Three-division champ Shane Mosley has had a stellar 18-year career that has seen him do some amazing things, and also suffer through some tough times. As “Sugar” Shane prepares for the battle of his career, May 7th, against Manny Pacquiao, here’s a look at the five fights that made Mosley the fighter he is today:
Shane Mosley SD 12 Oscar De la Hoya June 17, 2000 (Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA)
In the first fight ever at the newly-built Staples Center, Mosley, who had just moved up from lightweight, officially became a two-division champ by besting a near-prime Oscar De la Hoya for the WBC welterweight title.
The contest, itself, was a spirited affair featuring two strong, athletically-gifted warriors going back and forth and wowing audiences with the ebb and flow of action.
At the end of the day, it was Mosley who had his arm raised in victory and the sport had found itself yet another top pound-for-pound fighter.
Shane Mosley UD 12 Oscar De la Hoya September 13, 2003 (MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)
In the rematch of their closely-contested 2000 bout, Mosley was riding a wave of bad luck, having dropped a pair of decisions to Vernon Forrest and a no contest against Raul Marquez.
On the other hand, De la Hoya was sitting pretty with the WBC jr. middleweight title as well as the WBA crown that he had just wrested from the hands of hated rival, Fernando Vargas.
Supremely confident and motivated, “The Golden Boy” gave Mosley all he could handle and “Sugar” Shane responded like a true champion. The back and forth action translated to several rounds being too close to call. The judges, however, were in agreement? 115-113 all around. A razor-close decision in a classic bout for Mosley.
Later, during the BALCO investigation, Mosley would testify to a grand jury that he had used the doping agent, EPO, prior to the bout.
Miguel Cotto UD 12 Shane Mosley November 10, 2007 (Madison Square Garden, New York, NY)
The 37-year old Mosley was brought to Puerto Rican star, Cotto, as a veteran name to be added to the young star’s resume. As a 14-year veteran who had looked vulnerable in three of his last for contests, it was assumed that the former champ from Pomona, CA was at the end of a long, illustrious career.
However, Cotto and the partisan Puerto Rican crowd at Madison Square Garden, would be in for a shock as Mosley battled back hard, keeping the contest close and even managing to take the last couple of rounds on the scorecards.
After twelve hard-fought rounds, Cotto eked out a close unanimous decision, with one round being the difference between a loss and a draw on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Shane Mosley TKO 9 Antonio Margarito January 24, 2009 (Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA)
Reigning WBA welterweight champ, Antonio Margarito, had just scored the victory of his career by beating former champ, Miguel Cotto to a bloody pulp. “The Tijuana Tornado” was the top active welterweight in the world and widely regarded as one of the sport’s most dangerous men.
Mosley, on the other hand, was a 38-year old former champ, who had just struggled with boxing punchline, Ricardo Mayorga, four months earlier. Some in the media even expressed a legitimate fear for Mosley’s safety and well-being against such a “beast.”
Once the bell rang, the fears were obviously unfounded as Mosley completely outclassed a puzzled and increasingly-frustrated Margarito en route to a ninth round stoppage.
Prior to the contest, Margarito was found to be wearing doctored hand wraps and was forced to re-wrap his hands. Some credit the one-sided loss to Margarito’s lack of plaster-coated wraps, but the real reason was Mosley and his precise execution of a perfect game plan.
Shane Mosley UD 12 Philip Holiday August 2, 1997 (Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT)
Although a well-regarded amateur with superstar potential, Mosley still suffered criticism for the use of the legendary “Sugar” nickname.
In his first title fight, against South Africa’s reigning IBF lightweight champ, Philip Holiday, Mosley not only showed that he could handle a crafty veteran, but he proved to be something truly special- and surely worthy of the name, “Sugar” Shane.
Mosley would go on to win four more world titles in three divisions in a career that will surely land him in the Hall of Fame.
Sources:
Boxrec, Boxrec Records and Stats, Boxrec The Boxing Tribune, The Boxing Tribune Fight Reports, The Boxing Tribune
