The Case for Shane Mosley
Shane Mosley is the best welterweight Floyd Mayweather will ever have shared a ring with. In a strong and deep divisional stretch, the only men appearing on the Mayweather record who could be classed as having been legitimate 147 pounders are Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir and Oscar De la Hoya (who battled Mayweather at light middleweight). Each of these outings went the distance and, interestingly, Oscar and Zab took more rounds from Floyd than any fighter since Jose Luis Castillo.
Look closer and you can see that Oscar was nought but a part time fighter by this point, engaging in only his fourth contest in three years. Judah, meanwhile, was bested by every top class welterweight he ever faced; Cory Spinks, Miguel Cotto, Josh Clottey and the aforementioned Baldomir. “Super” Judah is perhaps better viewed as a 140 pounder.
It’s not much of a record against welterweights is it? Of course Mayweather and his supporters would argue that he himself is not a legitimate welter, having travelled there from as far south as super featherweight. I can buy into that some, yet it doesn’t change the fact that he’s signed to face a great fighter at the weight, one who has beaten naturally larger men such as Oscar De la Hoya, Fernando Vargas and Antonio Margarito. In all of those examples he’s either knocked their blocks off or shaken them to their boots trying. Along with “The Golden Boy”, he’s the most powerful fighter Floyd has ever signed to meet.
He’s also one of the fastest. Zab and Oscar posed Floyd problems early on with their quickness, Judah especially. DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley was another speedy opponent, one who buzzed Floyd towards the end of the third round of their 2004 contest with a looping left hand. As good as that shot was, Corley landed an even better right hander early in the fourth which had Floyd in real bother. “Chop Chop” was aided by his speed and his reach. Mosley’s speed is comparable, yet he has four inches in wingspan on Corley. In mitigation to Mayweather, Judah and Corley were southpaws, yet, the orthodox Mosley has switched stance to good effect previously, most notably first time around against De la Hoya. It’s an idea he could try again.
In the six years since the Corley fight, Mayweather has fought just eight times, with most of his opponents falling into the ‘overmatched’ category. Will just two competitive matches prepare him sufficiently for a match with someone as capable and competitive as Shane?
Whilst Mosley’s schedule has been only a tad more active, he has mixed it with big units such as Luis Collazo, Miguel Cotto, Ricardo Mayorga, Vargas and Margarito. He’ll have taken far bigger punches in those contests than Floyd can hope to hit him with, and he never as much as blinked.
His last performance was also one of his best, one to compare with his defining first fight against De la Hoya, and the man at the helm for this resurrection was Naazim Richardson, one of the finest trainers and strategists in the sport. The wise and erudite Richardson was also the man behind Bernard Hopkins and the ageless warrior’s resurgent upset victory over Kelly Pavlik last year. Evidence would suggest that he can dredge great performances from great fighters in their winter.
He will have Mosley meticulously prepped and the noises coming out of camp have been encouraging. Unlike so many of Floyd’s previous opponents, the blueprint will be multi layered, rather than one which merely requires the rushing or pressuring of the Grand Rapids flash. Richardson and Mosley have spoken of adjustments, changing tack in light of events and offering Mayweather different looks. One feels that Mosley could not have readied himself under a better wing for this challenge.
Mosley can take Mayweather out of his comfort zone. Laying on the ropes to cover and parry is unlikely to work here, not against one of the best body punchers in the sport. If he gives up his midriff as he did against Oscar, Sugar Shane will put a hole in him. There’s also Floyd’s hand problems to factor in, if he zings a mitt, how can he hope to keep Shane off him with only one good hand?
Then there’s Mosley’s desire. There is a simmering intensity to the man throughout this build up, a palpable yearning to prove wrong the naysayers, to remind everyone how great a fighter he is. We’ve seen before how an aging legend can reverse time against a streaking phenom, one whose ego betrayed them into believing they were unbeatable. Ali, Holyfield and Hopkins proved in derailing Foremen, Tyson and Trinidad, that an extreme gameness allied to experience and nous can bring about the most unlikely of upsets.
If we assume Shane’s granite chin takes him the full journey (it’s never failed him yet), can Floyd really hope to outpoint such an aggressive attacking force by countering and pot shotting? It’s a tall order, remember Mosley only needs to take seven rounds from the twelve on offer. Remember also, that judges have favoured him before in a close contest against the biggest star in the sport, against Oscar second time around.
Mayweather may also have grown comfortable with having very little in the way of effective punching coming his way, his reaction to being hit hard and often will be interesting. In boxing, very often we see fighters who are not used to being hit, falling apart dramatically when this former constant is punctured. If a faded De la Hoya, one unable to carry out an effective gameplan for the entire fight at his late career stage can push him to a split decision, what can a fired up Mosley achieve?
What indeed. This was the case for Shane Mosley.
*Tomorrow: The case for Floyd Mayweather.
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