Antonio Margarito vs. Shane Mosley, billed as It’s On, was a professional boxing match contested on January 24, 2009, for the WBA and vacant Lineal welterweight championship.

Following his upset victory over WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto in July 2008, Antonio Margarito’s promoter Top Rank were planning for a summer rematch with a potential interim fight in between. In autumn 2008 a deal was agreed with Golden Boy Promotions for Margarito to face former 3 weight champion Shane Mosley on 24 January 2009, with $2 million for each man on the table.

At the 9 December press conference, Margarito told the reporters “I have being looking for the biggest fights for a long time, and this one against Mosley is one of them. As I proved with Miguel Cotto, I have never ducked anyone in my career and I’m looking forward to showing the fans again why I am the best welterweight in the world. I fear no one. This fight will be my moment to shine and I will not let it pass by.” Mosley meanwhile said “I’m glad Margarito decided to step up to the plate and fight me. If Margarito thinks he is the bigger puncher than I, he is delusional. I will definitely win this fight, especially with the type of fighter he is. He is going to end up getting knocked out because he’ll come right at me and I’ll catch him.”

Mosley’s build up to the bout had been hit by multiple issues, firstly he had fired his father as his trainer (for the second time), he was still dealing with the legal issues surrounding his involvement in the BALCO scandal and he had separated with his wife (and now former manager) Jin.

Mosley, was a 4–1 underdog with the bookies.

Shortley before the bout, Mosley’s trainer, Naazim Richardson, observed that Margarito had a pasty white substance in his handwraps. One doctor described this material as plaster hidden in the wrapped hands of Margarito, leading to accusations that he may have been trying to cheat.

At Richardson’s insistence, California State Inspector Dean Lohuis called for Margarito’s hands to be rewrapped. According to Judd Burstein, the attorney for Mosley, Margarito had wet pads in the wrapping. Mosley’s doctor, Robert Olvera, likened the material to the type of plaster used to make casts. Burstein said he seized the pad removed from the wrapping and another pad found in Margarito’s dressing room. Both were placed in a sealed box that was given to Lohuis for further study.
The California Department of Justice laboratory later confirmed the substance to be similar in nature to plaster of Paris.

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