During his illustrious career Shane Mosley has thrilled us time and time again while finding a way to remain a relevant force into his late thirties. It has been quite the ride for the Pomona, California fighter as he has won titles in three separate weight classes against a plethora of dangerous opposition. But what transpired tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles was not only disappointing but also an alarming sign that Mosley?s time near the top of the sport may be coming to an end.
For twelve uneventful rounds Mosley played an awful game of cat and mouse with Contender alum Sergio Mora and the ending result was one of the more lackluster fights in recent memory. Mora had promised to bring much to the table against Mosley but he seemed content on backpedaling and staying out of harm?s way for much of the fight. As for Mosley, his trademark speed was nowhere to be found and because of it he wasn?t able to find a rhythm for which he could land in combination or mount an attack.
<--- Slideshow: Mosley fights to draw while Alvarez, Ortiz and De Leon shine
Scores of 116-112 Mosley, 115-113 Mora and 114-114 were read as each fighter goes back to the drawing board. After the bout Mosley tried to put a positive spin on the situation, noting that Mora was a former middleweight coming down in weight while also being very reluctant to engage in any action. Shane said that he is still going to be eyeing bigger fights down the road and that an opponent closer to his weight would make for more of a crowd-pleasing brawl.
Mora told HBO?s Larry Merchant afterwards that he felt he had done enough to win but his stock definitely dropped after tonight?s outing. Mora is a high risk/low reward type of challenge in that he can make anyone look awkward and simply isn?t a big enough name for too many fighters to be interested in him.
Who knows where each man goes from here but all one has to do is pop in a fight of Mosley?s from around the turn of the century to realize how special of a fighter he was and how that magic may now be gone. At this point Mosley should stay away from movers and boxers, with perhaps an Alfredo Angulo type, a guy willing to go toe to toe, being his best option. Mosley was coming off of a loss to Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in which he rocked his 33-year old opponent in the second before fading and losing a clear decision.
Poised Alvarez halts Baldomir
Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez is just 20 years of age but he has professionalism and poise beyond his years. Tonight Alvarez went up against rugged former champion Carlos Baldomir in somewhat of a grudge match, as the Argentinean had been spewing verbal venom for weeks leading into the fight, and passed his test with flying colors.
Alvarez isn?t your typical Mexican as he fights from more of textbook stance with his guard held high and he seemed to be far too fast for his 39-year old foe. Alvarez controlled the early rounds easily and would eventually catch Baldomir with a sweeping left hook that had him all but out as he crashed to the canvas. With the knockout win Alvarez improves his record to 34-0-1 with 26 knockouts.
Baldomir is known best for the success he had in 2006 when he upset welterweight Zab Judah and followed it up with a brutal drubbing of Arturo Gatti in Atlantic City before losing a lopsided decision to Floyd Mayweather in November.
Ortiz returns to vicious form with 3rd round blowout over former champ Harris
Victor Ortiz seems to really be getting his swagger back these days. Tonight he met the challenge of former WBA junior welterweight champion Vivian Harris and he had little trouble in disposing of the Georgetown, Guyana native. Harris was once an ideal foe for Floyd Mayweather when they both were campaigning at 140 pounds but a shocking loss to Carlos Maussa in June of 2005 ended that talk and after his performance tonight he may need to consider other avenues at this point in his life.
The southpaw Ortiz was extremely patient early on and began finding his range midway through the first. He broke through in the second round with double left cross that staggered Harris and sent him to the deck. Two follow up knockdowns had Harris reeling and he was lucky to survive the round. Towards the end of the third Ortiz caught Harris with a beautiful right hand in close that dropped him and effectively ended his night.
In June of last year Ortiz suffered the second loss of his career when he was he came up short in a firefight against WBA interim champion Marcos Maidana. Ortiz was reluctant to continue in the sixth round of that fight after suffering his second knockdown and received a waive of criticism but he looks to really be coming back to form. People in the sport have been saying that if a Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley fight fails to come off in early 2011 that Ortiz could step in to face Devon instead.
Escalante starched by De Leon
An interesting featherweight clash took place between power-punching former champion Daniel Ponce De Leon and El Paso?s Antonio Escalante. The fight was all De Leon as he was simply too powerful and physically imposing for his younger foe. De Leon ended Escalante?s night in the 3rd with a brutal counter right hook. De Leon is still restoring the luster on his career that was taken after his shocking June 2008 first round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Lopez and has since won six bouts in a row. He would make for an interesting dance partner for anyone at 126 pounds.
For a picture by picture look at Mosley-Mora as well as De Leon, Ortiz, and Alvarez please continue on to the slideshow at the top left of the page or click HERE
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at
