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F-LO IS BACK! Mosley Gets His Lottery Fight As An Opponent

Published

14 years ago

February 7, 2011

F-LO IS BACK! This coming May 7th former three division champ Shane Mosley 46-6-1 (39) will challenge WBO welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao 52-3-2 (38) in what will certainly be the last high profile bout of Shane's Hall Of Fame boxing career, unless he upsets Manny. By the time the bell rings for round one, Mosley will be four months shy of turning 40 years old. And let's be honest, Mosley has looked every bit the part of a 40 year-old fighter during his last two bouts, versus Floyd Mayweather and Sergio Mora.

Since turning pro in February of 1993 Mosley has fought and defeated the best fighters of nearly two generations. Shane was willing to fight the best boxing had to offer in between 135 and 154. In 53 career bouts Mosley has never been stopped and only his long time career rival, the late Vernon Forrest ever managed to put him on the canvas. During a career that's entering its 18th year, Mosley has given his best effort physically every time out and even on some of those rare nights that he was out-gunned by his opponent, he never quit trying to force the fight. The fact is Mosley has never submitted to any opponent he's ever faced. And with that, a fighter pays a price, and that is Shane has endured plenty of punishment even on the nights he won impressively. Because Mosley wanted to take his opponents' head off with every punch he threw, he was always in position for return fire from them. Mosley fully grasped that in order to do damage to his opponent, he had to commit to his punches, something that cannot be said about some the best fighters in boxing today.

Unlike Bernard Hopkins who's had as many fights as Mosley, Shane has taxed his body more and never really used all of his physical assets as a boxer, due to his stubbornness. Shane was a terrific boxer who loved to fight. Hopkins has never really been beaten up in the ring, whereas Shane has been beaten up more and also administered more beatings than Hopkins.

Another difference between Mosley and Hopkins is, Shane was almost too willing during his career. In order to make a fight Mosley had no qualms about putting himself at a disadvantage during the negotiations. This is opposed to Bernard, who was just as willing, but sought a more level playing field on fight night. For Mosley it was whatever it took to make the fight with the best boxing had to offer. Hopkins was of the same mindset but is/was more judicious regarding the factors outside of the ring.

For all the great things that can be said about Mosley the fighter, he'll probably go down as one of the least appreciated great fighters in history. It's no secret that Shane hasn't been part of many super-fights during his career, unlike Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. All three of them fought widely publicized signature fights during their respective primes and hit the lottery regarding their purse. Shane beat Oscar after he lost for the first time in his career against Felix Trinidad, and because of that it wasn't two undefeated stars facing each other at or near their prime. Seven years would pass before Mosley would partake in the highest profile bout of his career five months before his 39th birthday when he challenged Floyd Mayweather.

It's very rare in professional boxing that a fighter the caliber of Shane Mosley has to wait until nearly his 39th birthday to fight for the biggest purse of their career. And it is due to Mosley's high profile bout with Floyd Mayweather, along with his unimpressive showing in the ring that night, that he won the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes as the fighter who will oppose the Filipino dynamo next. In Mosley, Pacquiao has the perfect opponent at the perfect time. And everybody knows Shane is just an opponent for Pacquiao. But he's an opponent who even at this stage of his career will provide Manny with plenty of motivation. For Pacquiao, winning the fight isn't so much the challenge. No, the challenge is in the task of whether or not he can be the first fighter to stop Mosley. Beating him at almost 40 won't bolster Pacquiao's legacy that much, but everyone will remember if Manny goes on to be the first fighter to stop him.

I've read where some have a hard time with Mosley being the shell of the fighter he once was and getting a fight with the biggest star and pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport. Well I don't. Mosley has paid his dues and many fighters much more undeserving than an old and washed up Shane Mosley have been afforded the opportunity to make a ton of money in a high profile PPV bout.

Here's what we know about the upcoming Pacquiao-Mosley bout. Pacquiao will win it. Mosley will try and win it by knockout and won't stop trying until it's over. It'll be an exciting fight however long that it last. And lastly, Mosley will be highest paid opponent in boxing history. As they say, better late than never. I for one don't begrudge Mosley one bit and of all the fighters who have earned the position to fight Pacquiao next, Mosley deserves the big payday the most even if his role is just as an opponent. Let's just hope that, after the career he's had, he'll be well enough to enjoy it.

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Frank Lotierzo

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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