Under normal circumstances, there probably wouldn’t be much motivation to fight someone half your age.
But, for 40-year-old “Sugar” Shane Mosley, there is one factor that drives him to take on 21-year-old Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and that’s lifting up a championship belt once again.
“The motivation to be in this fight is to claim the world title, to win the gold again,” Mosley said after lots of skepticism on why he is squaring off with someone essentially half his age at this point in his career.
Mosley, a six-time, three division champion, will take the canvas with Alvarez for the quickly rising Mexican’s WBC Super Welterweight World Championship Saturday night in the undercard bout to the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto super fight.
While Mosley has already captured numerous titles and secured his spot in boxing history as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, he wants to regain gold and add to his legacy.
“It adds to the legacy, but also sets myself up with some more big fights in the future,” Mosley said.
And if Mosley didn’t have enough motivation from potentially being a champion again, he can use his recent failures as a fuel for his 154-pound May 5 Pay-Per-View bout.
After starting his career 38-0, Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) has dropped three of his last six contests, and came to a draw in one of those, and hasn’t had a victory in over three years. His last win came in early 2009, when he earned a knockout over Antonio Margarito in the ninth round to secure his sixth world title.
Since then, Mosley has suffered losses to Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, as well as fought to a draw against Sergio Mora.
Despite his recent slip ups, Mosley still feels he has what it takes to be crowned a champion again and has no plans of hanging up his gloves yet.
“I never thought of hanging it up because I knew that I wasn’t 100 percent. If I was 100 percent, and I wasn’t really where I was supposed to be, then it’d be time to give it up,” Mosley said. “But I know I wasn’t ready (then). I wasn’t at my best. Now, I’m ready.”
Mosley Finally Healthy
Mosley claims a large part of the reason he came up short in fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao is due to not being fully healthy.
He said in those fights he entered training camp not at 100 percent and that transitioned over into those bouts as he fought through pain.
“My training has changed because I’m not going into the fight hurt or going into my training camp hurt. I’m actually going in training 100 percent, and that’s obviously a perk,” Mosley said.
Now, Mosley is at full strength and feels fresh as he heads into the eve of his big fight. Not only does being back at full strength benefit him in the fight, it also motivates him to do better.
“It’s motivating because I can get back in the ring with these guys. Like I said, going into training camp 100 percent is a lot better than going into it wounded and trying to fight,” Mosley said. “It motivates me to do better in the fight.”
Scouting Alvarez
Even with Mosley at 100 percent, he will still have his hands full with the young Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KOs), who has yet to lose a fight.
Canelo, who was given the nickname for his red hair as it translates to cinnamon in Spanish, has had rapid success after making his pro debut at just 15-years-old.
He made a name for himself after going 8-0 with four knockouts in 2008 and was recognized for his exciting style.
Alvarez is coming off victories over Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron in 2011, a year where captivated his hometown of Mexico.
Canelo may have his biggest challenge to date against Mosley, who has a long career of beating some of the top names in the sport.
Tale Of The Tape- Shane Mosley
Hometown: Pomona, California
Record: 46-7-1, 39 KO’s
Age: 40
Weight: 154
Height: 5’9″
Reach: 71″
Tale Of The Tape- Canelo Alvarez
Hometown: Juanacatlan, Mexico
Record: 39-0-1, 29 KO’s
Age: 21
Weight: 154 lbs.
Height: 5’9″
Reach: 71″
Prediction
Alvarez is a tough, strong competitor who likes to keep things at his pace. Mosley will likely move around a lot and evade punches and not try to trade punches with this young gun.
While Alvarez is on the rise and remains unblemished, he still hasn’t fought someone of Mosley’s stature, regardless of his age.
Mosley is fully healthy now, confident and has a chip on his shoulder to prove he’s still one of the best fighters in the world. Remember, he absolutely annihilated Margarito in 2009 when he was fully healthy at the age of 38. So, if he’s fully healthy now, there’s no reason he can’t do much of the same against Canelo.
But, it’s Mosley’s experience in the ring that he thinks will give him the edge in this bout, despite the challenge of fighting someone half his age.
“No challenge at all for me. I feel great, I’m in great shape. I think it’s a benefit because I have the experience and the knowledge boxing to help me in the fight,” Mosley said.
Mosley knows that Alvarez is a solid competitor and acknowledges his ability to throw a variety of different head and body shots, but he is confident that his experience of the game will outweigh anything Alvarez throws at him.
“I’m not gonna give away my plan of attack (laughs), but I have all the tools to beat Canelo Alvarez. Canelo is a good, young fighter. He’s strong, he throws a variety of different punches; he throws a variety to the body and head, and he’s a good young fighter,” Mosley said.
“But, he’s not ready for me yet.”
The fight is set for 9 p.m. Saturday.
