At age 39, Shane Mosley knows that most of his boxing career is behind him. He also knows that in his lifetime, boxing has fallen, and fallen hard.
But Mosley (46-6, 39 knockouts) still believes that he has a few good years left in him, and in those years he says that there's one thing that can cement his own legacy and energize the sport: Make the kinds of big, exciting fights that can bring back the fans who have drifted away through the years.
Mosley's next fight, September 18 against Sergio Mora (21-1-1, six KOs), doesn't exactly have the sports world buzzing the way his last fight, against Floyd Mayweather, did. But Mosley insists that he's going to put on a show in front of his hometown fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles."This should be a great fight. Sergio Mora is definitely a competitor and he's coming to fight," said Mosley. "He's the right opponent right now because he's tough, he's bigger than me, it's in LA and fighting at the Staples Center in front of 20,000 people is exciting. It's very important for me to fight there and give the hometown fans a chance to see me up close, and I'm predicting a knockout."
Talk to Mosley and you'll hear him say that all of his focus is on Mora. But in the next breath he talks about the big fights he thinks he has ahead of him against bigger names.
"I think I have about three or four more years left in me," Mosley said. "Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Margarito -- those are the four top fighters right now and those are the guys people want to see me fight. Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran all fought each other in round robins and we should be the same way. That's what people want to see, that's what boxing needs right now. We have to give the fans what they want: Great fights."
Great fights are absolutely what the sport needs. The refusal of Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight each other has been a dark cloud hanging over boxing in the last year, and Mosley knows that everything -- even his own fights fall short of the firepower that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao would provide.
"Mayweather and Pacquiao need to get together and make it happen," said Mosley, who is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. "But I don't think either one of them's going to budge."
And so Mosley tries to push his own fights as the ones boxing fans want, and insists that even at 39 he has plenty of good fights left in him.
Asked if being 10 years older than his opponent in Mora (pictured at right) is a problem, Mosley said, "We'll find out when we get in the ring but I don't think so. I've been in the ring with a lot of younger guys. Age doesn't cross my mind when I get in the ring. When I'm in the gym it definitely doesn't cross my mind because I'm doing so well with 21-year-old, 25-year-old kids. I'm holding my own."
If Mosley can do more than just hold his own against Mora, he'll have more big fights ahead of him. even as he heads into his 40s.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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