by Geoffrey Ciani & Jenna J – (The following interview transcript with Sugar Shane Mosley aired on episode 50 of ‘On the Ropes’, November 30, 2009)
Jenna J: Sugar Shane Mosley, welcome to the On the Ropes boxing radio show. How’s it going today?
Sugar Shane Mosley: I’m doing pretty good, it’s a little nippy here in Big Bear.
JJ: Alright, well we’re very glad to be talking to you again, and one of the things I’d like to start off with is that your next fight has been set. You will be fighting a unification bout with WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto on January 30. Can you tell us a little bit about how your preparations are going for that match-up?
SSM: It’s going pretty good. I’ve gotten to camp early, already, but I’m living in Big Bear so I kind of keep myself together..
JJ: One of the things I want to ask you is that you’re fighting an undefeated belt holder who is twelve years younger than you and also a fighter that you said during a post fight interview reminded you a lot of yourself early in your career, so what do you think you’ll have to do to be successful against Berto on January 30?
SSM: I think be smart, use my intelligence and my experience on him, and I think that I can be successful with someone like Andre Berto.
JJ: I’m going to go over to my co-host, Rummy.
Geoffrey Ciani: Hi Shane. I recently had the chance to speak to Emanuel Steward and he said with you having been unsuccessful in being able to land a fight with (Manny) Pacquiao, or (Floyd) Mayweather, or even (Miguel) Cotto that it has to be very frustrating for you, and Manny noted that it’s going to be a tough job for you to get mentally up for this fight with Andre Berto. Is there any truth to that?
SSM: No, no. I’m going to be up for any fighter that gets in the ring with me. I have this thing in my mind that I’m going to destroy anybody in my weight division. I just want to prove that I’m the best fighter.
GC: Now I’m curious Shane, you had a chance to see the fight I’m assuming between Pacquiao and Cotto and Pacquiao was able to do something that you weren’t able to do and that was stop Miguel Cotto. What was your impression of that fight?
SSM: I think Pacquiao did a spectacular job of fighting Miguel Cotto. I think that when I fought Cotto I probably wasn’t mentally as ready as I am right now to fight anybody. Even with the fight with me and Cotto I was looking to stop him in that fight as well. You noticed that me getting better is when (Antonio) Margarito stopped Cotto, as well, with throwing a lot of punches just like Pacquiao did and he was able to stop Cotto as well, but I was able to stop Margarito after that. So that’s just showing my comeback and showing that I’m ready and willing to take on all comers.
JJ: Alright, Shane. Now that’s one of the things I want to follow up on is do you think the Miguel Cotto that faced Pacquiao was the same fighter as when you faced him or do you think he had something taken out of him from his fight with Margarito that allowed Manny to beat him so easily?
SSM: You know, I can’t take anything away from Manny Pacquiao’s performance because I think he did a great job. I’m not sure if Cotto was the same fighter when I fought him or the same fighter when he fought Margarito, but I’m sure that Manny Pacquiao looked spectacular. He looked great, and nothing should be taken away from that performance.
JJ: Well it seems as though the Mayweather and Pacquiao camps are trying to negotiate a fight for May 1, and if that fight comes together, who do you see winning it and do you think the winner would face you if you’re successful in your fight with Berto?
SSM: I think it would be a real close fight. I’m not sure exactly who would win. I think that I might give the edge to Mayweather but I like Pacquiao as a fighter, and if Pacquiao wins I will be excited and be happy because a fight between me and Pacquiao would be more exciting, because there’s two guys that want to get in there and fight. With Mayweather, he’s a boxer. He’s going to seek to draw it out. He’s going to make it a very ugly fight with Pacquiao. I think it’s going to be a good fight for Pacquiao because of his fighting style. I think that a fight with me and Pacquiao would be much more explosive, much more dramatic than a fight with Pacquiao and Mayweather. I really can’t choose. I choose a dull fight being made by Mayweather, but I really can’t choose who to win it.
GC: Now Shane, you said that you think a fight between you and Pacquiao would be more explosive and I think most people would agree with you on that, I know I do, but do you think a fight with Pacquiao would be more difficult than a fight with Mayweather for you?
