Chris Trotman - Getty Images
Shane Mosley will be back in the ring on May 5 against Canelo Alvarez. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
Confirming great fears from many boxing fans and totally thwarting their defense that Golden Boy makes only the best fights, Oscar De La Hoya tweets tonight that a May 5 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Shane Mosley is a done deal, and will be featured on the Mayweather vs Cotto undercard.
Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KO) is the 21-year-old WBC junior middleweight titlist, and coming off of an easy breakdown of Kermit Cintron, who like Mosley is well past his best, and made for a predictable TKO loss.
But unlike Cintron, Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO) is 40 years old, doesn't look good in the ring or sound good outside of it, and even though boxing fans and too many in the media have very short memories, the fact is he's been absolutely awful for his last three fights, and hasn't won in over three years now.
Mosley was last seen in May 2011, of course, losing a stinker of a fight to Manny Pacquiao, a fight that was largely rejected by boxing fans when it was signed. The next morning, I said this about Mosley:
It pains me to "trash" Shane Mosley, but we have to be honest about who he is. If anyone ever tries to sell you another Shane Mosley fight with the speed that we know he doesn't have and the trigger we know he can't pull, hey, watch it if you want to, but expect nothing.
That fight followed Mosley's lousy performance against a mediocre Sergio Mora in September 2010, and Mosley's one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2010. Even if you want to focus on Mosley rocking Mayweather in round two, that was not the story of the fight. The story of the fight came in the next ten rounds, when Mosley was completely lost in the ring against Mayweather, and couldn't do anything.
And because he mauled a punchless Antonio Margarito in January 2009 -- three years ago -- it's easy to forget that Mosley was not impressive against Ricardo Mayorga in his fight before that one, giving away rounds because he couldn't seem to keep focus in the corner. In many rounds, he seemed totally absent.
This is a lousy fight. If you think it's going to be competitive, remember that and remind me on May 6. Because I will guarantee this amounts to a young fighter beating whatever little bit is left out of a fighter who has shown that he's long past it. If you're waiting for Mosley's "one more run," I guess you're waiting for Roy Jones' run, or James Toney's run, or Nate Campbell's run. Mosley had his "one more" -- it was the Margarito fight. Three years ago.
Unfortunately, we'll have to sit through Mosley once again showing us a shadow of the fighter who people remember, and still want to believe exists.
0 recs | 66 comments
Shane has done a great job so far making money from a career fought years ago. The problem (besides boredom and ire) in his fighting is that he is going to get hurt the longer he keeps adding his name to other’s resume.
Unless he pulls another ‘shun and run’ the way he did after Pacquaio his him.
pakinpower - February 10, 2012
I think I hear Charles Barkley say “this is terrible”
RRod806 - February 10, 2012 via iPhone app
This will get Canelo more well known
From the casual boxing fans who only know fighters by name rather than recent performances
However I agree it’s terrible for us real boxing fans
49erEmpire - February 10, 2012 via mobile
Golden Boy about to pay Mosley back for biting the hand that once fed him very well
Eugene Banks - February 10, 2012
By paying him a lot more money than they’d have spent to book someone who actually has a prayer.
Scott Christ - February 10, 2012
How much can Mosley really command? I’m sure Rodriguez or Rosada would have come cheaper, but Mosley can’t exactly demand much at this point can he?
bachwards - February 10, 2012
Mosley can demand some because he is still a decent name redardless, and they don’t want Canelo to lose anyways so they pay a big-name veteran to get the fight more appeal to casual fans.
Kory Kitchen - February 10, 2012
But where exactly is Mosley going to fight/make money if not this card?
bachwards - February 10, 2012
Probably make less fighting another prospect or rematch Cotto after he loses to Mayweather.
Kory Kitchen - February 10, 2012
Thank God Oscar listened to the fans on Twitter and everything. Only Bob Arum would put on crappy undercards.
Kory Kitchen - February 10, 2012
Oscar De La Hoya is bad for boxing
There I said it.
Another useless matchup that can only danger Shane’s long-term health just to prop up an already top contender. Insulting for Canelo to even fight a completely shot Shane Mosley.
SSreporters - February 10, 2012
Come on now. Oscar is great for Boxing. Always has been.
Eugene Banks - February 10, 2012
Not sure if serious.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
And for what it's worth
I give Canelo greater than 50% chance of being the first man to KO Mosley.
SSreporters - February 10, 2012
So how do you have the other 50%? Mosley retreating?
