Shane Mosley: I feel like this is the beginning of my new career!

Thanks to Ben "TheHype" Thompson at top boxing website Fighthype, I was able to have a nice chat with Former three division champion Sugar Shane Mosley in the Fighthype chatroom session that took place yesterday. Mosley shared his thoughts on training camp for his September 27 date with Ricardo Mayorga, as well as where he feels he stands in the welterweight landscape!

Bryan B-Money Bradley: Sugar Shane welcome to the Fighthype chat! I've been a fan of yours for many years. Against Cotto this past November, I thought you deserved a draw at the very worst. How has training been going for the Mayorga fight and are you ready to deal with any foul play he might have to offer?

Shane Mosley: Workouts are going great. I'm in tremendous shape. I feel like I'm two to three times better than I was against Cotto. It's funny to say, but I feel like this is the beginning of my new career.

Bryan B-Money Bradley: Shane, there's no question the welterweight division is the hottest division in boxing. You're clearly one of it's top contenders. We see fans and media already labeling Margarito as the king of the welterweights (prematurely, I feel); they forget that Paul Williams beat him 13 months ago and that loss has gone unavenged by Margarito. Do you feel he needs to beat Williams to earn that distinction?

Shane Mosley: I feel he needs to beat me to earn that. Styles makes fights and Paul has the style for Margarito.

Bryan B-Money Bradley: Shane, do feel Mayorga makes it the distance?

Shane Mosley: No!

Bryan B-Money Bradley: woooo hoooooo!

Bryan B-Money Bradley: Shane, you are a fighter who keeps his boxing life professional and clean. You stay in the gym, work out, stay in shape, and have pretty hardcore training camps from what I hear and read. What do you make of Mayorga's out of the ring habits such as the smoking and drinking? That's crazy!

Shane Mosley: I think alot of it is an act. I think he smoke a little bit because he puffs a cigarette too well not to smoke. I'm not innocent I take a sip on my off time, but my cleanness will be the difference.

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The opportunity to chat with Sugar Shane was truly a pleasure of mine. I was about to ask him for clarification as to whether or not the rumors regarding a third fight with Oscar De la hoya were indeed true, but he was leaving the chatroom at that point. Shane is class act, as well as the type of fighter who is easy to root for. In terms of where he stands in the welterweight division, I think he is still one of the elite contenders in that weight class. However, Margarito just stopped Cotto and Mosley dropped a very close and questionable decision to Cotto this past November and hasn't fought since that time. In this boxing observer's opinion, the guy whom Margarito needs to fight to validate his claim as the universally recognized welterweight champion of the world is Paul Williams, the man who beat him 13 months ago.

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Margarito vs Cotto round by round!

I just watched the replay of the Margarito vs Cotto last weekend. That was a great fight, an instant classic, between will and skill. There was also a lot of cheerleading going on at ringside by Jim Lampley.

Listening to the commentary, one would've thought that Cotto won seven of the first eight rounds. This clearly wasn't the case, as Margarito beat Cotto up on the inside with hard flurries and battered him along the ropes. This fight reminded me of Chavez vs Taylor, where Taylor was winning rounds early by outboxing Chavez but it was Chavez who was gradually brutalizing Taylor. Cotto was outboxing Margarito early, but Margarito kept chasing and stalking Cotto, reigning down flurries and eventually punishing and stopping Cotto.

Here is my scorecard, round by round, leading up to the time of the stoppage:

Round 1: 10-9 Cotto
Round 2: 10-9 Margarito Total: 19-19
Round 3: 10-9 Cotto Total: 29-28 Cotto
Round 4: 10-9 Cotto Total: 39-37 Cotto
Round 5: 10-9 Cotto Total: 49-46 Cotto
Round 6: 10-9 Margarito Total: 58-56 Cotto
Round 7: 10-9 Margarito Total: 67-66 Cotto
Round 8: 10-9 Margarito Total: 76-76
Round 9: 10-9 Margarito Total: 86-85 Margarito
Round 10: 10-9 Margarito Total: 96-94 Margarito

Margarito wins by TKO in the 11th round when Cotto's uncle, Evangelisto, throws in the towel after the 2nd knockdown.

When it comes down to the aftermath of this sensational super fight, Antonio Margarito is once again a beltholder, and his stock goes up considerably after beating Cotto in that fashion. Lately, fans and media have been quick to label Margarito as the universally recognized welterweight champion of the world. That's premature, as he is not yet the welterweight champion of the world. Especially since Williams holds a victory over him, is still a titlist himself, and Margarito does not yet have a victory over him.

By that token, I rank Williams as the #1 welterweight and Margarito the #2 welterweight in the world right now. But for the sake of having one universally recognized champion, Williams and Margarito must rematch.

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Judah vs Clottey & Margarito vs Cotto replay!

