Hopkins. It's one thing to come back and beat an aging legend, but it's another to beat a young lion in his prime. Maybe Pavlik was Hopkins' last great win, but at the same time I think I'd like to see Hopkins push the envelope and get in the ring with Dawson just for the exclaimation point.

I think Shane will be to willing to bang with Margarito...let's face it, Shane often in his losses, fights the other mans fight. The Mayo fight is a perfect example of that. IMO Mayo was winning that fight before the stoppage. Naz might be able to help some but just don't see Shane pulling this one off @ all...the warrior in him might get his freaking head knocked off in this one!

The more I think about it the more I think Shane makes it to the final bell. Shane has shown that he is more durable that Cotto especially to the body where Marg will be concentrating attack. All in all Shane could soften Marg up just enough to give Cotto a chance in the rematch..........