RRod806 - February 10, 2012 via iPhone app
The less than 50% is basically Mosley taking an old man beatdown for 12 rounds
But bravely hanging on.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
ODLH only ever seems good as a promoter because he’s not Bob Arum. But the two of them are to blame for the inability to make fights with other promoters, and GB just seems to be getting good publicity off of Top Rank’s misfortunes.
RyanSexton - February 10, 2012
What you think would be the state of boxing today if Golden Boy didn’t exist? Good or bad?
Eugene Banks - February 10, 2012
I feel like I’ve had enough time to accept this fight no matter how much I hate it. The rumored Wright-Quillin fight is making me far angrier at the moment.
bachwards - February 10, 2012
The Great Shane Mosley reduced to an undercard… sad day…
cylee1180 - February 10, 2012
Sad day for the paying customer.
Kory Kitchen - February 10, 2012
Mosely and Winky are stepping stones? Sad..
Do they really believe they have a shot to pull an upset?
honorablecbm - February 10, 2012 via iPhone app
who, the promoters or the fighters?
Winky’s kinda nuts so he might think he can win. And fuck, maybe he can. Quillin’s had no real tests. Mosley is a mess though.
Scott Christ - February 10, 2012
Might as well bring in a heavy bag
Or a mechanical bull.
Quillin in particular needs a real fight. The kid already has a great name. He needs step up fights but NOT SSM
pakinpower - February 10, 2012
I can’t be hard on Mosley, no matter how much this part of his “career” sucks, he’s given way too much to the boxing fans over the years to not be given the benefit of the doubt (forgiveness and tolerance). That’s me!
cylee1180 - February 10, 2012
I love Shane Mosley. I also liked Ken Griffey. I wouldn’t have wanted him in the starting lineup for my favorite team in his last few years either. I forgive him and I’m tolerant of him. I still don’t want to watch his increasingly shitty fights.
Scott Christ - February 10, 2012
lmao.
Maybe Shane is here for some light humor. You might think about putting his name up more often. It will increase your ‘hit’ rate.
pakinpower - February 10, 2012
+1
cylee1180 - February 11, 2012
<blockquoteThe Great Shane Mosley reduced to an undercard… sad day…
Honestly, after his last couple of efforts, he should be thankful.
I honestly think he should be on ESPN or at some small casino untelevised.
Zfan - February 11, 2012
I think he should be at home, reveling in his excellent career, happy with what he accomplished.
Scott Christ - February 11, 2012
He missed the course on
Money Management 101
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
Most boxers do
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
Correction
Most athletes
Correction:
Most people
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
Yeah, just imagine if he would’ve retired after the Margarito fight how much differently he would be remembered.
Imagine if Holyfield retired after the Tyson fights.
Imagine if Roy Jones retired after the first Tarver fight.
Imagine if Jerry Rice retired a 49er in the 90’s
If Randy Moss retired after that 2007 year with the Pats.
Lennox Lewis did it right. He didn’t hang around too long and embarrass himself. He retired on top.
Zfan - February 11, 2012
And yet there are still doubts for some people
Since Lewis (supposedly) didn’t ‘beat’ Vitali, or if he did, he didn’t do it ‘convincingly enough’.
Strangely, taking on Vitali seems to actually have hurt his legacy. If he’d retired right after the Tyson fight, I’m not sure there would have been any doubt whatsoever that he went out on top. Taking on another challenge, and winning, has hurt Lennox a bit, which is unusual.
Olbas - February 11, 2012
Beting Tyson was perfunctory
and hardly unexpected.
Lewis was dominant but vulnerable. Explosive and tentative. A complicated legacy IMO
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
I disagree with the Vitali hurt Lewis’s legacy. An old, out of shape, Lewis, who was always thought to be chinny, went toe-to-toe with a prime Vitali Klitschko, slugging it out in probably the last really good high-profile heavyweight title fight. I think that its a far better end that finishing on the Tyson fight. Then Lewis’ detractors would just say ‘he beat an old Holyfield, an old Tyson and an Oliver McCall that had an emotional breakdown in the ring’. Detractors can find a way of making any great fighter’s career seem unimpressive. Lewis was damned whatever he did.
Eoin_not_ian - February 11, 2012
I do believe Lewis should've gave Vitali a rematch
I dont think it hurt his legacy though. It wasn’t like the fight was controversial or he was losing or something.
Zfan - February 11, 2012
I would have liked to have seen a rematch as it was a really good fight. The way that Lewis kind of gave the impression that he was going to do the rematch initially did make his retirement announcement a bit of a let down.
