Saturday night's fight between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley was a collision I was looking forward to for a long time. I viewed plenty of their old fights as I tried to play out scenarios in my head for how their meeting would transpire. I decided it would end with a ninth round knockout after a close fight for the first five rounds.
I was right...but also completely wrong. The fight ended with a ninth round knockout, but it was Mosley who walked away with the welterweight championship after one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen in a boxing ring.
"Sugar" Shane looked good as new and implemented one of the most brilliant gameplans. I thought Mosley would need to jump in close, fire off a combination and jump back out to make Margarito chase him.
Instead, Mosley let Margarito walk right in. And when the Tijuana Tornado would start to close the distance, Mosley would double or even triple up his jab and then unleash lightning fast combinations with plenty of power behind the closing shot.
The fight may have been Mosley's best performance and the Los Angeles crowd knew it. The crowd was extremely pro-Margarito, but Mosley slowly won the crowd over. Exchanges at the end of the third, fifth and eighth rounds were some of the most dramatic moments of the fight.
Mosley knocked down Margarito in the eighth round right as the time was expiring. Margarito barely got to his feet and then smiled at Mosley as if to say he knew his title was slipping away. At the beginning of the ninth, Mosley came out and got Margarito on the ropes. Margarito stood and accepted his defeat as Mosley unleashed one last combination as the towel was thrown in.
Mosley looked unstoppable and I am confident saying he is the true champion in the welterweight division. It was one of the best fights in recent years and if you get a chance to check it out, do so immediately.
One Punch Wonders
For all the weeks of intense training top-level mixed martial artists go through to prepare for a big fight, there is still a chance a fight could last no longer than a few seconds. Affliction 2 was a perfect example of what can happen with one punch. The two best fights of the night were ended with one big shot.
In the main event, Fedor Emelianenko retained his WAMMA Heavweight Championship with one perfectly placed right hand to the chin of Andrei Arlovski. The Freddie Roach-trained Arlovski displayed beautiful boxing, using a crisp jab and good angles to keep the unbeatable Emelianenko off balance.
Arlovski stunned Emelianenko early with a good right and stayed patient, making sure not to rush into a powerful shot from the champion. Later in the round, Arlovski had Emelianenko stumbling again with a powerful kick to the body, but this time "The Pitbull" rushed in. Arlovski went airborne, looking to score with a superman punch, but a quick right hook from the champion landed right on the chin and Arlovski went to sleep immediately.
Clearly, Arlovski trained hard for this fight and looked great. But one punch can get the job done and Fedor Emelianenko continues to build his legacy to mythological proportions.
Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort also showed the power of the punch with his very impressive win over Matt Lindland. Belfort showed his hand speed with a beautiful left jab, right hook combination that landed cleanly on Lindland. "The Law" hit the canvas and it took one more punch for Belfort to get the win.
Belfort looked tremendous Saturday and a middleweight title shot should be in the works for him as he seems to have returned to form. Lindland had a scary moment as he struggled to get to his feet and seemed totally disoriented, but I give credit to the great medical staff on hand as they tended to Lindland immediately and kept him safe.
Three strikes and he's out?
Featherweight powerhouse Urijah Faber and MMA legend Jens Pulver met for the second time Sunday night and unfortunately for "Lil Evil," the result was the same.
Faber showed why he is considered the best featherweight in the world (even though he lost the title to Mike Brown in November) by putting Pulver away with efficient striking and a guillotine choke.
The loss means Pulver has now lost three consecutive fights in the WEC, which would make one think how much he has left. Pulver is a 34 years old, which is still fairly young, but he has fought 31 times. I think there are still good fights left in "Lil Evil," but I don't think he will ever be champion. If he is satisfied to just compete, he should continue. If he wants to be champion, he should probably walk away and focus on coaching since he is a natural in that aspect.
The other main event for WEC on Sunday night was Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner vs Donald Cerrone. Let me just say, Cerrone must be built of granite. I had no idea he could take that type of punishment and I don't think Varner did either.
Varner retained his championship after a split decision, but there will definitely be a rematch. After an unintentional knee to the side of the head, Varner was awarded a 5-minute recovery period. The champion said he could not see, so the fight was stopped and it went to the scorecards where the judges awarded Varner the decision.
The crowd booed Varner for being unable to continue, as the knee seemed to barely graze his head and many believe he stopped the fight because he could not throw his punches as effectively after he broke it earlier in the fight. Varner is tough as nails and so is Cerrone. The two will meet again and I expect another war. Hopefully Varner will be ready for another go by June.
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