The Downward Spiral; or, has Sugar Shane Lost His Sweetness?
 By Anthony Cocks (March 25, 2004)
 |
|
'Sugar' Shane Mosley
|
Twelve days ago at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ronald 'Winky' Wright made history by becoming the first undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion since Koichi Wajima in 1975 by smacking the sweetness out of former pound-for-pound great Sugar Shane Mosley over 12 dominant rounds
Whilst the hard-working and underappreciated Wright basks in his newfound glory and universal respect, Mosley is left to contemplate what has gone wrong over the last two-and-a-half years of his previously stellar career and where he can go from here.
Starting his professional career at 135lbs in 1993, the power punching Mosley tore through the lightweight ranks to register 22 knockouts in 23 outings at an average of 4 rounds per fight. His first world title tilt came in 1997 when he challenged unbeaten South African Philip Holiday for his IBF diadem. The Pride of Pomona was taken beyond 10 rounds for the first time in his career, claiming his first world championship by unanimous decision. After eight successful defenses against tough competition including former world champions John-John Molina and Jesse James Leija, Mosley made the decision to jump two divisions north to campaign as a welterweight. Victories over three time world title challenger Wilfredo Rivera and Willy Wise – who was fresh off an upset 10 round decision victory over Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez – paved the way for Mosley to challenge the Golden Boy of boxing, Oscar De La Hoya, for his WBC belt.
At the time the only blemish on De La Hoya's record was a disputed points loss to Puerto Rico's favorite son, Felix Tito Trinidad. Many pundits still regarded De La Hoya as an undefeated fighter due to the controversial nature of Trinidad's victory. After beating De La Hoya, Trinidad jumped up a division in search of bigger fish to fry, allowing the Golden Boy a second crack at the WBC welterweight belt against once-beaten Derrell Coley. De La Hoya stopped Coley in the 7th round, setting up a much anticipated showdown with Mosley at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California in June of 2000.
When the dust settled after twelve frantic rounds, it was Mosley's "power boxing" that prevailed over De La Hoya's stick-and-move stylings. Although the fight was closely contested throughout, Mosley displayed sublime boxing skills and a sustained body attack to wear down and out hustle the heavily favored Golden Boy. It seemed like Mosley's time had arrived.
With the win Mosley was an instant entrant in the upper echelon of most boxing pundits' pound-for-pound lists. The victory should has ushered in an era of big money fights for Mosley, but poor decision making by his brain trust squandered the momentum he gained through his signature win. After three stoppage victories over solid, but unspectacular opposition, Mosley signed on to fight undefeated and underrated reigning IBF Welterweight Champion Vernon “The Viper” Forrest on January 26, 2002. In their infinite wisdom the IBF decided to strip Forrest of his title prior to the bout.
Although the fight didn't capture the attention of the mainstream media, there was a hook that made it an intriguing match up for hardcore fans. Forrest had beaten Mosley as an amateur in the 1992 Olympic trials and was looking forward to repeating the treatment as a professional. Despite Forrest's steadfast belief in his own ability, those who shared his confidence were a distinct minority.
At the final press conference Forrest dropped a bombshell that snuck under the radar of most media personalities in attendance. Responding to a question from the throng of reporters, a smiling Forrest calmly stated what he saw as the key to victory: "Mosley has no self-confidence."
The look on Mosley's face when he heard this said it all. It was at this precise moment Mosley's star began to dim.
For twelve one-sided rounds Forrest delivered a sustained beating to Mosley, the likes of which he had never experienced before in the ring. Following a clash of heads in the second round, Mosley was sent to the canvas twice courtesy of Forrest's radar-like right hands. Mosley was hurt again in the tenth, but showed his championship mettle by gamely fighting on. Unfortunately it was all to no effect.
Mosley was unable to get past Forrest's jab and on the occasions when he did, he was met with a booming right cross or a head-snapping uppercut. Few people would have complained if Mosley's corner threw in the towel in the later stages of the fight.
Putting the victory in perspective, a beaming Forrest told a worldwide television audience: "The jab nullifies speed." The secret to beating Mosley was laid bare for all to see.