That said I do think that Lewis was already starting to slip and was getting older, and was starting to lose interest in fighting in general. It was probably the right decision to retire at the point he did, rematch or not. I am biased though, Lewis is one of the few boxers I absolutely definitely rooted for in every fight.
Eoin_not_ian - February 11, 2012
I he actually was on an ESPN ppv undercard several years ago, believe it or not.
Kory Kitchen - February 11, 2012
Kory Kitchen - February 11, 2012
Ha! Someone still remembers their ill-fated ESPN PPV card
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
Kinda makes me want to boycott the card if I’m hoenst. This is a terrible matchup for the undercard.
theninthlayer - February 10, 2012
Infortunately, individul boycotts are pretty useless. But NOT watching the undercard is pretty common.
pakinpower - February 10, 2012
It’s grassroots at it’s finest Fe’roz!
cylee1180 - February 10, 2012
ninth is a “community organizer”!
cylee1180 - February 10, 2012
Ninth has a fair point but so does Occupy. It’s just better to look the other way.
And then watch when Floyd……picks Cotto apart over twelve predictable rounds.
pakinpower - February 10, 2012
The cynic in me will make me Shane’s #1 fan that night.
DPlainview - February 10, 2012
I will root and cringe for Shane at the same time.
Kory Kitchen - February 10, 2012
For the record, just like any fight of this sort, I really really really really really hope Mosley wins. It’s what everyone deserves. I’ll throw a goddamn party if he beats Canelo on May 5.
Scott Christ - February 11, 2012
Hard not to like the man
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
And then he jumps back to Arum just to make Oscar mad.
Kory Kitchen - February 11, 2012
lol
I doubt anyone is losing much sleep without Shane under contract.
Seriously, I really hope he does not get put to sleep.
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
I’d laugh. They could book him against Chavez at 160, Mosley going for division title #4
Scott Christ - February 11, 2012
omfg… and i will go to the party!
cylee1180 - February 11, 2012
I sure hope he doesn’t; it would be a disaster if he did.
It would depend on how it might happen, but I suspect that Mosley has no chance beyond a knockout, because he has no shot at outboxing Alvarez for that many rounds.
So, suppose Mosley does in fact KO Alvarez; where does that leave him? An old man, losing his faculties, with a win (after several terrible years) against someone whose reputation has been built more on promoters than record (I was so tempted to use the alliterative “promoters and prowess,” but that was cheap).
I think that a relatively gentle technical defeat is the best outcome.
DrRck - February 11, 2012
Boy, I just hope he doesn't stink up the joint like last time
I wonder if they’ll put some type of clause in the contract saying that he has to atleast LOOK like he’s trying to compete.
Zfan - February 11, 2012
They don’t care what he does so long as he doesn’t win. He’s there to lose. If he stinks it out they’ll just take a dump on him and move on. They’ll apologize, maybe — FOR THE FANS
Scott Christ - February 11, 2012
Got that right
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
Never thought I would ever hear this about a first ballad HOFamer
Zfan - February 11, 2012
It is sad to watch.
As I said, I like Shane. I think everyone does. Even Floyd and Manny took pity.
pakinpower - February 11, 2012
I’m happy to see everyone show their concern for Shane’s future, but in my opinion, it’s too late for him.
Listen to him slur his way through 24/7as well as the Showtime production… it’s just bad.
The saddest part is I can’t even root for him anymore, because if he does win he’ll keep on fighting. I just want this to go away.
They are probably going to play up the fact that he has never officially lost to a Mexican fighter before. Ugh. I feel sick.
Lee Payton - February 11, 2012
The silly thing is, I would have totally been interested in buying this PPV before this happened. Now I’m so disgusted I’m inclined to not buy the PPV
OmarLittle - February 11, 2012
Kids… that is why you got to pick the right chick, get a pre nup, or never get a divorce… because then you end up doing shit like this.
Zocalo - February 11, 2012
I was considering buying this card, but I don’t want to sponsor the beatdown of an old man… Golden Boy should’ve just given Robert Guerrero the chance he wanted against Canelo hahahaha Try jumping from 135 to 154 and if you beat Canelo THEN you will definitely deserve a chance at Floyd, just for the jump =)
Apprentice - February 11, 2012
BTW, Oscar de la Hoya is ridiculous and he’s # 1b on the P4P list of the sleaziest promoters…Y’all know who 1a is.
Apprentice - February 11, 2012
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