Ten weeks from now when he tackles crafty sharpshooter Floyd Mayweather Jr., veteran welterweight star Sugar Shane Mosley will be looking to add yet another outstanding performance to a remarkable professional career that dates all the way back to 1993.
From a stylistic point of view, the welterweight from Pomona, California would have been better off facing Manny Pacquiao, as the Filipino southpaw would no doubt have engaged Mosley in the type of combat he loves. Mayweather on the other hand will likely do his best to keep the explosive Mosley from ever setting his feet, fighting a perimeter battle in which exchanges will be kept to a minimum. Long story short - Shane will have a difficult time adding to this list when steps into the ring on May 1.
I'll have more to say on that tricky match-up in the future, but for now let's get to the list...
I've narrowed down Mosley's 52 professional outings (I'll admit to not having seen many of the earlier ones when he was just beginning his career) to the 10 performances I feel stand out as his best. Today we'll take a look at numbers 10 through 6, before getting to the top 5 tomorrow.
Star-divide
10. Fernando Vargas II - TKO 6 - July 15, 2006 - MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
Heading into the rematch with Vargas, Mosley had gone about 5 years without a clean knockout, and was no longer thought of as a slugger with big time power. On this night though, Sugar Shane announced that he was back, treating his fans to the type of passion and firepower they thought may have been lost forever. It was a thrashing from start to finish, culminating with Vargas being separated from his senses by a lead left hook that would have made the original Sugar Ray smile.
While I think it's true that Fernando's battles with weight left him in a weakened state, the sensationally destructive manner in which Shane took him part can't be overlooked. This was vintage Mosley, and a performance that belongs on the list.
9. Ricardo Mayorga - KO12 - September 27, 2008 - Home Depot Center, Carson, California
As has been the case throughout Mosley's career, he had a helluva time finding a suitable opponent. Many names were tossed around, but it was the conquerer of Shane's nemesis Vernon Forrest who got the chance to stay relevant.
Mayorga's career was sliding downward, but the wild man from Nicaragua showed plenty of guts in lasting 12 hard, rough, awkward, punishing rounds. Going into the final round Shane let it all hang out, as he always has. "El Matatdor" did everything he could to survive the heat, but was forced to take a knee. With seconds remaining another lead left hook on the button dropped Mayorga hard, and the fight was called off with 1 second to go.
In a career spanning 18 years, this was Shane's most dramatic finishing kick.
8. John John Molina - TKO8 - May 9, 1998 - Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
I include this performance because of how flawless it was. Molina was a former world champion who proved he still had some good fighting years left in him. If there was any give in a fighter, the wily vet would find it and exploit it in a painful way. You may remember him taking a young Oscar De La Hoya to the brink in a classic "welcome to the pros" war.
Against Shane, all John John could do is take his beating like a man. Which he did.
7. Luis Collazo - UD12 - February 10, 2007 - Mandalay Bay - Las Vegas, Nevada
Heading into the match-up with Collazo, Shane's last few welterweight fights left much to be desired, so no one knew what the thirty-something fighter still had in his tank at 147. It didn't help that Collazo was a strong, tough, quick and skilled southpaw who came in on a month's notice when Kermit Cintron pulled out.
After taking a few rounds to study his man, it was all Mosley who displayed some of the old combination punching and zip that made him a world champ. Not only did he outfox Collazo, but he just simply outfought a man 10 years his junior.
6. Phillip Holiday - UD12 - August 2, 1997 - Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
The win over Holiday may be Sugar Shane's most underrated win.
First of all, Holiday was a very tough guy who could always be counted on to throw over 100 punches a round. He was a maniac when it came to endurance. Those who saw his astonishing slugfest with Ivan Robinson know exactly what I'm talking about. He just never stopped, and was a very solid title holder.
A young Mosley was thrown into the deep end in this one. If you look at the guys he'd fought before the Holiday you might not recognize a single name. I'd guess the combined record of the opponents is somewhere around .500. To say that it was a step up in class would be a gigantic understatement. The fight was made because Shane was with a South African promoter, Cedric Kushner, who also had Holiday (a South African) in his stable.
It was a tough fight that looked like it could swing the champion's way heading into the final rounds, but we got a glimpse of what makes Mosley the fighter he has been when he made sure that belt came back to Pamona. It was later revealed that Mosley had been battling the flu going into the fight, which makes what he did even more impressive.
Source: theboxingbulletin.com
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