by James Slater – A number of articles have already been written in dedication to Sugar Shane Mosley and the superb, the awesome, the magnificent (add any further words of praise you feel are necessary to describe the 37-year-old’s odds shattering triumph) and the unexpected showing he put on last night in L.A against the hitherto unstoppable Antonio Margarito – but this writer could not resist adding another one to ESB. What this incredible fighter with the blue eyes and the charming smile was able to pull off a few hours ago simply staggers belief. As such, keep the tributes coming in, I say!
However, as much as all boxing fans such as myself want to treasure last night’s glorious moment from a sport that once again was proven to be THE single most thrilling and hard to predict game on the planet, there is also the matter of where the magnificent Mosley goes from here. Now beyond any doubt one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the world – if not the past thirty years or so – the sky is the limit for the former lightweight, light-middleweight and now two-time welterweight king. Many of us, this writer included, owe Shane one helluva huge apology. After his struggle against the limited (albeit naturally heavier) Ricardo Mayorga, the call for Mosley to hang ’em up was widely heard. Thank the Lord Mosley did the right thing and ignored such talk!
So, on to the future. Mosley, in last night’s post-fight interview, did mention Miguel Cotto’s name, and now that the Puerto Rican’s planned return with “Tony” has been ruined, who better for Mosley to face than the man who, to his now even greater credit, out-pointed him back in November of 2007? As Sugar said while basking in victory last night, he has ALWAYS sought to fight the best; therefore he will want to avenge his loss to Cotto, who, despite his dismantling at the hands of the Mexican warrior Mosley dismantled last night, remains one of the best.
It may well be that the thought of revenge will be what motivates Mosley next. Heck, he must have had enough of shocking the world by now – and the revenge thing just might be Shane’s next goal. Which brings us to Vernon Forrest, the man who has two wins over Sugar. Would Mosley want to, before retiring into the Hall of Fame, attempt to tidy up his record even further and go for a third clash with “The Viper?” The weight for such a fight could well prove problematic here though; what with Forrest being a solid light-middleweight today. Mosley’s best showings, barring his sublime lightweight days, always have been at welterweight. This, too, would rule out a possible revenge fight against the 37-year-old’s other one-time conqueror in Winky Wright, who is now a middleweight.
Another option for Sugar – though it’s likely neither guy would be all that keen to call him out after what they saw last night – would be for him to opt for the big money bouts against a Ricky Hatton or a Manny Pacquiao. Mosley against the May 2nd (now, thankfully back on) winner at welterweight? That would sure sell. Or maybe Mosley will seek to unify the world titles at 147-pounds. Really, whatever he chooses to do, the now 46-5(39) all-time great will have the blessing of the fight crowd. After what he did at The staples Centre in LA – namely score the finest KO, if not victory, of his career period at the age of 37 – Mosley has earned it!