By Vivek Wallace: This afternoon Goldenboy Promotions and Don King Productions hosted a live conference call for all the boxing media to outline the pending Mosley/Mayorga fight card. As most fight fans would expect, the words of Mayorga gave much to talk about, the laid back demeanor of Mosley gave much to think about, and when it was all said and done, every boxing scribe on the phone was left with much more than they could possibly digest to write about.
Never short on words, Mayorga hit the airwaves first and showed his typical bravado, stating at one point that “if Mosley stands in front of him he may be KO’d in the 1st round, but if he runs it’ll be 2 or 3 rounds”..
All in all, that was one of the more tamed statements made by Mayorga, who at peak points went as far as saying that after the fight, “Mosley can retire so that he can go back home with his wife and wash dishes”, and that relative to Mosley’s future, he stated “the Chinese girl (referring to the lovely Jin Mosley – wife of Shane) is in charge and Mosley won’t be able to fight anymore”.
When the opportunity presented itself, I thought it was wise to note for those in attendance that in Mayorga’s last fight against Vargas he showed a great emphasis on fundamental boxing by actually grouping his shots and brawling only as needed. I followed that statement with a direct question of whether or not fight fans can expect to see Mayorga try to box with a highly skilled fighter like Mosley? Mayorga’s immediate response was that “fight fans will see the same Mayorga we saw that night, and he expects the same results”.
Mayorga concluded his time by stating that he thinks “Mosley’s speed is no longer the same and he’s never been a big puncher so he expects him to wear down late in the fight, which is where he plans to take over”.
When it was time for Shane Mosley to take over the session, he was the same modest, class act that fight fans have come to see and love over the last decade and a half.
When asked by Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole “how was he different at his peak compared to what we see now in the ring”, Mosley replied by saying that he “believes he’s still as good and able to outsmart most fighters, although he may not throw as many punches as he used to”, and that he’s “still able to spar competitively with alot of younger talent which shows he can still compete with the fighters of this era”.
In a question that many fight fans may have openly pondered, ESPN’s Dan Rafael asked both fighters “how would the layoffs that they’re both coming off of affect the performances”?
Mosley stated that “his layoff was not technically a layoff” due to the fact that he had already finished one fight camp for the Judah fight, and once that fight was canceled, he took a two week vacation and re-entered the new fight camp able to start out sparring at “10 rounds from day one”.
Mayorga’s response was that he prefers the layoff because it allows him to come into a fight camp “fresh and hungry”, as opposed to carrying a little wear and tear from from recent fights like most fighters tend to do.
In a brief diversion from questions about this fight, I took a moment to ask the fighters one question from the fans. For Shane Mosley, I asked what he thinks the odds of him coaxing Mayweather out of retirement look like? And I asked Mayorga if he finds success in this fight, what are the odds of him engaging in what I would term a ‘headbangers brawl’ with Antonio Margarito?
Shane stated that he believes “Mayweather isn’t looking to fight him, and that Mayweather only appears to be looking for a shot at Oscar De La Hoya”. He did make it very clear that there would be no ‘mission’ to get Mayweather in the ring.
As for the Mayorga/Margarito question, Mayorga was very blunt in saying that “if he and promoter Don King went to dinner they would spend more than he would be offered to face Margarito which is unacceptable”. He then completed his statement by saying that “Margarito wouldn’t have the guts to come up to the 154 lb division to face him anyway”.
Based on those comments from both fighters it’s pretty clear who their immediate futures won’t consist of, but with only 7 degrees (or should I say pounds) of separation between the light middleweight and the deep welterweight division, there’s a lot more where that came from!
Now that Mosley and Mayorga have set the tone, the countdown has officially begun and one thing for sure, Saturday night can’t get here quick enough.
Can someone say “BOMBS AWAY”!!!
Eastside Boxing would like to thank GBP and DKP for the opportunity to take part in what’s sure to be a dazzling affair!
(Got Questions Or Feedback?): Contact ESB’s Vivek Wallace at vivexemail@yahoo.com or 954-292-7346, or show some love at www.myspace.com/anonymouslyinvolved)