Tonight Boxing Chronicles will be covering the live IBF welterweight title fight between Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah on HBO Boxing After Dark at 9:30 PM ET/ 6:30 PM PT. I'll also be reviewing, analyzing, and commenting on Margarito's 11th round TKO of Miguel Cotto in the classic WBA welterweight title fight that took place one week ago tonight.
Stay tuned for live updates.

JUDAH vs CLOTTEY

Round 1

Judah busier, firing away with his jab. Most of his shots are blocked, but he's more active than Clottey.

10-9 Judah

Round 2

Judah doubling and trippling up on his jab. Clottey has not done enough in the first two rounds. He should be stepping in and throwing more punches of his own, trying to trap Zab on the ropes.

10-9 Judah Total: 20-18 Judah

Round 3

Much better round for Clottey. He landed some left hooks to the body and straight shots to the head. Judah pulling back and getting hit.

10-9 Clottey Total: 29-28 Judah

Round 4

10-9 Clottey Total: 38-38

Round 5

10-9 Clottey Total: 48-47 Clottey


Round 6

10-9 Judah Total: 57-57

Round 7

Judah showing a lot of heart in this fight. He's getting hit clean by Clottey. Clottey staggered him in the corner at one point; Zab was hurt. To his credit, Zab is fighting back and showing a lot of heart. Big right hands from Clottey.

10-9 Clottey Total: 67-66 Clottey

Round 8

Clottey certainly isn't flashy or fast, but he's strong and when he throws punches, he manages to land cleanly. Zab tried to steal the round at the end with a fast flurry as he had Clottey in the corner, but hardly any of it landed.

10-9 Clottey Total: 77-75 Clottey

Accidental clash of heads in round 9. Judah bleeding badly from the cut above Judah's right eye.

Scoring the partial nineth round, I gave Clottey round nine. My scorecard reads 87-84 (6-3) for Clottey. The doctor examines the cut and Judah says that he can't see. Replay, it looks like the cut was caused by a PUNCH. Nonetheless, they go to the scorecards.

Judges scored it 86-85, 86-84, and 86-85 for the winner by unanimous decision... and the new IBF Welterweight Champion of the World....

Joshua Clottey!

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Judah vs Clottey this weekend; Brooklyn faces off against the Bronx!

This weekend at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, NV, Former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Zab Judah of Brooklyn NY will face Bronx native Joshua Clottey for the vacant IBF Welterweight Championship.

This weekend's title fight marks Clottey's 2nd attempt to challenge for a world title, with the first opportunity coming against Antonio Margarito for the WBO welterweight title in December of 2006. Clottey got off to a tremendous start, clearly winning the first rounds, but hurt his hands in the middle rounds, allowing the defending champion to rally down the stretch and retain his title with a close decision win.

Following the disappointing loss to Margarito, Clottey faced off against the late and great Diego Corrales. Clottey won a convincing unanimous decision over Corrales, who passed away in a tragedy almost a month later. Clottey has also amassed victories over Richard Gutierrez, Felix Flores, and Shamone Alvarez, in what was an IBF welterweight title eliminator that earned him this title shot. In his last fight in April, Clottey looked impressive dismantling Jose Luis Cruz and stopping him in five rounds.

Judah, who won the undisputed title with a knockout over Cory Spinks in February of 2005, has been in three welterweight title fights in over two years and lost three of them. In January of 2006, Judah lost his welterweight title to 15-1 underdog Carlos Baldomir by unanimous decision, in what was Ring Magazine's "Upset of the Year." A few months later, Judah would lose another decision to the guy who was regarded as the best pound for pound fighter in the world at the time --Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

The year 2006 was clearly one to forget for the Brooklyn native, who was suspended for a year after a scuffle that transpired in the ring in the 10th round of the Mayweather fight. After a year of inactivity, and a one-round no contest with perennial contender Rubin Galvan, Judah would get another title shot against defending WBA champion Miguel Cotto. Cotto punished Judah and stopped him in eleven rounds. Since the loss to Cotto, Judah has returned with a couple of wins over the likes of Edwin Vasquez and Ryan Davis.

That's brings us to this weekend's showdown between two of the top welterweight contenders in the world. Being that this is Brooklyn vs Bronx, why is this fight taking place in Las Vegas rather than Madison Square Garden in New York???? In any case...

Prediction: Clottey by unanimous decision

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Lujan defeats Castillo on ESPN Wednesday Night Fights!

Last Wednesday at Sycuan Resort in El Cajon, California on ESPN2, Jose Luis Castillo was outworked and beaten up by former welterweight title challenger Sebastian Lujan, who picked up a unanimous decision win over the former two time lightweight champion. Castillo is clearly a shell of the fighter who fought Diego Corrales in one of the greatest lightweight scraps of all time, as he failed to let his hands go and got hit frequently in the process. Official scores were 98-92 and 99-91 twice for Lujan. In this observer's eyes, it looked like a shutout for Lujan, who threw over 1200 punches throughout the ten round welterweight contest. Hopefully that was the end of a fine career for Castillo.

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