Shane Mosley Vs Saul Alvarez – SURPRISE BOUT – BOXING NEWS
By Gina L. Caliboso
It’s Sugar vs Cinnamon. Or, Azucar vs Canelo. Either way, I was taken aback by the fight announcement that on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto vs. Floyd Mayweather, JR., bout set for May 5th, veteran fighter Sugar Shane Mosley, 46-7-1, 39 KO’s, will go up against the red-haired Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 39-0-1, 29 KO’s, for the WBC Light Middleweight title. I just might have to get the PPV for this fight rather than the main card.
A few weekends ago, I caught the Erik “El Terrible” Morales bout against Garcia. I absolutely loved seeing Morales fight. Although he’s come out of retirement and is hardly in his prime, his fighting and competitive spirit made the younger Garcia doubt his ability to come away with the win. Morales had taken Garcia back a few rounds, but eventually Morales’ physical age came out with one too many hits. It was a good win for Garcia, but testimony yet again for Morales. Unlike Mayweather, Garcia has managed to fight against some exceptionally talented up and comers who don’t exactly hit soft. However, Morales should definitely consider retirement. He still has some fight. But for his safety, retirement would hardly be a bad option.
Why do I mention Morales? I mention Morales because everything I said about Morales can be easily said for my longtime favorite fighter, Sugar Shane Mosley. The same fondness I have for Morales, I have for Mosley because he still has some fight in him because he continues to take competitive fights despite the fact that he has slowed down a bit. I remember Mosley against De La Hoya. He has speed, power, quick hands, and always proved to be an entertaining fighter. However, in his last few fights, it’s been painful to watch Mosley. It’s painful to see a fighter I loved watching in his prime not be in his prime any longer. A fighter that has fought his fair share of battles faces being frozen in boxing memory lane at his best but ending on how his fight career ended.
But to be fair, I’ll take a quick look at Mosley’s last few fights. I consider the results to be rather mixed in that I think that Mosley didn’t fight as well as his ability may have allowed. He has looked a bit beaten in his last few fights, with little confidence in his corner. In May 2010, Mosley took the fight against Mayweather JR and lost a 12 round unanimous decision. In that bout, Mosley had a momentary flash of brilliance when he caught Mayweather JR with a good punch and had an opportunity to capitalize on a stunned Floyd. However, he couldn’t maintain the momentum and lost. Following his loss to Mayweather, Mosley took the fight against Sergio “Latin Snake” Mora with the fight ending in a 12 round split decision draw. I attended that fight and neither fighter displayed much interest in the bout and it showed. Finally, in May 2011, Mosley went up against Pacquiao and lost in a 12 round unanimous decision. Mosley even suffered a knockdown in the 3rd round. I think I fell asleep during this bout or won the house betting pool. I can’t remember now.
But the question remains as to just how much Mosley has left before he decides to hang up the gloves. How much does Mosley have left? There a few things to be said about what he has left. But it doesn’t matter much because it’s whether he has enough left to put together enough aggression and punches to beat Alvarez. As an older fighter, and as he should take a lesson from Hopkins, Mosley needs to evolve into a more patient fighter. He simply does not have the speed or the KO power as the Mosley of yore. Yes, RSR fans, I used yore. In other words, Mosley can’t fight as he was; he needs to fight as he is. He has the fighter’s attributes of hanging with his opponent, awareness of the ring, and controlled aggression, but when he doubts, it shows in his boxing. Mosley can often be far too tentative and a slow starter. Against Alvarez, he cannot search for the KO. Alvarez also punches heavy. Mosley will bear the force of Alvarez’s punches.
As for Alvarez, he’s at his prime in terms of power. But, I still consider him to be a young fighter. He has fought against some seasoned, heavier handed fighters, but fighters hardly in their prime. Alvarez has a tendency to fight upright and looks tight. But once he warms up and feels the timing of his opponent, he locks in and becomes more confident. Alvarez is hardly a speedster, but what he lacks in speed, he has confidence and power. The two can be quite effective weapons against a veteran such as Mosley. In 2011, Alvarez fought 4 times, all resulting in a win. In Alvarez’s last three bouts, he’s earned TKO’s. In June 2011, he defeated Ryan Rhodes, 46-5, 31 KO’s with a 12 round TKO. In September, he followed up with a 6th round TKO against Alfonso Gomez, 23-5, 12 KO’s and finally in November, less than 2 months later, he defeated Kermit Cintron, 33-5, 28 KO’s in a 5th round TKO. Let’s hope for Mosley, he can extend Alvarez to a 12 round decision.
I believe that Mosley will be a good test for the red-haired wonder. It sets up the eventual showdown against Julio Cesar Chavez JR, 45-0, 31 KO’s. And, it’s bound to happen. It would make a great matchup. Both Chavez JR and Alvarez, however, need a bit of fine-tuning to be main draws. Alvarez is the current WBC Light Middleweight titleholder and currently ranked as the #2 light middleweight with Chavez JR ranked #4 among middleweights. There have been questions as to Chavez’s dedication to boxing and his somewhat rumored relaxed approach to training may hurt him in a big bout. Ranked at #4, Chavez JR is in the same division as Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez. There is no doubt that Martinez would easily defeat Chavez.
So, as I’ve built up Cotto vs Mayweather, I cannot wait for Mosley vs Alvarez. It should be a good one. More importantly, in Alvarez, we see the future. In Mosley, we see a past champion fighting to see if the future fighter has what it takes to lead the way. Out of favoritism for the underdog, I’ll root for Mosley.
