Margarito vs. Mosley: Weigh-In

By Jason Pribila in Los Angeles: The weigh-in for Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley was supposed to take place outside at the Nokia Plaza, located across the street from the Staples Center. Rain forced the fighters, scales, and fans indoors; but did not dampen the spirit of those that chose to witness the fighters clear their final hurdles before meeting in the boxing ring on Saturday night.

Shane Mosley first stepped on the scale, and his weight was announced at the welterweight limit of 147lbs. After a few moments, Mosley was again asked to step on the scale, but at this time his weight was announced at 147.2lbs. He would be given two hours to lose the final two-tenths of a pound.

Next to the scale was WBA titlist and crowd favorite, Antonio Margarito. Any questions about the Tijuana Tornado having problems making weight were quickly erased when the scale read 145.8lbs.

The fighters then went through with their stare down, and Mosley left the stage to go through with the formality of dropping the necessary weight.

In his absence, Antonio Margarito took the time to speak to the media.

“I always make weight easily,” he said. “It’s his job to make weight. It’s his problem.”

37 year-old Mosley returned to the stage five minutes later, and weighed in at 147lbs even. As he stepped off the scale, he smiled and threw several combinations at the air.

I don’t feel that the weight of either man will have any impact on Saturday night’s outcome.

Notes:

Despite a few tense moments, each fighter acted professionally. However, once again there are entirely too many people on stage for a weigh-in. At one point there were twenty people on stage, which led to confusion and may have potentially impacted the scale. When Mosley returned to the stage, he had to walk through Margarito’s team to get back on the scale. It’s a situation where both men could have been irritated, and eventually one of these scenes is going to turn ugly. Tip of the cap to both men for keeping their cool.

Although Mosley is from nearby Pomona, California, and Margarito fights out of Tijuana, Mexico; there is no doubt who will be the crowd favorite tomorrow night at the Staples Center. I get the impression that Mosley will feel like the LA Clippers to Margarito’s LA Lakers when both fighters are announced tomorrow night.