I don’t enjoy watching guys I grew up admiring stumble through the exit door and wind up in the gutter. Yet here we are—“Sugar” Shane Mosely will be returning to the ring at 41. His retirement status has oscillated before, but he’s been wise enough not to fight since losing to Golden Boy Promotions’ latest moneymaker, Canelo Alvarez in February 2012.
This comeback feels wrong. When I saw him five months ago at the opening of a West Oakland boxing gym, Champ Nation, Mosley sat in the corner of the gym behind a desk that looked plucked from a grade school classroom. He was no longer the smiling, fearless lightweight that dominated his era. He looked more mature and donned glasses as he signed autographs. His human grace was powerful: a fighter who seemingly fought anyone for the love of his fans was kind and accessible to the ones he gave it all for. Then there was worrisome part—Mosley’s slurred speech. I thought about those reflexes that appeared to be gone after his poor performance against Manny Pacquiao two years ago.
Mosley’s been training in Big Bear, California with top fighters like Kendall ****, but training is one thing and a fight is another. Here is one of the leaked sparring sessions that shows Mosley back in action with Gennady Golovkin in Big Bear.
As you can see in the video, Mosley has his moments, but sparring is soft practice and the holding that occurred won’t happen as much in a prime time fight due to head butts, elbows, or point deductions.
Another bit that makes me equally sad is the fact that Mosley has not won a fight in five years since beating Antonio Maragrito in January ’09. It was the one where Margarito was subsequently caught by Mosley trainer, Nazm Richardson, putting plaster in his hand wraps.
Mosley gave Floyd Mayweather his toughest round in a great while when he caught him with a straight right, but after this burst of glory Mosley’s career trajectory got weird. He was never in the Pacquiao fight despite the fact that a Pacquiao slip was called a knockdown. Against Sergio Mora, Mosley put up a weak effort that resulted in a majority draw with the international broadcasters believing Mora had won and the HBO crew thinking Mosley did. As has become a staple of Mosley bouts, he didn’t do enough to win the fight outright and embarrassingly, that one was a Pay Per View main event.
You would think after such recent paydays—three Pay Per View fights, two of them against the biggest draws in the sport, plus a fight against Golden Boy’s next star—Mosley would have been able to save some of his dough. But he doesn’t seem to have any interest in leaving the sport. If he’s just fighting for the love of boxing, someone needs to talk with him. His worn body is struggling to hold up and we’re at the point where damage gets irreversible. Even the most casual boxing fan knows Sugar Shane. He could just as easily promote fights under a “Mosley Promotions” banner not unlike Miguel Cotto, Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez.
This brings me to Mosley’s next opponent, though it might be fair to say opponents. Mosley will be fighting in Mexico against Pablo Cesar Cano, a man that many thought defeated Paulie Malignaggi last October in Brooklyn. Mosley vs. Malignaggi was looking to be made as an IBF 147 lb fight until the backlash from fans was so strong the match up was canned. It wasn’t seen as a far fight, and people knew it’d be an ugly one.
Cano is a young fighter, and he’s essentially been jobbed out of his past major network appearances. He fought Erik Morales for the WBC 140 title only to lose the fight due to a cut over his eye, but fared well enough to get a fight against Malignaggi.
It is not just that Cano is tough and the type of guy who could retire Mosley and jeopardize the rest of his future, it’s that no major American networks want the fight. The fight will air on Telefutra or perhaps Solo Boxeo, which, if you are not a Mexican fighter with a large following, means you are just trying to build yourself up for something bigger. For Mosley this is a major step down. What once made him great leaves me in fear—the man who would fight anyone at the drop of a dime is now still willing to fight anyone well past his prime.
so much fukkery with the titles...nikkas dont want lucas as a champ
..it's terrible
Ionno how some of y'all don't like dude
you ain't a got a soul
