Intro. The welterweight title fight between Mexico's Antonio Margarito and Southern California's Sugar Shane Mosley on Jan. 24 should be exciting. Margarito is younger and bigger, but Mosley has vast experience and is perceived as the more talented boxer. In the inaugural 12 Rounds feature, Manny Pacquiao was given advantages in more categories than his opponent, Oscar De La Hoya, and went on to win the fight.

Here is how Margarito and Mosley compare in the same 12 key categories.]]>Round 1. Mosley is a good puncher, sharp with his hooks and right hands, but Margarito throws what the trade calls heavy-handed punches. Mosley knocked out Ricardo Mayorga in his last fight and drilled a weight-drained Fernando Vargas with a huge left hook in their rematch, but Margarito has been visibly hurting his opponents in recent bouts. It could be significant that Mosley was unable to hurt Miguel Cotto. Margarito, however, was clearly affecting Cotto with his punches long before the 11th-round ending. Mosley had a better result against another common opponent, Antonio Diaz, stopping him in six rounds whereas it took Margarito 10 rounds, but Margarito has become more powerful since his fight with Diaz.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 2. Mosley has been around a long time. He has been a champion in three weight divisions and has fought in many big fights. He has been in many big events, especially the two fights with Oscar De La Hoya, and he has faced every type of fighter. However, Mosley hasn't been in the ring with anyone quite like Margarito -- certainly no one this big and strong -- and hasn't experienced anything quite like the pressure that Margarito will be bringing to bear on him.

Margarito will have to deal with Mosley's speed, but he caught up with the faster Cotto, and earlier in his career he ground down the flashy southpaw Sergio Martinez. Mosley, though, is the veteran in this fight, the one who has been in the bigger events and generally fought at a higher level, although he has been a pro just one year longer than Margarito.

Advantage: Mosley.]]>Round 3. Mosley isn't as fast as when he was a lightweight champion but he is quick in his movements, whereas Margarito tends to be plodding, although very persistent.

Mosley, even at 37, appears to be faster than Margarito, both in his footwork and with his punches. Margarito had problems with the hand speed and smart boxing of Paul Williams and Daniel Santos, but they are southpaws, and Williams, with his height and reach, is exceptionally difficult to fight.

Mosley is quick in the way he gets in and out, but Margarito found a way to cut off and corner Cotto. Mosley's hand speed is definitely going to be a factor, though: Cotto, Williams and Santos showed that Margarito can be beaten to the punch.

Advantage: Mosley.]]>Round 4. Mosley has an excellent chin but Margarito appears to be one of the true iron men of the ring. When Margarito gets rolling in a fight, he gives the impression of being able to walk through anything. He is one of the flat-out toughest fighters in the ring today at any weight.

Mosley, though, showed amazing resiliency when he survived two early knockdowns and gritted his way though subsequent tough situations to finish on his feet and fight back in the first bout against Vernon Forrest. Apart from the first fight with Forrest, he has never been down or seriously shaken. Mosley has an excellent chin and great recuperative powers.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 5. Mosley has shown his heart in many fights, but Margarito seems to have an unquenchable will to win. In the rematch with Kermit Cintron and in his classic win over Miguel Cotto, it almost seemed that Margarito had conditioned himself mentally to withstand anything and everything that was hurled at him. He had the look of a fighter who would never give in. In his breakout win over Antonio Diaz, he had to walk through some heavy shots, especially in the second round. Mosley, though, showed great gameness to survive the second-round shelling against Forrest. He even finished the stronger man, winning the 11th round on two judges' cards and sweeping the last round in the scoring, which was almost incredible when you consider how close he was to being stopped in Round 2.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 6. Mosley is noted for his conditioning. He loves to stay in top shape and never seems too far above his fighting weight. Still, Mosley is at an age when a fighter's legs and his ability to endure in a long, hard fight are generally not what they were. Margarito, though, is at his physical peak. When he overpowered Cotto, it was as if he could fight all night, and he seemed to be gaining momentum as the bout went into its late stages. It is likely to be Margarito and not Mosley who is coming on strong in the home straight.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 7. What Margarito does, he does very well. He brings straight-ahead pressure and a high punch volume. Mosley is more along the lines of a boxer-fighter. Mosley isn't what you would call a slick boxer, but he is capable of making smart moves and can vary his tactics by countering or by pressing forward, depending on the situation. In the first fight with Oscar De La Hoya, Mosley's greatest win, he boxed and fought, mixing up his tactics (even switching to a southpaw stance at times). There were moments when Mosley blazed away with both hands, while at other times he jabbed beautifully -- three lovely jabs in a row in the ninth round, for instance. De La Hoya fought very well that night, but Mosley's versatility was a big factor in Sugar Shane's win.