In the post fight wash up, Team Mosley claimed that the head butt in the second round impeded their fighter's ability to mount a sustained attack. Invoking the contractual rematch clause, Mosley opted to go straight into a return bout with Forrest without the benefit of a tune-up fight. Mosley Vs Forrest 2 was scheduled for July 20, 2002.
The general consensus amongst boxing fans was that the first fight with Forrest was an anomaly, a mere bump in the road to greatness that would soon be corrected. Unfortunately, Vernon Forrest had other ideas.
Although the second bout was closer than their initial encounter, Forrest again dominated and came out a deserving winner by decision. The most striking factor about this fight was Mosley's inability to change his game plan whatsoever from the first fight. The harder Mosley tried, the more he got hit. This was compounded by the fact that his corner provided him very little practical advice that he could apply to what was happening in the ring.
With back-to-back losses on his resume and nowhere else to go, Mosley moved up to the junior middleweight division. After an inconclusive 3 rounds against former world champion Raul Marquez was stopped due to a cut caused by an accidental head clash, Mosley signed to fight familiar foe Oscar De La Hoya on September 13, 2003 in the hope of reclaiming some of his former glory.
The bout with De La Hoya lacked much of the action that made their initial encounter such compelling viewing. Both fighters seemed reluctant to engage and spent more time feinting than actually punching. At the end of 12 laborious rounds, Mosley had eked out a unanimous decision that many people felt he didn't deserve.
Off the back of this less than convincing performance the Sugarman opted to place his recently acquired WBA and WBC junior middleweight belts on the line against IBF kingpin Winky Wright's trinket in a battle for all the chocolates.
Despite looking like a shadow of his former self since the 24 round beatdown laid on him by Vernon Forrest, Mosley's self delusion was evident prior to the fight with Wright when he claimed, "I should have no problem winning this fight. I'm sharper than him, I'm faster than him and probably stronger too. My speed tends to make people make mistakes."
Apparently Mosley had either forgotten or conveniently ignored Forrest's words after their first fight. "The jab nullifies speed." One person who definitely recalled Forrest's words was Winky Wright.
Against Wright, Mosley looked exhausted by round three, discouraged by round four and resigned to losing by round five. Jab-jab-jabbing out of his southpaw stance, Wright was able to hit Mosley repeatedly with surprising ease. Whenever Mosley got close, Wright would drop a left cross on him or throw the right hook. Very few punches missed the mark. All Mosley could muster in retaliation was single shots, more often than not bouncing off Wright's arms or gloves.
It was a sad and depressing performance for Mosley's diehard fans. Less than three years earlier he had looked practically unbeatable, a power punching terror destroying all who stood in front of him. Now they were watching a forlorn man, apprehensive and ponderous in ring, defeated before he even stepped through the ropes. I shudder to think what damage Ricardo Mayorga would have visited on the three division champion had they met in the ring last Saturday night.
The back-to-back losses to Forrest seem to have shattered Mosley's already fragile self confidence. The physical advantages that Mosley enjoyed at lightweight simply haven't translated to the heavier divisions. No longer is he the bigger man, the stronger man, the faster man with the excessive reach advantage. Gone are the explosive combinations, the sustained body attack and the fluid, instinctive selection of punches. In their place is a physically smaller man, out-muscled by larger, stronger opponents, a hesitant fighter scared to pull the trigger on his punches for fear of getting hit. Much like Roberto Duran, the ghost of his glory days are all that remains of this once great talent.
Widely regarded as one of the 'good guys' of boxing, Mosley is always affable with a broad smile and an instantly likeable personality. He still possesses all the physical tools that saw him terrorize the lightweight division not so long ago, but the self doubt and second guessing that has pervaded his psyche in recent years will prevent him from reaching the lofty heights he achieved earlier in his career.
As a three division champion with two victories over another certain Hall-of-Famer, Mosley should do what so few boxers manage to do and retire gracefully, safe in the knowledge that a seat awaits him in boxing's Valhalla, Canastota, next to so many other pugilist luminaries.
|
|
|
|
© Copyrights / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
|
|
|
