Boxing's Not Dead, but Mosley's Career Might Be

Those who say that Boxing is all but dead were obviously not at Madison Square Garden last night, when Miguel Cotto put his WBA welterweight belt on the line against veteran pugilist Sugar Shane Mosley. The roar of the packed house let those watching know that to many, boxing is still alive and well. Going into the fight, it was unclear who the favorite really was, as Sugar Shane had the experience and the bigger fights, while Cotto's notorious body shots are known to have stopped men dead in their tracks. Another factor in determining a favorite was the age discrepancy of 9 years in favor of Cotto's youth. Regardless of who the better man was on paper, the packed Puerto Rican crowd let both men know that they supported their native son Miguel Cotto.

The opening rounds saw both men bring an intensity not usually seen prior to the closing rounds. Mosley seemed to be going for a knockout, and despite several efforts to outbox Cotto, he would continually go back to fighting him, and would pay the price for it in devastating body shots. Mosley also seemed to ignore numerous opportunities to throw uppercuts on the inside, instead choosing to tie up Cotto. This could have easily been a deciding factor in the outcome of the fight, as Mosley could have easily pushed the pace more in these inside exchanges. After the fight, Mosley said he didn't know if he was going to hang up the gloves or keep fighting, but it didn't look as though a rematch was the first thing on his mind.

Cotto looked very impressive in this fight, though not as impressive as in other fights, as he did not put on a dominating performance in the later rounds like he normally does. He seemed to lack the ring generalship he usually commands, but to be fair, he has never been tested by an opponent as formidable as Shane Mosley before. Still, Cotto definitely earned his Unanimous Decision, and showed the world that he is ready for some big name fights in the future. Personally, I think he might need another tune up fight before he goes and trades leather with the likes of Hatton, Mayweather and De La Hoya, if anything, just to get back his KO confidence. It was a good fight, however, and both fighters definitely left everything they had in the ring that night.

In the undercard, The Tijuana Tornado Antonio Margarito put on a truly dominating performance against Golden Johnsen, knocking him down 3 times in the first round for the win. Margarito wanted to show the world he is back, and he certainly did just that. Hopefully we will see him have some bigger fights in the near future. I think a Margarito-Cotto fight would be a great showcase of talent and heart, but only time will tell if this fight will happen.

Another great fight was between Victor Ortiz and Carlos Maussa, in which Ortiz KO'd Maussa in the first round. It was a quick, brutal, and very one-sided fight.

The night's biggest travesty, however, was the split decision victory for Joel Casamayor against Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz clearly dominated at least 9 of the 12 rounds, and even had a first round knockdown. He outboxed Casamayor, landing more punches, and boxing much more effectively than Casamayor. The commentators all had it scored for Santa Cruz, and so did everyone in attendance at MSG, but the inexperienced judges that the NYSAC picked scored it for Casamayor. Hopefully, the Santa Cruz camp will apeal the decision, as it was clearly an injustice on the part of the NYSAC. In my eyes, and in everyone else who saw the fight's eyes, Santa Cruz is the new Interim lightweight champion, not Casamayor.

All in all, I say that boxing is still alive, and wont be going away anytime soon.

-o