Former pound-for-pound king, “Sugar” Shane Mosley is all set to get a world title chance (albeit an interim version) after just two comeback wins. The 44-year-old future Hall of Famer will fight Russia’s David Avanesyan in Arizona on May 28th, with the interim WBA 147-pound strap currently held by the 27-year-old on the line. Mosley, who returned to winning ways following a corner retirement loss to Anthony Mundine in November of 2013 (followed by an actual retirement announcement, one that proved to be quite short-lived) has beaten Ricardo Mayorga and, last time out, Patrick Lopez.
Mosley, 49-9-1(41) has done nothing to earn a world title shot, but he is getting one anyway. Avanesyan, largely unknown to most fans outside of Russia, has a good record at 21-1-1(11) but aside from the odd name – such as Kaizer Mabuza (who he out-pointed) and Charlie Navarro (who Avanesyan stopped to take the interim belt he now holds) – there are no notable wins on his record (the sole loss came in Avanesyan’s second pro bout, when recent IBF super-featherweight title challenger Andrey Klimov out-pointed him). Boxing a couple of his recent fights in the UK, Avenesyan has never been stopped and he has been active, winning five fights over the last 11 months. He is also no monster puncher, which could be a good thing for the ageing Mosley.
Age looks like being the decisive factor in the outcome of this fight. No disrespect to Avanesyan, but the peak, 2000 welterweight version of Mosley would almost certainly have had no trouble picking up a win. But how much has Mosley, who will turn 45 this coming September, got left to offer after such a long and at times hard career? The upcoming fight, set to go out on CBS in the US, could prove an interesting and even exciting one, and Mosley, as we know, is far from the first undeserving veteran to be handed a world title opportunity.
Fans of Mosley, a true great in his dazzling heyday, will be happy enough if “Sugar” can turn back the clock, win another title, and then exit the game with some dignity. The fear, though, is Mosley might opt to stick around should he beat the man who is 17-years his junior.
