Every fighter reaches a point in their career in which they aren't quite at point Muhammad Ali was at when he fought Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas back in 1981, but they aren't exactly a spring chicken either. Shane Mosley currently finds himself in such a predicament. Now at the age of thirty-seven, Mosley has decided to climb back into the ring against a man who might just be his opposite in every way imaginable. While this may sound like a recipe for some exorbitant drama that will surely accompany the fight, one has to stop and realize that just about everyone Ricardo Mayorga fights is his exact opposite in some way, shape, or form.
If you weren't impressed with "Sugar" Shane Mosley when he burst on to the scene as a lightweight in February 11th, 1993, then I doubt any other fighter could leave a positive impression on you. Mosley only went to the scorecards twice in his first twenty-four fights, and was quickly establishing himself as a major rising force in the sport. Trained by his father, Jack, Shane won his first world title in 1997 with unanimous decision over Phillip Holiday. Future defenses over the likes of Jesse James Leija and Golden Johnson had strengthened Mosley's position on the pound for pound rankings, but Mosley became a household name on June 17th, 2000. On that particular night, Mosley found himself staring across the ring at boyhood rival and boxing mega-star Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley dominated De La Hoya in route to a split decision victory, and in the process proved that his was worthy to carry the nickname "Sugar".
While Mosley's fan base might have believed that he was unstoppable at welterweight, much like he was a lightweight, his aura of invincibility was not to last. Enter Vernon Forrest, and Shane Mosley's perfect record was no more. Two unanimous decision loses to Forrest and a no-decision bout with Raul Marquez left many in doubt as to whether Mosley still had enough left in his tank to compete at the top level against high caliber competitors. Although Mosley was able to secure another win in his rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, many believed that Mosley was given an early Christmas present that September night. Mosley went on to lose two more bouts, back to back, against Ronald Wright before making a small comeback of his own with two wins in a row against "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas in 2006. Even with a loss to Miguel Cotto in his last bout, Mosley showed skills that were supposed to be all but gone at his supposedly "advanced" age.
Ricardo Mayorga is the type of fighter that could lose twenty bouts in a row, and people would still pay to see him fight. The trash-talking, cigarette-smoking Mayorga seemed to be, at first, nothing more than a freak show when he made his debut in 1993. However, a fifth round knockout victory over Andrew Lewis and back to back wins over Shane Mosley-conqueror Vernon Forrest led people to believe that there was seemingly more to the Managua, Nicaragua native than meets the eye. Despite a loss to a returning Felix Trinidad and an embarrassing performance against Oscar De La Hoya, Mayorga's fan-friendly, wild style has showed no signs of fading out. While his most recent victory over a battle-wary Fernando Vargas hasn't done much to regain the momentum he had after his victories over Forrest, his fierce persona and trash-talking style always seems to bring out the masses. Skills aside, Mayorga does seem to bare a fair resemblance to Roberto Duran, and when you are being compared to the greatest lightweight in the history of the sport, that cannot possibly be a bad thing.
Although this bout might not quite be on the level of the exciting, drama-filled, fan pleasing slugfest that was Cotto-Margarito, I believe Shane Mosley still has enough hunger and desire left in him to not only make any fighter in the welterweight division lose sleep at night, but also put on one hell of a show in the process. Mosley's thousand-watt smile and mild mannered persona compliment Mayorga's defiant charisma perfectly, and while Shane Mosley may never make it back to the top of the welterweight division he once found himself champion of, he will always be the undisputed champion of class and dignity in a sport where violence and greed are always lurking in the shadows.
Mayorga might not win any humanitarian awards in his lifetime, but as far as the sport of boxing is concerned, he is a fearless warrior who enjoy's engaging in brawls, much to boxing fans delight. I'm going to go ahead and pick Mosley by eighth round knockout on this one, but I'm also going to bet that after the fight, Ricardo Mayorga will light himself a cigarette, have a beer or five, and think of another way to remain relevant. This will most surely be accomplished by spitting in the face of, and challenging the next quintessential "nice guy" that pops up on Mayorga's radar.
Scott Tonelli is the Senior Editor at FightJudge.com, and a lifelong boxing fan. Send questions or comments to scott@fightjudge.com
