By James Slater: Though he looked as bad as he’s probably ever looked in scraping a controversial 12-round draw with former “Contender” star Sergio Mora last night in L.A, you can bet big money that “Sugar” Shane Mosley chooses not to retire. As stubborn as any aging fighter this side of Evander Holyfield, the 39-year-old has long ignored the critics and he’ll do so again now.
Mosley, who was comprehensively out-pointed by the troubled Floyd Mayweather Junior back in May, didn’t look too much better last night. Maybe the fact that Mora was stronger and heavier than him was a factor in Mosley’s poor showing, or maybe it was simply “The Latin Snake’s” elusive fighting style. Or maybe it was the fact that the likable Pomona warrior is as next to shot as he’s ever been.
Mosley won’t believe his hard night was down to his being a sadly faded fighter – after all, he’s heard such talk before; most loudly after his awkward and hard night with the crude but tough Ricardo Mayorga.. That night, back in September of 2008, Mosley was able to pull out a sensational, last-round, last-second KO; the brutal ending overshadowing the previous rounds in which “Sugar” had laboured. Then, ignoring cries for his retirement, the 37-year-old went on to smash the stationary target that was Antonio Margarito.
There’s little doubt Mosley feels he has the ability to bounce back from last night’s dull and unimpressive draw, but has he ran out of great returns to form? Now pushing forty and having had a long and draining 54-fight pro career, how much of anything can the 46-6-1(39) future Hall of Famer possibly have left? Enough to still want a fight with either Manny Pacquiao or Miguel Cotto apparently.
According to a piece on Ringtv.com, those two fighters were the ones Mosley yesterday talked of facing next. Mosley has for a long time wanted a big fight with Pac-Man, but who would give him any sort of a chance of winning that fight now? A return with Cotto, the man he was narrowly out-scored by in a great 2007 meeting, makes more sense, but here too, you’d have to say the other guy has more left in the tank.
Mosley, it has been suggested, could also land a fight with red-hot prospect Saul Alvarez, who smashed the teak-tough Carlos Baldomir on last night’s under-card at The Staples Centre. But who really wants to see that? Mosley as a stepping stone/trial horse? No thanks.
Shane, who has achieved so much in his largely thrilling 17-year pro career, still has the distinction of being a fighter never to have been stopped. If he continues fighting, he will lose that distinction.