Same Old Shane Mosley? Not quite but he was good enough!

24.04.05 – By Chris Ambs: Last night, Sugar Shane Mosley made a come back of sorts in the 147 pound division. He was powerful, fast, dominant, and smart, although none of those things in the same way he used to be. Shane started fast scoring with combinations to the head and body in winning a unanimous 10 round decision over David Estrada (18-2, 9 KO’s) on Saturday night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Mosley did what was expected when Estrada got close; he held on and did a little bit of work where he could.

In the forth round, Mosley hurt Estrada 3 or 4 times to the body, nearly knocking him down near the end of the round. During that brief moment, he looked like the Shane of old, not the 33 year old failure he had been in the 154 pound division. But something happened. For some reason, he stopped punching to the body, even though Estrada was bringing his arms forward (a mistake which body punchers usually can pick up on).

Shane was content to simply box and move, and he hurt Estrada a few more times with jabs and straight right hands. All in all, I had him winning the fight 8-1 with one even round. The talent difference showed up big time and Estrada showed he was tough to just stay there and throw punches.

Nevertheless, some people want to write Shane off as being washed up, but the fact is, Shane Mosley is still one of the most talented fighters in the world; He’s still fast, powerful and has a terrific body attack when he chooses to use it.

Mosley was making his return to the welterweight division after three years as a dismal failure while campaigning as a Junior Middleweight. During this peiod, Mosley had one win, four losses and a no contest. Before moving up to the Junior middleweight division, Mosley had been beaten twice by Vernon Forrest in the welterweight division and it appeared that Forrest was the major factor in Mosley leaving the division. However, Mosley probably should have moved back down to the Lightweight division from where he originally started, as he ruled the division with his power and speed. His record of 32-0 as a lightweight clearly shows his talent while fighting in that weight class. After lossing twice to Forrest, Mosley decided he could do better by fighting at an even higher weight. In my opinion, if he was too small to deal with tall fighters like Forrest in the welterweight division, then moving up to the junior middleweight division where fighters are even larger, was a foolhardy move on his part.

It was clear from the first three rounds that Mosley was much more comfortable at 147 then he had been as a 154 pounder, but enough of looking to the past, what’s in Sugar Shane’s future? Well there are a number of exciting and interesting fights.

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Mosley – Shane has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that if nothing else, he can beat Oscar De La Hoya. Though it seems unlikely of ever happening since Oscar was recently quoted as saying “I’m not really interested in a 3rd fight with Mosley” and “He’s just got my number; just one of those guys who I cant beat.” Still, if he could get that fight on the table, there would be a lot of money for both fighters, and is probably the biggest fight in terms of dollars to be made for Sugar.

Antonio Margarito vs. Mosley – Margarito showed he was no fringe contender last night with his DOMINATING performance against the up-and-coming Kermit Cintron by stopping him in the 4th round after putting him down 4 times. Margarito’s constant pressure style may be tailor made for Shane Mosley. In the past, Shane has shown that he does well when he’s able to hit his opponent, and Margarito seems like the hittable type. The winner of this fight would be in a terrific position to challenge the true champion at 147 pounds.

Zab Judah vs. Mosley – forget what the WBO, WBC, WBA, and IBF say. At this point in time, Zab Judah is the undisputed welterweight champion of the world. Shane Mosley is no secret. He likes to face guys who will stand at medium range and allow him to dominate them with his sheer talent, and he does not like to have his punches blocked. Nor he does not like to be made to miss, which is something Zab Judah excels at. He would likely frustrate Shane and make him miss, and unlike a Margarito or Estrada, he has a talent level right up there with Shane. But if Shane is serious about wanting to become the champion again, this is the fight he must take.

Another possibility would be a fight with one of the elite 140 pounders, if they choose to move up in weight. A fight with either Cotto, Tszyu, Gatti, or Hatton would all make for great fights.

Needless to say, Shane proved he’s back at 147 pounds last night. Is he shot because of the fights with Forrest and Wright? Can he once again come to reign over the welterweight division? Time will tell.