Articles

Mosley Admits He Got This Fight Because His Last Two Weren't Stellar Outings

Published

9 years ago

April 28, 2011

“Sugar” Shane Mosley is pretty much the forgotten man in this media circus. After all, this is the Manny Pacquiao Hour, a one-man act that doesn’t have room for a sidekick. Mosley is just a little trimming, extra frosting, a guy left out in the cold peering through a greasy window at the celebration he never got invited to. It almost feels like he’s an afterthought in this fight, someone who was needed to fill an empty chair when they started snapping photos for the history books.

On a recent conference call promoting their May 7 WBO welterweight title fight at a sold-out MGM Grand in Las Vegas (Showtime PPV), Mosley sounded like someone in a funeral parlor talking about the deceased. It wasn’t what he said, it was how he said it. Quiet, soft-spoken, polite and deliberate, you kept wondering if he just woke up from a long nap.

Naw, it was just Mosley being Mosley.

Asked if being the underdog provided a little extra motivation for him in the fight, Mosley said he doesn’t read too much into it.

“I don’t care if people are seeing me as an underdog or not,“ he said. “What matters is what happens in the ring. The only thing that matters is May 7.”

While Mosley didn’t provide any deep insight into the fight and how he planned to win it, his faithful trainer, Naazim Richardson, didn’t hold much back. When Mosley’s age was brought up, Richardson sounded like he already had the answers written down somewhere.

“Most of you saw the Erik Morales fight,“ Richardson said, referring to the recent, fight between the 34-year-old Morales and the 27-year-old Marcos Maidana, won by Maidana on a majority decision. “And most of you saw the (Jean) Pascal-Bernard Hopkins (who is 46) fight. And we keep counting these guys out. These aren’t just old men who box. These are legendary fighters who have age on them now. There‘s a difference between a legendary fighter who has age and an old boxer. When these guys were in their prime, they were exceptional. Michael Jordan could probably still come out now and make the starting five on any team in the NBA. We discount these older guys but we forget they were special. When special gets old, you can still be extraordinary.“

But you can’t get back your prime, and Mosley is a few years passed his.

Still, he’s a big name and that‘s why Top Rank booked him. He’s never been stopped, and he still has some pop left in both hands.

“If Shane hits you solid, you’re going on the defensive,” Richardson said. “I don‘t care how much of a gladiator or how tough you were before. When Shane tags you, you’ll be a defensive fighter. No one has ever asked for their money back after watching a Shane Mosley fight.”

Bob Arum got right to the point on Mosley, saying the reason they picked him to fight Pacquiao is “because we’re in the entertainment business and we know that Manny Pacquiao against Shane Mosley will be one hellacious and entertaining fight.”

Arum says that’s why Top Rank picked Mosley to fight Miguel Cotto, and why they picked Mosley to fight Antonio Margarito in January 2009.

“Shane is an all-action fighter and when he’s in with a guy who is an all-action fighter as well, you’re going to see fireworks.“

But he is 39.

And then you look back at his last two fights – a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather a year ago and a draw to Sergio Mora in September – and say he’s on the downside. But Mosley has a different way of looking at it.

“I don’t think those fights have anything to do with what I do against Pacquiao, because styles make fights,“ said Mosley, who did some chasing against Mora and Mayweather. “But if it wasn’t for those two fights, I probably wouldn‘t be here today. So those fights were needed.”

This guy always thinks the glass is half full.

But so does Richardson, who said they have a comfortable game plan that Mosley has bought into.

“We look forward to this contest and to solving the Rubik’s Cube of boxing, which is Manny Pacquiao,” he said.

Tough puzzle to crack.

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Rick Folstad

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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