by Andrew Hall– What is it with the name “Sugar” in the world of boxing? We’ve had “Sugar” Ray Robinson and “Sugar” Ray Leonard and now we have “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Today, however, the “Sugar” man is kind of being overlooked. He seems to be an afterthought in the world of pugilism. This is sad because he just may be the best fighter out there.
After dismantling Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito made a huge mistake in picking Shane Mosley as his next opponent. When I heard that this fight was going to happen I thought that Antonio was in a world of trouble.. Shane Mosley has all the tools of greatness at his disposal and he uses them better than anyone else out there. In my humble opinion, he is going to end up giving Mayweather his toughest fight. That’s right, even tougher than Manny Pacquiao. The proof, of course, is in the pudding. Let’s take a look at his career to see just how tough Mosley is.
Sugar Shane Mosley had huge success early on in his pro career. He started fighting pro around 1993 and by 2000 he was 38-0-36 knockouts. He licked undefeated champion Phillip Holiday to win the IBF lightweight championship. He made 9 successful defenses of that title (though he never unified the belts at that division) then he moved up 2 weight classes to challenge Oscar De La Hoya for the welterweight championship.
Mosley defeated Oscar De La Hoya by decision. After that he was derailed by two losses to Vernon Forrest (they had two superb bouts with the second one being the closest)
After that he fought some fights, did well, and then took on Oscar De La Hoya and won another decision. After that, he lost two decisions to Winky Wright for the middleweight championship. Then he fought and defeated Fernando Vargas two times. The second fight being won by knockout. This victory earned him a fight with Miguel Cotto. This fight was very close with Miguel narrowly being awarded the decision. Some people thought “Sugar” Shane should have won.
Mosleys next fight was against Mayorga. To this day, Mosley remains one of 3 fighters to have knocked out Ricardo Mayorga (the other two being Trinidad and De La Hoya) Then he moved on to fight Antoniao Margarito. In this fight Mosley was a huge underdog but he fought very well and defeated the bigger stronger man. I was really happy when he won this fight. “Sugar” Shane deserves all the accolades for this fight.
Look at this man’s accomplishments in the ring. He is a true ring legend. Nobody compares to him in terms of accomplishments. Not only that, he ducks nobody. Yes, he did lose to Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest. But so what? Atleast he fought those men. I predict that Mosley will be the toughest fight for Mayweather. I think that Pacquiao may end up fighting Mosley in a power play to garner more negotiating power with Mayweather down the line. If Pacquiao does this, it will be his biggest mistake. I’d love to see Pacquia vs Mosley with the winner to take on Floyd. Either way, I hope Mosley ends up being number 1 again. He certainly deserves it. HIs next fight is sure to be intriguing. He is fighting a younger man but his boxing savvy may prove decisive. I saw Berto fight a few times before and was not too impressed. If Mosley can defeat him, Mayweathers team said they would fight Mosley (if negotiations with Pacquiao fell through). That could be a very interesting boxing event. I still surmise, however, that Pacquiao may end up fighting Mosley. That bout would be epic.