by James Slater – There hasn’t been a big world title fight fought so close to Christmas day for many a year, but it now looks as though Sugar Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey will be fighting on Boxing Day this year. Despite the unlikely time at which he will have to train and fight (a time when people wish to be with their families, enjoying themselves) it’s likely WBA welterweight king Mosley, 46-5(39) will be sighing a sigh of relief at at last having found a top name foe willing to rumble with him.
After not having fought since his sensational upset KO over the now shamed Antonio Margarito, the future Hall of Famer who turns 38 next week will be pumped up something big time to get back in the ring and engage in combat. As fans know, Mosley called out everyone from Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather Junior to Zab Judah recently, only for neither guy to return his call. Now, in the teak-tough former IBF welterweight boss, Sugar at last has a rival he can get his teeth into..
Doubtless some fans will only believe the fight is definitely a 100-percent go when the two men are actually in the ring (as is the case with so many announced bouts these days), but what can we expect if Mosley and Clottey go ahead with their fight, scheduled as it is for a most curious date (well, it is called Boxing Day, after all!).
After having been out for over eleven months, ring-rust could possibly be a factor for Mosley, along with his advanced age. Clottey, 35-3(20) is no spring chicken at age 32, and he too has had just one other fight this year. Rust aside, both men will be at their best, and a very tough battle looks likely. Mosley is the faster man, he has the far better boxing skills and he has a superior punch in terms of one shot power. Clottey is the physically bigger and possibly stronger man and he has a chin that has never once been dented. Add it all up, and what you most probably have is a gruelling, take-a-lot-out-of-both-men, war of a distance fight. Although saying that, nobody really expected Mosley to flatten the hitherto unstoppable Margarito back in January and he did; Mosley is such a great fighter anything could happen on December 26th.
When it comes to common opponents, the two men come out pretty even. Mosley wrecked Margarito (in more ways than one), while Clottey, though game, was out-pointed by the Mexican. Clottey lost a very close, somewhat debatable split decision loss to Miguel Cotto, while Mosley finished his fight with the Puerto Rican looking swollen and comfortably beaten on the scorecards.
Cuts and possible injuries aside, a thoroughly engrossing 12-rounder looks a good bet in what will be 2009’s final boxing match. Clottey, with his hands held in the customary high position, will walk to Mosley and attempt to wear down the older, smaller man with pressure, body shots and more pressure. Mosley, with his lightning fast hands, will look to counter his man, score with power-box shots and either take Clottey out or take him to school.
Unless the enforced inactivity he’s been made to endure combined with his ageing another year affects him, Mosley will come out on top in a great fight. Should Sugar succeed in actually stopping “The Grand Master,” he will have made his biggest statement of the year. And right at the very end of the year, at that!