Sugar Shane Mosley and Roberto Duran, two of the finest lightweights in boxing history – Mosley being at his fastest and most dazzling in the weight class he never lost in, Duran being ranked by many historians as THE greatest 135-pounder of all-time – have hooked up and are working together as Mosley searches for one more world title. 44-year-old Mosley, 49-9-1(41) has already captured titles at 135, 147 and 154, but he still craves more.
Retiring after a corner retirement defeat to Australia’s Anthony Mundine in 2013 (this being the sole stoppage defeat Mosley has suffered as a pro), the veteran came back last year with stoppage wins over Ricardo Mayorga (in a rematch of a 2008 win over the Nicaraguan wild man) and, most recently, Patrick Lopez. Mosley fought Lopez at the Roberto Duran Arena in Panama, and now, as reported by Yahoo! Sports, Duran will train Mosley.
“I am very happy to have Duran on my team,” Mosley said. “This is the type of addition that will push me even farther. He is a fighter that I looked up to when I was coming up. How can you not learn from a legend like him?”
The old saying suggests old dogs cannot learn new tricks, and it will be interesting to see whether or not Mosley – an “old man” in comparison to the young man with the fastest hands in the sport he once was – can be taught anything he doesn’t already know by an even older one-time great in Duran. Still, it probably won’t hurt Mosley having “Hands of Stone” in his corner. Duran certainly knew every trick in the book back in his heyday, included amongst his arsenal, fighting dirty, using intimidation tactics and dictating the pace of a fight.
Mosley, who is likely to have his next fight/opponent announced soon, with this next bout being his first fight with Duran assisting him, will need all the help he can get if he’s to become a world champion all over again at his current age and after a pro career that goes back to early 1993. Mosley, a certainty for The Hall of Fame when he’s finally done, tested his skills by agreeing to face many top names during his peak years, including Oscar De La Hoya (twice), Miguel Cotto, Vernon Forrest (twice) and Winky Wright (also twice). With all that he’s accomplished, one would think Mosley would be content to call it a career. But he goes on, convinced he can still do it.
Of course, Duran – who retired when he was 50-years-old with an incredible 103-16(7) record – knows all about how to fight successfully and effectively as an old man. Maybe this is a good match-up between two greats, one that will actually work. Interestingly, another old guy who tried to make it back when pushing 40, in George Foreman, made sure he had the 70-something Archie Moore in his corner as he launched his comeback; one that was a huge success.
Maybe Duran will be able to do for Mosley what “The Ole’ Mongoose” did for Big George.
