Wayne McCullough - Sky Sports Expert

Sugar's sour taste

Time for Mosley to put up and chase the big names again

Posted: 01st October 2008 10:26

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shane mosley

Mosley: a winner, but what next?

Is boxing not about fighting the best in or around your weight class? No wait... I seem to have forgotten that if you are the promoter (or if you work for him) you can fight whoever you choose and make however much money you want.

Wayne McCullough
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The fight between Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga last weekend was a non-action bout in which neither looked like the former world champions they are.

Having won belts in different weight classes they were a shell of their former selves.

With just over 5,700 fans in attendance, Mosley ended up knocking out Mayorga with just one second to go in the fight but this proved nothing as to how much he has left - even though he picked up the WBA Inter-Continental light-middleweight title along the way.

Mosley was coming off a close loss to Miguel Cotto and Mayorga was returning after his win over Fernardo Vargas both last November.

I say styles always make fights. Mayorga has beaten Vernon Forrest twice whereas Mosley was defeated twice by Forrest and now Mosley has beaten Mayorga.

Mosley, who could be one of the best lightweights in boxing history, just couldn't get anything off and gave the first few rounds away.

At one time he had one of the best left jabs in the business but didn't seem to be able to get it going. He did try to mix things up with the wild Mayorga but he ended up getting caught with stupid punches.

Mayorga was actually able to beat the usually-quicker Mosley to the punch even though he was weight about 10 pounds heavier come fight time.

But after a few rounds he was looking for a way out of the ring as he started complaining about everything to the referee.

Combinations

It looked like Mosley could have landed a combination and finish the fight early but those combinations weren't there. His speed wasn't there and his jab wasn't there.

Mayorga is the type of fighter who is rough-edged in the ring and open for everything. Oscar De La Hoya knocked him out in six rounds in May 2006 after a long lay-off. Here's where styles come back into play.

Mosley beat De La Hoya twice and was only able to finish Mayorga off late in the fight.

But what does this fight prove for Mosley? In the ring he didn't seem to want Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito - who has just stopped Cotto, of course.

He said he wants fights that are right for him. But at the press conference he suggested he would like to fight the big names after all. I hope he does.

Is boxing not about fighting the best in or around your weight class? No wait... I seem to have forgotten that if you are the promoter (or if you work for him) you can fight whoever you choose and make however much money you want.

The top guys in the division have to wait on you.

Boxing is becoming a joke!

Do you agree with Wayne? What did you make of Mosley's win and the arguement that top fighters are allowed to pick and choose their opponents too much? Let us know by filling in the feedback form below...

Comments

True blue Lion says...

Wayne is spot on. These "circus" fights with the likes of DLH v The Pacman are a joke to get as much money out the fans for an exhibition show. Pacman and Arum showed their true colours by avoiding Valero and taking the money with DLH. Jones is past it, Hopkins is past it Mosley is past it etc. Get the world champs at there own weights fighting each other, not old men who want to top up their pension at the expense of the fan !

Posted 12:55 4th October 2008

Golden Bhoy says...

I agree with Wayne.If Sugar Shane doesnt feel he can fight the best in the division then he should retire.He was a great fighter and like lightning at one point but he now looks a wee bit shot.The guy who left the comment saying that Oscar De La Hoya is ruining boxing should get his head looked at.De La Hoya took the best p4p fighter in the world to a close split decision in which many people thought he had beaten (i think he lost) Pretty Boy Floyd in the fight before Forbes.De La Hoya-Pac looks like a mismatch on paper but will a warrior like come and take a back seat to the bigger man ( i dont think so ).Oscar is just a great business man and people like Joe Calzaghe,Roy Jones and Winky Wright are now following his lead and dont forget Hayemaker Promotions.Id say the Pacman-Oscar fight is the exact same as when Oscar fought Hopkins.This fight will be a cracker.

Posted 13:09 2nd October 2008

Wes Jones says...

Too many titles, too many calling themselves world champion, to many top 10 rankings, too many excuses. In my opinion it needs to be how it once was, one title, one champion, one ranking, if your the number 1 contender your the next in line, you get your shot, you take it, win or lose, the next in line is the next guy in the rankings. But the way things are, none of the governing bodies will walk away, so maybe its time to create a new title, where all the other titles simply qualify you to fight for the new title. Where your not champion of the world because you have a belt, but instead your that associations representative to fight for the actual world title. Therefore you have the WBO, WBA, IBF, WBC etc all being made to make sure they have their best fight with their belt because he will be the one put forward to contest the actual championship of the world, a sort of champions league if you will. This in my opinion would generate the same if not more money, but also, there would be less doubts and questions as to who the world champion is.

Posted 10:00 2nd October 2008

Ryan Brown says...

I dont understand why someone would expect a boxer not to look past his best in his late 30s. I enjoyed the fight and was thoroughly entertained by 2 boxers that werent pussyfooting around the ring and got stuck in, great finish too. Good guy knocks out the bad guy in the last seconds of the last round to win. Whats not to like?

Posted 00:18 2nd October 2008

Sweet Science says...

