Ringside With Raymundo 09.09.10: The Mosley Plan

Posted by Raymundo Dioses on 09.09.2010

Can Shane Mosley make 'mega fight lightning' strike again this week in his fight with Sergio Mora? Also, thoughts on Mayweather's Ustream video in this weeks edition of 411 Ringside With Raymundo!


Look behind you, it's YOU!

Leading into his face off with number two pound for pound fighter in the world Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley trained in Big Bear, California, as he has leading up to most of his fights in his seventeen year career.

While not training, Mosley participated in the less physical, albeit semi-contact sport of bowling. Mosley was a part of a team in a bowling league high in the Southern California mountains, and used the recreation time to place the brain off ‘boxing mode', and into ‘pin knockdown' mode.

It's funny that Mosley chose this particular sport to utilize in his down time, as it's a sport in which you attempt to keep knocking down the pins, and knocking them down, and knocking them down once again until your ten frames are over.

Mosley finds himself in the similar position in his boxing career, as at this point in a fighter of his calibers resume and time in this sport, he has now reached his final frames as a fighter.

THE ‘MOSLEY PLAN' WORKED ONCE, WILL IT CONTINUE TO?

While the Mayweather fight did not pan out in Mosley's favor, as most would deem it a near shut out after the third round, the May fight at the MGM in Las Vegas served its purpose: Mosley was able to lure one of the two best fighters in boxing into the ring as his opponent, and he garnered a career high payday in the process.

Not bad for a boxer rolling the bowling ball at the eighth or ninth frame of his livelihood.

Getting a fight against either Mayweather or Pacquiao was Mosley's grand endeavor ever since his TKO9 victory over Antonio Margarito in January 2009.

Mosley spent the first official calendar year of Obama's Presidency calling out, offering, getting in the face of, and practically pleading with Pac or May into a contest.

"Sugar" utilized his interviews on ESPN following his fight against Margarito, in which the nationally syndicated station sought only his opinion on his opponent attempting to load his gloves with plaster of Paris in the locker room before their fight, and instead called out Pacquiao or Mayweather; whichever fist thrower wanted to step up.

Mosley steadfastly continued to campaign for a fight as the year progressed.

At a Nike sponsored Manny Pacquiao event, which later was transcribed onto a press release for boxing media, Mosley was quoted as saying he would even drop down to 140 pounds for a fight against the Philippine icon.

Mosley cranked up the heat even further, as he utilized his promotional stake in Golden Boy Promotions to enter the ring following Floyd Mayweather's return from retirement fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

HBO's Max Kellerman turned the questions to ‘next opponent' status, and named Mosley, who heard his name and practically ran to Kellerman, who practically motioned over Mosley with body language.

Mosley pulled a ‘Kanye West' and got within inches of Mayweather's face, with both boxers comically shaking each others hands as they traded a few verbal jabs.

Mosley fought Mayweather on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a venue that Mosley hadn't fought in since his July 2006 bout against Fernando Vargas.

Although Mosley had Mayweather momentarily buckled in the second round, Mayweather was able to recover and was able to pitch a near shut out unanimous decision victory.

Mosley was his usual apologetic and soft natured self at the post fight conference, and even said thank you when, for some reason, some media member, probably a few alcoholic beverages into his night, gave a drunken shout out rant claiming Mosley as the best.

It was back to the drawing board for the California native, who rolled the dice against one of the sports best. That was exactly what he had intended to do, and hey, why not?

Imagine if Mosley was able to pull out a victory against Mayweather.

Contracts called for an immediate rematch in the event of a Mayweather loss, so Mosley stood the chance of securing another lucrative payout in a second fight against Mayweather in mid to late 2010, and afterward could have been lined up to face the winner of this November's Manny Pacquiao/Antonio Margarito fight.

That would have been three consecutive mega fights in a row for Mosley.

However, that scenario did not happen, and Mosley now stands to face Sergio Mora in downtown Los Angeles next weekend.

One must think though, that if Mosley went to the lengths that he did in attaining a fight against Mayweather, what's to stop him if he is successful against Mora in getting a fight against the winner of the fight at Dallas Cowboys stadium later this year?

Can the ‘Mosley Plan' work once again?

MORA/MOSLEY

Most would agree, in fact all would agree, that Sergio Mora is a major step down in caliber of opponents for Shane Mosley.

Yet what do you expect from a fighter who just fought Floyd Mayweather a mere five months ago?

Fighting Mora is a strategic move to keep momentum going in Mosley's favor, get another ‘W' in the win column and stay active while still in the pursuit of grand exit, tenth frame type fight with the Margarito/Pacquiao winner.

The fight stylistically could prove to provide some fireworks. The ‘opponent comparison' comes into play, as Mora once defeated Vernon Forrest, who twice defeated Shane Mosley.

Mosley himself outlined what Mora stands to gain in the fight in his recent radio interview on the popular show "Talkin' Boxing With Billy C".

"If he beats me, that's two (future) hall of famers, Vernon Forrest and myself (that he beat), and that might put him in contention to fight some of these up and coming guys (like) Saul Alvarez, that's fighting on the undercard, at 154."

The fight also falls on a 200 year Mexican Bicentennial celebration, which promotional company Golden Boy Promotions has decided to fully embrace and promote.

The undercard will also feature Saul Alvarez, Victor Ortiz against Vivian Harris and a title fight featuring California resident and female boxer Kaliesha West.

It's hard to envision this event selling out as Mosley's last fight did at the Staples Center, yet GBP CEO Richard Schaefer has stated that most of the lower bowl seats are spoken for, and the upper bowl is expected to be opened up.

In addition, there is a whole week of festivities planned for fight week, and a full list is available on 411mania.

It's a night of Mexican fighters fighting on a Mexican Holiday in Los Angeles.

I'm sure a decent sized crowd will show up come fight night.

MAYWEATHER

Last weekend's ‘Ustream heard round the world' from Floyd Mayweather was more than a racist rant on the internet, more than a vile diatribe aimed at the sports number one fighter and attraction, more than a candid showing of one of the most arrogant fighters in history, it was more than all of that.

It was an insult to boxing.

For the man who claims to be the best to ever lace up the gloves conduct himself in such a manner, when he actually is one of the top fighters, perhaps of all time, though certainly not the greatest, to candidly express himself in this way, is an embarrassment to boxing as a whole.

Twenty to thirty years from now, we will have to explain why one of our favorite sports once had a fighter named Mayweather who deliberately went all "Mel Gibson" on the fighter that probably would have beat him, yet we never got to find out because as slick as his tongue was, his feet were even quicker in the opposite direction of any path leading up to walking into a boxing ring and trading punches, not viral internet jabs, with Manny Pacquiao.

We are going on two years of Mayweather effectively and efficiently ducking Manny Pacquiao.

Some are holding out hopes that this whole drama leads to a Pac/May fight in May 2011.

While most are holding their breaths for what would be a golden moment for boxing, Mayweather isn't.

Mayweather issued an apology via the press within days of the videos surfacing, and some Mayweather supporters, however many are left, would probably chalk this latest rant up to hype before a fight.

However, a Pacquiao/Mayweather fight needs no further publicity.

If and when it happens, it'll sell out any arena, including Cowboys stadium, smash any and all pay per view records, will have a major beer company vying to put their logo on the middle of the canvas and both fighters will cash in more than $50 million each.

Mayweather shouldn't have opened up his mouth.

Now, hopefully he will have to pay by losing lucrative endorsements and hopefully, he takes a step in the right direction: into a ring with Manny Pacquiao.