SSM: It’s going to be a difficult fight for him to fight Mayweather because of the styles and what Mayweather chooses to do. Me and Manny Pacquiao can both box, but we can also punch, so we choose to box and punch. Mayweather chooses to do a lot more boxing. He can fight on the inside a little bit, but he doesn’t, really. His main game is to get up on his toes, move around, and counterpunch, and that will make it very difficult for Pacquiao to get in with Mayweather. Even though Mayweather has had problems with southpaws, but I’m not sure if he has problems with the type of southpaw Pacquiao is. Pacquiao is the type of southpaw who circles a different way. He circles to your left as a southpaw, and I think that’s going to play into Mayweather’s hands. Mayweather doesn’t like southpaws that move to their right and that’s going to be a problem.
GC: Shane, the end of 2009 is coming up and at the end of the year you’re going to be widely regarded as the best welterweight in the world. Going forward a year from now, at the end of 2010, do you think you’ll have even had the chance to prove that you’re still the best welterweight in the world?
SSM: Well I’m trying to prove that right now. I think Ring Magazine is trying to put Pacquiao in front of me without fighting me and I’m having a problem with that. I have to talk to Nigel Collins and a few other guys about that because I don’t think that’s fair. If I’m the number one guy, in order to be the number one guy you got to beat the number one guy, you can’t just say you’re the number one guy without beating him. I thought Ring Magazine, that that’s what they encouraged and what they wanted. I got to talk to Nigel Collins about that and see what happens with that.
JJ: Now to follow up on that a little bit, if you’re unable to secure a fight with either Pacquiao or Mayweather after your fight with Berto, where do you see yourself going from there?
SSM: I see myself fighting against the other welterweight champions, so I’m just going to collect all the belts. Just start collecting all of the belts, and pretty soon, these guys will have to fight me because I’ll have all the belts.
JJ: Shane, you’re 38 years old and you’ve accomplished a lot in your career. How much longer do you think you’ll be fighting?
SSM: I’m going to fight for about another four to five more years. I’m grooming my son right now to become the next to add to the boxing name, but until then, I got about four more years.
JJ: I’m going to go back to Rummy.
GC: Shane, I’m wondering, you know Oscar De La Hoya pretty well and when he lost to Pacquiao a lot of people just figured it was time for him to retire, but since then, Pacquiao has shown such dominance in the ring, I was wondering if maybe Oscar ever mentioned anything to you about the possibility of making a comeback?
SSM: He’s never mentioned coming back, but you know, when it’s in your blood you definitely want to come back. I never want to retire too early before my time, because if I comeback, that’s when you start hurting yourself. You can get yourself hurt in the ring because you’re out of the ring. You’re not training or working out. For me, I’ve been training and working out to keep myself in shape, keep myself ready, and just to have the fire in my gut before a fight to show the fans and everybody that I’m the best fighter and just to prove that to them and to continue adding onto my legacy as the best fighter of this era.
JJ: Alright Shane, well we just have a couple of more questions before we let you go, and one of the ones that I want to ask you is your Golden Boy stable mate Bernard Hopkins will be facing off against Roy Jones Junior coming up in the first quarter of 2010. Who do you see winning that fight and why?
SSM: I think when those two guys fight I have to go with Bernard, because Bernard’s been more active and Bernard is a complete fighter. He can box, he can punch, and I think he’s just been around the game fighting high level competition more than Roy Jones has, so I have to give the edge to Bernard Hopkins. Both guys have to get past their “warm ups”, if you will. Enrique Ornelas is for Bernard Hopkins, and I can’t think of the other guy’s name—his last name is Green and he’s in Australia—Roy has to get past him. So they both have to get past their little tune ups and then face each other.
JJ: Do you have a prediction for January 30 against Andre Berto?
SSM: Always a knockout! In every fight that I take and every fight that I have, I predict a knockout because that’s what I look to do—knock guys out.
JJ: My final question for you, is there anything you want to say anything to all your fans out there over at East Side Boxing or the fans you have around the world and what they have to look out for from Shane Mosley in 2010?
SSM: 2010 is going to be very explosive. It’s going to be very exciting and I can’t wait to do my thing.
JJ: Alright, well we’re very glad that you gave us this time here to talk to you, and we wish you the best of luck in your fight with Andre Berto and your future fights after that.
SSM: Thank you, thank you.
GC: Thank you, Shane.
JJ: Have a nice day, Shane.
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If you want to listen to Shane Mosley’s interview in its entirety, it begins approximately 86 minutes into the show.
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To contact Geoffrey Ciani or Jenna J:
ontheropes@boxing247.com
To read more by Ciani or Jenna please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http://www.eatthemushroom.com/mag