Future Hall of Famer ?Sugar? Shane Mosley (46-7-1 with 39 KO?s) will receive yet another title shot, this time against rising 21 year old Mexican superstar and WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (39-0-1 with 29 KO?s). The question this author and a plethora of boxing fans worldwide have been asking ourselves is ?what the hell has Mosley done to deserve this fight?? In his last 5 fights, Mosley is 2-2-1 and hasn?t won a fight since January of 2009 when he knocked out former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito in sensational fashion at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Since that fight, Mosley has looked sub par against Mayweather, Sergio Mora, and most recently against the great Manny Pacquiao —a fight that he never tried to win once he was knocked down in the third round. Subsequent to the knockdown, Mosley looked to merely survive or risk being taken out by the Filipino machine in front of his hot new girlfriend.
In his prime, Mosley was a terrific fighter. As a lightweight he was amazing and was mowing through his opponents like a heavy bowling ball through pins. He defended his IBF Lightweight title 8 times, putting his famous ?power boxing? on display. He was even being compared to all time great Robert Duran. He elected to skip the 140 pound division and chase the Benjamins at 147 in a mega fight with the sport?s biggest cash cow at the time, Oscar De La Hoya. After beating Oscar on points, Mosley was on top of the boxing world. Lacking charisma and the ?x factor?, he never did become a big commercial star ala fellow American greats De La Hoya or Mayweather, but he had the respect of the boxing world and was 38-0 heading into the first fight with late former welterweight/junior middleweight champion Vernon Forrest. Vernon had Mosley’s number the way that Barkley had Hearns? number, Norton had Ali?s number, and Marquez has Pacquiao?s number. Showing tremendous heart, Mosley survived two knockdowns and finished the fight against Forrest losing a wide unanimous decision and a subsequent rematch via a closer decision.
Mosley never quite looked the same after the first Forrest fight. Subsequent back to back losses to Winky Wright (after receiving a gift decision in a rematch with Oscar) were followed by decent wins over non descript opponents and a shot Fernando Vargas. Mosley struggled against the limited Ricardo Mayorga before knocking him out with seconds to go in the final round. Around the time of the Vargas fights is when talks of facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. were circulating only for Mosley to mention a loose tooth and a desire to take a vacation during his interview with HBO?s Larry Merchant. Sandwiched between the Vargas and Mayorga fights, Shane lost a close decision to a prime Miguel Cotto before looking really good in stopping a prime Antonio Margarito to regain the welterweight title. That fight is the last time that Mosley looked anything like the fighter he was in his prime.
I was thoroughly disgusted with Mosley?s last performance against Pacquiao. Later it was discovered that in between rounds Mosley was actually heard imploring his trainer Nazeem Richardson to stop the fight complaining of blisters on his foot. A funny thing happens when warriors like Mosley begin to age. Along with their physical skills diminishing, so too does their intestinal fortitude and appetite for battle. Great warriors from the past like Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. ,Kostya Tszyu, and most recently Oscar De La Hoya all quit on their stool rather than come out for another round.
It?s not difficult to understand why someone like Mosley is still fighting at the advanced age of 40 with the amount of miles he has on the odometer. He?s been boxing his whole life, he loves the sport, he was on top of the pound for pound list, and most importantly: He just went through a very costly divorce and can use the money. In his mind these may be solid reasons for continuing with his career, but if he doesn?t care that much about winning, why should we care about watching him lose?
