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Mosley didn’t do much to help his cause

Fighters Network
18
Sep

LOS ANGELES – To say Shane Mosley is finished is an overstatement. To say that he is declining isn't a stretch.

Mosley escaped with a draw against defense-minded Sergio Mora before 13,591 at Staples Center but didn’t look particularly good doing it. He chased the former junior middleweight titleholder from the beginning but couldn’t figure out how to catch him and do significant damage. Meanwhile, Mora threw fewer punches but his landed more cleanly.

Hence the draw. Kermit Bayless scored it 115-113 for Mora, David Denkin scored it 116-112 for Mosley and Lou Moret had it 114-114. I also had it 114-114.

We shouldn’t come down too hard on Mosley. He should be fighting the Antonio Margaritos of the boxing world at this stage of his career, guys who will come to him. Mora is the polar opposite of Margarito, a guy as adept as anyone at dancing away from trouble.



“It’s hard to land punches when someone is constantly moving,” Mosley said.

At the same time, we’ve come to expect more from Mosley. We expect him to find a way to beat a fighter like Mora, a good boxer but one not quite in Mosley’s class. The fact he didn’t underscores a question that has followed him since he lost a one-sided decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May: Does he still have it?

That wasn’t answered in the affirmative on Saturday night.

Mosley couldn’t even find a way to entertain the crowd, a rare occurrence in his career. Those in attendance actually booed the fighters at times and repeatedly chanted the nickname of Saul Alvarez – “Canelo! Canelo” – who had scored a spectacular knockout earlier in the night.

The main event was flat-out boring.

No one can say Mosley didn’t try. He fought with abandon in the 12th and final round, desperately seeking a knockout to salvage a positive result, but Mora proved to be as resilient as he was elusive.

In the end, Mosley was as frustrated as the fans. He wasn’t upset with the decision; he was upset with himself.

“I get down on myself,” he said. “I was expecting to get the knockout; I wanted a knockout against someone like Sergio Mora. I think I won the fight but ÔǪ that’s what happens when you don’t knock people out.”

Mosley still dreams of a fight against Manny Pacquiao for obvious reasons. At his age, he doesn’t have too many more high-profile, big-money fights in his future.

The thought of that fight is somewhat disturbing, though, particularly after Mosley’s performance on Saturday night. Pacquiao has a better style for Mosley – he would definitely fight more aggressively than Mora did – but the gap in their ability might be too vast at this point to make for a competitive fight.

Pacquiao is too fast and too good for this version of Mosley. I can't believe I'm saying this but … he could get hurt.

Mosley also mentioned the possibility of a rematch with Miguel Cotto, who outpointed him in 2007. That fight makes more sense because one can argue that both of them are declining.

Another possibility is Mosley vs. Alvarez sometime in the near future.

Alvarez, a dashing 20-year-old red head who is quickly becoming an idol among Mexican fans and a possible crossover star, will need to fight and beat some big-name opponents as he continues his ascent. They call them “stepping stones” in boxing.

Mosley could soon be that type of opponent, as sad as that sounds.

Michael Rosenthal can be reached at [email protected]

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