Al Bernstein's Blog January 19, 2009 The First Big Fight of the Year When Antonio Margarito beat Miguel Cotto last year in a wild slugfest, and sold over a half a million pay per view buys in the process, he stamped himself as one of boxing’s marquee performers. He is one of the most popular fighters among Hispanics, obviously a big part of the boxing audience. For the 30 year old Margarito, his next step was an important one. He needed to have a major fight in which he could battle a recognizable name and build on his success against Cottto. That is exactly what he is doing with this Saturday’s match with Sugar Shane Mosley. The 37 year old Mosley has been a champ in two weight divisions and is one of boxing’s most popular figures. He is the perfect foil for Margarito and makes this match an important one. This is a fight that appeals to boxing’s hard core fans and extends out to many casual fans who know who Mosley is and now have an idea that Margarito is one tough customer after his win over Cotto. Margarito is one of the strongest welterweights the sport has ever seen. He is a murderous body puncher with a chin of granite. For Mosley, who started his career as a lightweight, this is quite a challenge. It is unlikely he can hurt Margarito, so he needs to outbox him. When I guested on a radio show last week to talk about this match, the host asked me if Mosley could knock Margarito out. I said that could happen only if they changed the rules and allowed Shane to bring a firearm into ring---and even then, it still isn’t a sure thing. In his last performance, a win over Ricardo Mayorga, Mosley won by a last round KO, but was not sharp the rest of the fight—and many believe age has finally caught up with him. For Shane, who is certainly a Hall of Famer in waiting, to win he will have to be almost perfect. If the Mayorga fight was an aberration then he might able to box close to that perfect match and this will be a competitive and exciting fight. If the Mayorga fight was a sign of the erosion of his skills, then Margarito will dominante him. (This blog is written exclusively for USSportspages.com readers. To see more of Al’s coverage of boxing go to the Al Bernstein Boxing Channel at ibnsports.com. To contact Al call Adie Zuckerman at the Al Bernstein Live offices at 847-827-9212 or e-mail to adie@albernsteinlive.com). Archives: January 14, 2009