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WOODS–Shane Mosley Admits That Retirement Might Be Option If He Loses In A Bad Way To Pacquiao

Published

14 years ago

April 26, 2011

We're all adults here. We know that this is the fight game, and the name of the game is making money. And sometimes, when people are trying to convince you to reach into your wallet, and transfer some of your wealth to them, they will say things that veer into hyperbole. I don't want to say they lie, but rather, they skillfully shade the truth, massage it, choose to accentuate one portion of a story over another. They play up evidence which suits their cause, and sometime ignore evidence which might cause the potential consumer to keep that wallet glued shut.

We've heard oodles of skillfully delivered hyperbole in recent months, since Shane Mosley signed on the dotted line to become Manny Pacquiao's next victim. Initially, you'll recall the howls from the keyboard tappers resonated across the universe. They–we—I–didn't like the matchup, believing that the nearly-40-year-old Mosley, God bless him, had deteriorated too far from his prime time, and would be too ripe to get picked off by Pacquiao's laser guided killshots. Fans too haven't really embraced this tangle, which unfolds on May 7 in Las Vegas. But the players involved, the promoters, the trainers, the fighters themselves, have done their part to try and steer the promotion out of the realm of the nattering nabobs of the fightwrite fraternity.

There is a conference call today featuring Shane Mosley which will no doubt feature a boatload of this skillful marketing language. But I have to say, I have been somewhat impressed with what I've been hearing from the fighter himself, from Mosley. I chatted with him a few days ago, and was happy that he wasn't overselling his chances. Yes, he told me he think Pacquiao is a good style matchup for him. He said that Pacquiao doesn't have the same skills as a pure pugilist as Floyd Mayweather does, so Pacquiao will be right there in front of him, ready to be hit. Our man Frank Lotierzo has already picked apart this assertion, noting that Mayweather didn't win his bout against Mosley with his feet. He was in front of Mosley, ready to be hit, but Shane's reflexes are only human. They have diminished and with that, his chance at beating Manny, in my mind, have diminished tremendously.

And you know what? When I asked Mosley in our chat if he would consider retiring if Pacquiao beats him, what I heard convinced me that Mosley knows what he has, and what he's lost. “That decision would have to be made on how I lost,” he said.

I appreciated his honesty here. If he gets his butt handed to him, he implied, that will be it for him. I appreciate that he didn't try to BS his way through the question, offer false bravado, reject the possibility that on the night of May 7, his career might conclusively be finished.

See, while we are all adults here, I have to admit I'm a favorite of Barnum. I'm a sucker who gets convinced by the hyperbole. The more years I do this, the less easily I get convinced, but still. So I'm thankful when I see and hear the principals staying grounded in at least some realism.

My guess is that on the night of May 7, Shane Mosley will know after about six minutes that even though he's had a fabulous training camp, and his style matches up well with Manny's, and Manny has never fought anyone with his blend of speed and power, retirement is his obvious option.

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Michael Woods

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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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