Advantage: Mosley.]]>Round 8. Neither Mosley nor Margarito has given less than his best, but there have been nights when Sugar Shane hasn't sparkled, when he hasn't been "on." Margarito is almost always reliable, though. Even when he lost to the tall, busy-punching southpaw Paul Williams, a very difficult opponent for anyone, Margarito almost pulled out the win -- and that might have been a case of the other man having a great night rather than the Mexican boxer having a poor one.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 9. Margarito is a tremendous offensive force, but Mosley is more of a complete fighter in terms of technique. Mosley has the combinations and variety; he gives the sense of being the more complete ring mechanic. He outboxed De La Hoya in the first fight in a classically competent performance, and for a while Sugar Shane was looking so good (the consecutive knockout wins over Antonio Diaz, Shannan Taylor and Adrian Stone come to mind) that he was even being mentioned in the same sentence as Sugar Ray Robinson. He fought on almost level terms in the rematch with Vernon Forrest, and even though it was a disappointing fight,it reflects well on Mosley that he was able to do so well against a taller man who had beaten him so convincingly in their first fight.

Advantage: Mosley.]]>Round 10. Margarito gave perhaps his two greatest performances in his past two fights with the knockout wins over Cintron and Cotto. Mosley, meanwhile, lost to Cotto in a close fight and then had a difficult struggle with Mayorga when he was behind on one judge's scorecard after 11 rounds. The spectacular last-second KO win over Mayorga made up for most of what went before, but until then this was not a vintage Mosley performance.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 11. Mosley has announced that he will be working with Philadelphia's Nazim Richardson for this fight. After being trained for almost his entire career by his father, Jack Mosley, Sugar Shane has chopped and changed in recent years, with trainers Joe Goossen and John David Jackson brought on board. He went back with his father after a four-fight absence but now says that they are not on "the same wavelength." Richardson is well-respected and has done sterling work with Bernard Hopkins. Perhaps he can bring out the best in Mosley, as Floyd Mayweather Sr. did with Ricky Hatton a couple of months ago. Margarito, though, has had the same trainer, Javier Capetillo, all through his rise to the top. Trainer and fighter have by all accounts formed a bond, and Capetillo clearly knows how to get the best out of his fighter. This familiarity, and a mutual confidence tested under battle conditions, could lead to a winning corner.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Round 12. Although Margarito is the taller fighter, he is expected to be bringing the fight up close and going to the body, which is his preferred method. Mosley can take a terrific shot, but he will probably be tested to the body as never before. If Margarito can hurt Mosley downstairs, he can wear him down to the point that he can overwhelm him. Mosley has excellent counterpunching skills, but Margarito showed that he could overcome a classier fighter when he broke down Cotto. Even though Mosley says he still feels like a young fighter, he is at an age when a fighter can grow old in just one fight. If this happens against Margarito, he will find himself in a tough situation. There just seem to be more question marks hanging over Mosley than over Margarito.

Advantage: Margarito.]]>Prediction. Mosley has been a classy, courageous fighter who might still be able to produce a great performance, but Margarito looks too young, too big, too strong and too insistent. He is likely to overrun the older man in the later rounds.]]>MARGARITO WILL GRIND DOWN MOSLEY FOR A ROUND 11 TKO WIN