Though he is 44-years-old and way past his sizzling best, former pound-for-pound star “Sugar” Shane Mosley remains as ambitious as ever. The former lightweight, welterweight and super-welterweight champion announced his retirement after a corner retirement of a loss to Anthony Mundine in late 2013; only for Mosley to come back, in what could be called a “special attraction” type of fight with Ricardo Mayorga in a rematch, and then fight and defeat Patrick Lopez after that.
Now training with the legendary Roberto Duran, Mosley has got himself a title fight. He will face little-known (in the US) Russian David Avanesyan, for the interim WBA welterweight belt, in Arizona on May 28th. But any thoughts some fans might have had of Mosley, 49-9-1(41) planning to win the belt and then exit as a champion, can be forgotten. Mosley does not see the Avanesyan fight as his swansong; he sees it as a platform to huge rematches with former foes Floyd Mayweather Junior, Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, as well as a possible fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.
“He is a good fighter,” Mosley said on Avanesyan as quoted by Digital Journal. “He punches hard. He works hard and he has something I want. He has that belt. Like I said before, I want a Pacquiao rematch. A rematch with Mayweather and a rematch with Cotto. I also want a fight with Juan Manuel Marquez. After my fight on May 28th we can get it on.”
Maybe Mosley doesn’t know it, but Mayweather – who he fought back in 2010 – is now retired. The same goes for Pacquiao – who Mosley faced in 2011. Perhaps, like many of us, Mosley has some problems accepting the two superstars who out-pointed him will STAY retired. Still, even if either great did come back, it seems unlikely Mayweather or Pacquiao would be interested in fighting Mosley for a second time. But if Mosley can pick up that interim strap by beating Avanesyan, and in style, maybe Cotto would be interested in a rematch, at a catch-weight of course.
Cotto, who isn’t as long in the tooth as Mosley, is looking to close out his own superb career and he has expressed interest in taking a fight with Marquez. Maybe Cotto will look Mosley’s way instead. Or maybe the 42-year-old Mexican legend will opt for Mosley instead of Cotto. Between the three of them, Mosley, Cotto and Marquez could provide fans of a Senior’s Tour with some interesting fights – even if many of us would prefer to see Mosley and Marquez call it a day. Cotto, at age 35, has a few big fights left in him perhaps.
But can Mosley beat 27-year-old Avanesyan, 21-1-1(11)? The Russian has never before faced as big a name as Mosley and it’s possible that even the ageing version will be able to outbox him for a points win. But Mosley will be far from content with a win next month. “Sugar” Shane still believes he can sit atop the pound-for-pound charts once again.