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Ring Ratings Update: Mosley dropped from pound for pound

Fighters Network
23
Sep

Whether Shane Mosley deserved to win his fight against Sergio Mora on Saturday in Los Angeles is a matter of debate. But everyone can agree that the former three-division champ did not look like an elite fighter during the dreary 12-round junior middleweight bout, which was scored a draw.

Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts) pressed the fight from start to finish, throwing and landing more punches than Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs), but he lacked the ability to inflict damage on his younger, elusive opponent, who is not rated by THE RING at junior middleweight.

Although most observers believed Mosley won the fight by varying scores, the 39-year-old veteran didn't look like one of the best fighters in the world in the opinion of THE RING’s Editorial Board. Thus, Mosley has been dropped from the magazine’s pound-for-pound ratings.

His departure allows Timothy Bradley, who is THE RING’s top-rated junior welterweight and also ranked at 147 pounds, to debut in the pound-for-pound ratings at No. 10.



“Mosley has not looked good in his last two fights, and he had problems dealing with Mora in the latter part of their fight,” THE RING’s managing editor Joseph Santoliquito said. “Pound-for-pound fighters are not finishing with 12-round draws against Sergio Mora. They’re dominating Mora.”

Mosley-Mora was the least entertaining major bout on a busy weekend of boxing.

Featherweight contender Daniel Ponce de Leon, junior welterweight standout Victor Ortiz and Saul Alvarez, an emerging Mexican star who fights in the 154-pound division, all scored impressive KO victories on the Molsey-Mora undercard.

Lightweight titleholder Humberto Soto successfully defended his 135-pound strap in Mexico, and RING-rated light heavyweight star Nathan Cleverly defeated fellow RING contender Karo Murat in a title-elimination bout Saturday in Birmingham, England.

To see whether this ring action created any movement in magazine’s divisional rankings, check out this week’s RING Ratings Update:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

Cleverly (No. 8 last week) advances to No. 5 after his ninth-round TKO over Murat, who drops from No. 6 to No. 7. Cleverly’s ascension also bumps down Beibut Shumenov (No. 7 last week) a notch to No. 8.

MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Anthony Mundine (No. 6 last week) departs after deciding to campaign at junior middleweight. Mundine’s exit allows everyone rated No. 6 and below to advance one place each and allows veteran David Lopez to re-enter the ratings at No. 10.

“The middleweight division is a dessert of talent, and Lopez has certainly shown more in the division against anyone else out there who could occupy the 10th slot,” Santoliquito said.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT:

“Some could be clamoring for Saul Alvarez or Sergio Mora’s insertion into the Top 10 after last weekend, but to add them would be to drop one of the current Top-10 group,” Santoliquito said. “Right now, 154 looks like a pretty stable division, and neither Alvarez’s blowout of shopworn Carlos Baldomir or Mora’s draw against Shane Mosley measures up to Cornelius Bundrage’s stoppage over Cory Spinks.”

WELTERWEIGHTS:

Mosley (No. 4 last week) didn’t help himself with the draw against Mora, so Mosley, 0-1-1 in his last two fights, switches places with Miguel Cotto (No. 5 last week).

“This decision was a no-brainer, since Cotto does own a victory over Mosley, who was sucking wind near the end of the Mora fight,” Santoliquito said.

LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Soto (No. 4 last week) made an easy title defense in out-pointing Fidel Monterrosa over the weekend. The decision victory was enough to push Soto to No. 3. He exchanges places with Ali Funeka (No. 3 last week), who falls to No. 4 after going 0-2-1 over his last three fights. Soto has a nine-fight winning streak over two years.

FEATHERWEIGHTS:

Ponce de Leon (No. 7 last week) surges to No. 5 after making easy work of Antonio Escalante (No. 10 last week), who drops out of the ratings. Escalante is replaced at No. 10 by veteran Jhonny Gonzalez, who’s on a five-fight winning streak. De Leon’s move pushes down Cristobal Cruz (No. 5 last week) and Elio Rojas (No. 6 last week) one place each.

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT:

Tomas Rojas debuts at No. 5 after beating Kohei Kono (No. 5 last week), who sinks to No. 6. Kono’s bump down forces out Daigo Nakahiro (No. 6 last week), which also is the result of inactivity.

“Nakahiro hasn’t fought since December 2009, and in his last outing, he fought to a draw against an undefeated fighter who built his record against dubious opposition,” Santoliquito said.

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