February 11, 1993. In many ways, the aforementioned date means nothing to the vast majority of us. However, on that day, at a relative small club show in Hollywood, California, a diminutive 22-year-old lightweight would make his professional debut against a boxer by the name of Greg Puente. Shane Mosely scored a 5th round knockout that night and since then has gone on to become one of the most talented and acclaimed fighters in the sport.
Fast forward 14 years into the future and "Sugar" Shane Mosely (44-4-1NC, 37 KOs) is still going strong in one of the world's hardest sports. At an age when most participants of the sweet science are looking toward the greener fields of retirement, Mosley continues to embrace the sport with a juvenile love that has not waned since he first laced up a pair of gloves as a young boy.
Such youthful exuberance is what Mosley attributes to not only his longevity, but also his continued success within the squared circle.
"It's something that I love to do. And when you love it, you perform very well. You perform at your peak level. If you don't love it, if you just fight for money or are just fighting just because, then you don't do good at it. So I think that me loving the sport of boxing, me loving to be in the ring and move, slip, slide, duck, jab, knock guys out, the thrill of the crowd screaming, loving the sport, it shows as a reflection in the ring. You know, even when I do retire, I will still love the sport. So I want to see the young kids, the young guys come up and become more champions and show them different things and teach them different things that made me world champion and make them world champion. So, I love the sport and I love to be around; I love to fight. I love to fight, not just going in the ring and being all tired and to fight for my life, but to fight to have fun, to fight and have fun to be a man. It's a great feeling," Mosely would state on a recent conference call with the media.
This Saturday, Mosley will once again climb between the ropes to take on a challenger that many feel will be a daunting task for the Pomona, California native when he battles Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto. To compound matters, not only is Cotto coming off his most impressive win to date, a June 10th TKO over iron-fisted Zab Judah, but this bout will take place in Cotto's second home, Madison Square Garden. With a sellout crowd anticipated and what many believe to be a very partisan, pro-Cotto contingency, Mosley remains undaunted.
"I don't think that the fans in the crowd are going to be as wild as you would think. I think I'll have a lot more New York fans than people think, being that I'm always in New York a lot and a lot of New Yorkers want to see me. They even love me. Even the Puerto Ricans that are in New York or in Puerto Rico, being in Puerto Rico, they tend to love me in the fight. So I think that it's going to be more Cotto, but maybe a lot of fans for me though."
It all seems well and good until you consider the fact that, while clearly a superstar in the sport, Mosley has never been one to elicit a rabid partisan fanbase like two of his fistic conquests in the forms of Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas. Part of the blame could be attributed to his pleasant demeanor and ever-present, luminous smile. It seems that these days, we demand our pugilistic celebrities to be ill-tempered, braggadocios, foul-mouthed heathens which often leave genuine good guys in this sport relegated to passing fancy.
HBO Championship Boxing commentator Jim Lampley agrees with such sentiment.
"If he were a little bit more of a jerk, he might have even been a greater fighter, but that just isn't who he was going to be."
Of course, this is not to take away from Mosley's storied accomplishments. After all, Mosley has, to this point, led a Hall of Fame caliber career with wins over De La Hoya, Jesse James Leja, the durable Antonio Diaz, as well as a faded, but still dangerous Fernando Vargas. In fact, only two people have been able to pin losses on Mosley's record: Vernon Forest (before the Viper was hampered with shoulder problems) and pound-for-pound fighter Winky Wright, though it should be noted that Mosley met Wright at 154 and the muscle Mosley put on to make weight negated many of his natural strengths.
After the losses to Wright, Mosley made the wise decision to move back down to welterweight where he feels most comfortable at. That move, coupled with his Spartan lifestyle outside of the ring, have been the catalyst for his recent rejuvenation in the sport.
"I maintain it by keeping myself in the gym and keeping myself backed up so when I do fight, I don't have to work as hard to keep myself in shape. I'd have to work on keeping myself or making myself sharp as far as keeping my basics together; my jabs, right hand, left hooks and stuff like that. I didn't really fight for a while, I guess, since February, probably maybe seven/eight months. But, I've been in the ring, sparring with Oscar, Robert Guerrero, Billy the Kid [Billy Dib], and all these different people just keeping myself in shape and sharp. I'm already in great shape in this race to do my thing, use my experience against the other fighter, and I think that's what's important with me in my comeback to being at the top of the class."
A win Saturday and Mosley solidifies his claim as being the best in a loaded welterweight division. And it's not about belts or titles. It's about the pride in being the best.
"At this point, I'm not really champion over anybody. I just don't have to prove it to anybody anymore. Just proving it to myself that I can do what I can do and just let it be known that I am the best fighter out there. That's all. I just want to let people know that I'm the best. So I guess I'm proving that."