After his one-sided loss at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May, fans, analysts, and fight scribes alike wondered if Shane Mosley would, or should, ever step through the ropes again. That question has been answered with the announcement of a September 18 bout with Sergio Mora, at junior middleweight, a Golden Boy Promotions venture to be televised on pay-per-view?
Let's take this one issue at a time.
Mosley, who turns 39 in September, needs fights that carry at least some level of importance. There are plenty of names, be they former champions or young contenders, that would accomplish exactly that. Sergio Mora? Expect little more than a collective sigh from the boxing community over this matchup, never mind the rest of the general sports community.
Could someone explain why this is a pay-per-view card? The undercard has yet to be announced, but I can't imagine any supporting bouts that would merit what will likely be a $49.95 price tag. I don't expect many so-called "casual fans" opening their wallet for a low-grade main event with Victor Ortiz in the co-feature, unless that co-feature is a rematch with Marcos Maidana. Isn't this the same group who told us that they wanted to do things the right way for boxing and, from their mission statement, "offer our viewers and fans high quality programming"? If this is somehow defined as high quality and pay-per-view worthy, perhaps the vast majority of the dedicated fans of the sport define "high quality" in a different way.
So which is more substantial: the level of insult for making this a pay-per-view card, or the nonsensical nature of doing so? One would think that Golden Boy would shy away from such willful miscalculations after the Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins II disaster earlier this year. Mosley-Mora is an HBO undercard, at best, and could easily be dropped down to an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event. The last image that the public has of Shane Mosley is not one that would encourage them to spend fifty bucks to see again, especially against an opponent that generates little, if any, excitement. For that much cash, I'd rather see Mosley-Mayorga II than Mosley-Mora I.
100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF JOHNSON-JEFFRIES
July 4 marks a full century since Jack Johnson's defeat of undefeated former champion James J. Jeffries in Reno, Nevada in 1910. Johnson became the first black world heavyweight champion with his knockout of Tommy Burns in 1908, but was not given full credit as the champion since Jeffries, who retired undefeated in 1904, citing the lack of "deserving white challengers", was still considered superior. Jeffries made an ill-fated and ill-advised comeback to fight Johnson and was thoroughly dominated before being knocked out in the 15th round of a fight scheduled for 45. The fight was a landmark victory for black prizefighters around the world, and one for which the joy was shared by those who were never granted a world title shot due to the color of their skin.
Johnson was undoubtedly a controversial figure, but his accomplishments and impact resonated throughout the sport, and American culture in general, long after his passing. A three-day celebration will take place in Reno this weekend, with a number of well-known figures from the sport planning to attend.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
Rather than a bout from the past, this week, I'm going with something a little different. Locate a copy of the documentary "Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson". The 2005 PBS film tells the true story of Johnson, directed by Ken Burns of "Baseball" fame, and leaves no viewer unchanged. Any student of the Sweet Science, American history, or both owes it to themselves to take in every second of the documentary. The depiction of the reality of Johnson's life makes the day-to-day freedom we now enjoy seem just a little sweeter.