"Sugar" Shane Mosley took it to Antonio Margarito in January, apparently taking Margarito's aura of invincibility in the process. As of June, he still can not get a big-time welterweight dance partner.
It may seem like a lifetime ago, but it has been only four months since “Sugar” Shane Mosley forcibly removed the aura of the Most Feared Fighter On the Planet from Antonio Margarito. In that January 24 bout, Mosley seemingly turned back the clock on his 37 years; where most had thought his best days were behind him, his dismantling of the Mexican warrior (sans the loaded gloves, of course) put him right back in the welterweight discussion.
Or so it was thought at the time. If one was to check the Ring magazine’s rankings in and around the 147-pound division, you see many of the top fighters matched against each other this summer. Miguel Cotto – Joshua Clottey. Andre Berto, who just fought, against Luis Collazo. Floyd Mayweather coming back to face Juan Manuel Marquez, with the winner getting Manny Pacquiao. Ricky Hatton just fought Pac Man, and his brother Matthew is fighting Zab Judah on July 18. Looks like the only one without a potentially significant fight is the #1 ranked fighter, Mosley, who is the division’s forgotten man at this point.
The problem is not that other fighters have bouts already, it’s that no one is even mentioning Mosley as a fight they’d like down the road. It has gotten so bad, that after ESPN’s Brian Kenney had his well-publicized tête-à-tête with Pretty Boy Floyd last week, Mosley had sink to making remarks about Mayweather’s financial troubles in hopes of getting him in the ring. And even lately, Mosley’s camp has taken to saying they’ve got a fight lined up with Pacquiao for October 18, even though Top Rank says they’ve had no discussions about that at all. It’s well known that the uber-popular Filipino’s shooting a movie all summer in his home country, and that date would seem a bit too soon. And, besides, no one’s heard Mosley’s name coming from anyone’s mouth but his.
Now, one could argue that this is karma for his admission that he used steroids in 2003 prior to his second fight with Oscar De La Hoya, and they might be right. Still, though, a fight between Mosley and Mayweather, Pacquiao, or even a rematch with Miguel Cotto would be worth paying attention to. At the very least, after the Margarito performance, he shouldn’t be relegated to fighting the Sergio Mora’s & Carlos Quintana’s of the world. He’s 37, and Mosley knows he doesn’t have unlimited time left. For the boxing fan, it would be much better to see him in action now against one of the top dogs rather than having him tread water for 18 months, perhaps looking old or rusty the next time he steps into the ring. Not everyone is Bernard Hopkins, you know.
For now, Mosley will have to bide his time, and if he’s smart, will take a stay-busy fight later this summer while the whole welterweight picture plays out. After all that is done, though, someone needs to step up to the plate and take on the #1 guy in the division. While Mosley isn’t De La Hoya when it comes to being a license to print money, he’s someone boxing fans will pay to see when matched appropriately. Sugar has earned his place at the table; someone now needs to give him a slice of that pie.
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