Boxing commrecially is in poor shape although we see big name matchup's we aren't seeing the 'must see' competetive fights when it come's to the top echelons of our great sport. Aside from cotto margarito i cant think of too many recently it seems matches are based on media fame as opposed to merit, sadly misguided people will pay to see the marque name's, Oscar's Delahoya is the prime example he has good fights in him, he must i used to respect him so much he took everyone on including the sugar slick Mosley with no fear instead he dodges Margarito a fight that could be huge...... i dont remember a very faded Chavez dodging DelaHoya on his way up? i know if he had the heart or grit of an Arguello or a Chavez he could step up make alot of money and cement his place futher into boxing lore instead he takes the 'money' way out again . Boxing needs to blow these old men out of the big fights and let some younger hungrier fighters take the limelight and the purses.

Posted 22:15 1st October 2008

Umar Hussain says...

Im not sure about the non action bout. i though it was a great watch where both fighters were landing big punches and the brilliant ko with one second to go in the final round made for the biggest drama and turn around ive ever seen in a fight

Posted 19:59 1st October 2008

Lomas Jackson says...

Give Mosley a break, so far as I rember he has never ducked anyone. This is the guy that gave the highly avoided (at the time) Winky Wright and Vernon Forest a shot at big time. He is 37, of course he has to pick his fights carefully. He can no longer fight the best because he is no longer anywhere near the best. Now if youre talking about the golden joke Oscar then I believe youre talking about the man single handily killing boxing. He has done much for the sport and yet look at him now cashing in and making ridiculous matches (Pac man and possibly Hatton, Floyd at 154). Oscar is the one turning boxing into a joke, and I aint laughing!!

Posted 16:12 1st October 2008

Duncan Smith says...

Steady on Wayne! Boxing has always been imperfect regarding match making. From as far back as jack dempsey, who refused to fight any black boxers, the sport is littered with matches that never happened or were never made. However over the past 3/4 years we have seen a proliferation in real fights being made. Sure, De la Hoya v pacquaio is a little v large affair, however for every De la Hoya/Pacman fight there is a margarito V Cotto, or Pacman v Marquez, or Vazquez v R Marquez, Hatton v Mayweather, Hatton v Tszyu, Calzaghe v hopkins, Pavlik v taylor, plus many more over the previous few years (Barrera, Morales, Pacman fights anyone?). Boxing was closer to a joke in the 1990s when no big fights seemed to be made and although not perfect now it is a lot better. Not 3 months pass by without another juicy fight taking place. It is a good time! (Unless you're a fan of the Heavyweights)

Posted 14:18 1st October 2008

Mark Studley says...

Excellent piece, and hits the nail on the head with regards to golden boy promotions. they are now picking and choosing their fights with people who they know they can beat and milk money from the fans. i mean who wanted to see de la hoya fight steve forbes?? not me, and althought he golden boy is fighting pacquio next in what promises to be an exciting fight it is a complete mismatch that has been made purely for money!! its a shame that calzaghe is now in this position fighting 40yr jones. why didnt they fight all those years ago??? easy options for easy paydays!! mosely needs to give it up, de la hoya needs to fight someone his own size and the rest of boxing needs to wake up and start putting on decent fights again between fighters that are more interested in winning than in money!!

Posted 13:49 1st October 2008

Kevin Temporal says...

Thought the end was brilliant. But the big question is fighers/promoters choosing the next fight. I think its about time fight fans got value for money. The boxing organisations should start setting up who fights who and in reality some of these organisations should be scrapped. Why have Ricky Hatton fight an over the hill Castillo ?? Why have 4 world champions in any given weight limit ? There should only be one person capable of being the world champion. Could you imagine the Champions League in football terms with fixtures being decided by the clubs , i am sure this way my beloved Celtic would win the competition every year. Time for big changes to be made, lets see the best fight the best and for there to be 1 champion per weight limit. Amir Khan was overhyped, fought no-bodies , in fact fought smaller no-bodies and came up against a decent puncher at a decent level. If it took Prescott 54 seconds how quickly would the Pac Man do it. You should be only allowed to fight for world/european honours once you have shown you can dominate domestic level. Ding Ding Amir - take on John Murray and then retire once you get knocked out.

Posted 13:34 1st October 2008

Theodore Dolor says...

I stayed up all night to watch the fight, while I may not be an expert in the fight game it seemed strange that Mayorga will choose to show boat in the last round when it seemed almost impossible for him to loose the fight. Call this conspiracy theory if you like, the most likely outcome was this was a fixed fight. If so Ricardo Mayorga should be ashamed.

Posted 11:38 1st October 2008

Bill Davidson says...

I have been a fight fan for 60years and I totaly agree with the comments of wayne, I would like to add that its all about money I have been to hundreds of fights both here and abroad and what infuriates me is when I here fighters state that they will fight in vagas or new york becouse they want the fans to have a fair deal please if they realy ment what they said they would be fighting in Britton so that the real fans could afford to go how many more millions do they want fans used to matter now its all about monie.

Posted 11:32 1st October 2008

Steven Mccluskey says...

I totally agree both fighters looked passed their best in this one. It made for great drama though in the final round, I don't know about anyone else but I have never seen a fighter get waved off by the ref after the final bell. I hope that Mosley is going to show he has what it takes for another couple of big fights, and he is still able to mix it with the best. I did think he looked old in the early rounds against Cotto, and thought he could get knocked out in the later rounds. But Cotto seamed to slow and Mosley looked the better fighter towards the end. Maybe a third fight with Vernon Forest could be on but if styles make fights then the first two have to be an example of that. I hope Shane can finish his carrier on a high note what ever happens.

Posted 10:51 1st October 2008

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