At 37, Mosley turned back the hands of time in such overwhelming fashion that it was perhaps even more stunning than seeing his Golden Boy Promotions partner, Bernard Hopkins, roll past the prime Kelly Pavlik in October at age 43. Clearly, Mosley has a lot left in the tank as he regained the welterweight title in violent fashion. He won it the first time in the first-ever fight held at the Staples Center on June 17, 2000, when he closed strongly against Oscar De La Hoya in his career-defining fight. But on this night, Mosley added a second-career defining performance. He and Margarito, both Southern California-based fighters, both came to fight, but Margarito was never in it. We all knew Mosley was faster, but did anyone think he was stronger? Well, he was. And that indestructible Margarito chin? Not anymore. Mosley hammered him with left hooks and laser-like overhand rights that couldn’t miss. Mosley rocked him in the sixth, dropped him in the eighth and stopped him 43 seconds into the ninth with a massive closing onslaught that saw him out-land Margarito a stunning 21-0, according to CompuBox statistics.

It was a fantastic night for the sport of boxing, once again proving that the dopes who insist boxing is dead have no clue. The fight drew 20,820 — the most ever to see any event of any kind at the Staples Center. And these were not casino guests or a late-arriving crowd. These were folks who paid their hard-earned cash to see a real fight in an electric atmosphere.

If there was anything of a downer, it is the possibility that Margarito tried to cheat by entering loaded gloves. Fortunately, Mosley trainer Nazim Richardson — who, by the way, also trains Hopkins, so he knows a thing or two about guys turning back the clock — objected to the way Margarito’s hands had been wrapped, and during the removal of the tape, a “plaster-like substance” was found and removed. The California commission is investigating, but it stands to reason that if Margarito, 30, did try to cheat, it wasn’t the first time. It casts a huge shadow over his victory against Cotto, whom he is supposed to meet again in June despite the loss. That is, if he’s not suspended, which he should be if he did try to cheat.

Mosley, meantime, is the new 147-pound king. He’d love a rematch with Cotto, but that seems unlikely right now. Maybe Floyd Mayweather will exit retirement and finally fight the fight so many of us have always wanted to see for so many years.