When there is worthwhile news flooding the mainstream media it is sure to elicit a response from nearly everyone. As a journalist I have always tried to get feedback from a variety of boxing minds in the sport when the news is hot. One man whose opinion I have come to respect for various reasons in that of esteemed boxing writer Thomas Hauser.
Hauser has been involved in the sport of boxing behind the scenes for several years and has penned 36 boxing related books, including Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times. Hauser has an obvious passion for the sport but often speaks with brutal honesty when assessing all developments within the boxing world.
The New Yorker was up to date on the recent Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather drama that engulfed the sport as well as he tabbed a piece titled ‘Mayweather-Pacquiao, PEDs, and boxing’ that took a close look at boxing’s history with performance enhancing drugs. When asked his initial thoughts on Mayweather and Pacquiao failing to come to terms, Hauser spoke at first with dismay and moments later, curiosity.
“Like most people in boxing I was disappointed that the fight isn’t happening in the foreseeable future,” Hauser states. “My sense is that Floyd didn’t want it. It will be very interesting to see whether or not Floyd demands Shane [Mosley] undergo identical USADA testing and also whether or not Golden Boy demands the same drug testing for fights they are promoting such as Bernard Hopkins against Roy Jones and David Haye against John Ruiz. I understand why it might be prohibitively expensive to have drug testing for all Golden Boy fights but if Richard Schaefer and Oscar are serious about this issue they will implement it on all of their major fights.”
When asked whether or not he felt that the Las Vegas based Mayweather had to fight someone of Mosley’s caliber to keep pace with Pacquiao, who is slated to fight the rugged Joshua Clottey this March 13th, Hauser was unsure. Hauser has been critical of Mayweather’s decision making in recent years and ultimately seems to have a curiosity towards what is going through the mind of the Grand Rapids fighter on a day to day basis.
“I don’t know what Floyd is going to do,” Hauser claims. “I would have thought that Floyd would eventually compromise more on the drug testing and make the Pacquiao fight. It’s hard to really know what is going on in his head. Floyd is motivated by money. Floyd is motivated by ego. He very much wants to keep his undefeated record. He lives in his own world. He walks among us, and I don’t mean that he isn’t part of this society, but he has a slightly different view of his place in the world than the rest of us might have.”
Floyd’s outlook towards the world today may be rather unique but the gut feeling here is that deep down, despite all of the speculation and drama that surrounds him, he will find a way to give us what we all want to see by facing a formidable opponent. The aforementioned Mosley seems to be the best willing candidate at the moment but Hauser isn’t certain that the contest will happen.
“They could make Mayweather-Mosley,” Hauser continues. “It would be a very good fight and I would want to see it. Or it might fall apart because of money or demands of drug testing. I just don’t know. If Mayweather-Mosley happens it will be a really good fight but it’s really up to Floyd and Shane to decide whether or not it happens.”
Mosley began his career in February of 1993 and over seventeen years and 51 fights later he is still a threat to anyone near the 147 pound weight class, Mayweather included. Touching upon Shane’s ability to stay in the big picture through all these years, Hauser simply attributes it to a willingness to test himself while also noting one key instance where question marks where raised.
“Shane has stayed relevant in the sport because he’s a very good fighter who’s always willing to go in tough,” Hauser says, commending the Pomona, California native. “Shane doesn’t duck anybody either. Obviously there is the one mark on his record where he acknowledged to using performance enhancing drugs. Personally I don’t find his explanation credible but that’s just my personal opinion. His very capable attorney said that Shane passed the lie detector test but he doesn’t emphasize that it was the attorney who arranged for the test. They went into that test with a certain agenda in mind.”
(Click to see the Mayweather and Mosley throughout the years in the exclusive timeline)
When analyzing a Mayweather-Mosley bout Hauser is quick to point out that while Mosley was sensational against Antonio Margarito last January he also looked vulnerable in his prior fight against wild swinging Ricardo Mayorga. Hauser feels that any version of Mosley who sets foot into the ring against Floyd will be a stiff task yet feels that Shane’s recent layoff, coupled with his advancing age, may play a big factor.
“He will certainly present challenges to Floyd,” Hauser says. “He probably would have presented more of a challenge two or three years ago when he was younger. Shane looked very, very good against Antonio Margarito. He did not look good against Ricardo Mayorga. He looked old. Let’s assume that Mosley and Mayweather fight in May, that means sixteen months will have elapsed between Shane’s last fight and this one and that’s a long time. Shane could walk into the ring and be old against Mayweather. If Floyd makes the fight I’m guessing that’s one of the things Floyd would be counting on.”
While Mayweather’s fallout with Pacquiao was met with hatred, bitterness, and a slew of other emotions, there are still many who are hoping the two can one day meet later this year. Hauser himself is open to the thought and also feels the bout could still be marketable no matter how the Pacquiao-Clottey fight and the hopeful Mayweather-Mosley situation plays out.
“If they both keep winning people are going to want to see that fight,” Hauser says. “I’ll tell you something else, even if one of them lose I would still want to see that fight. Let’s assume that Shane beats Mayweather, would I want to see Pacquiao against Mosley? Absolutely, but I’d also want to see Pacquiao against Mayweather.”
Elaborating further, Hauser feels that we should stop getting caught up with glossy records and should also start accepting fighters who are willing to lay everything on the line, win or lose. Some of the sport’s greatest pugilists were defined not by their records but by their actions in the ring and Hauser has the same outlook when looking at today’s landscape.
“We have got to get away from the idea that just because somebody loses a fight they are tarnished. The greatest fighters of all time, from Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Archie Moore, and all these guys lost fights because they were willing to go in tough. Sometimes you can get upset and lose to a fighter when you least expect it. Shane has lost five times but he’s still a good fighter and people want to see him. Manny Pacquiao lost three times and one of them came later against Erik Morales but people still want to see him fight.”
