Mosley and Mayweather..... Looking back.
Posted: 08 Jan 2010, 05:07
http://www.boxing24.com/mosleymayweather/
They both had the chance to fight,who ducked who?
Put yourself in this situation. You are one of the best at your profession. Yet most people believe a couple others are a little better. You just accomplished something that very few in your profession had, yet nobody seems to care. Your resume is on par with anybody’s but some believe you are not worthy of the job. You always produced great results and you have never complained before, but you just had enough. Pretty frustrating..huh. Now put yourself in Shane Mosley’s shoes.
Since starting his career with 32-0 record he has taken on some of the best fighters his generation. Yes he has lost a few, but yet here he is one of the top 5 fighters in the world today. Yet none of the top guys want to fight him. Mosley has always been the ‘nice’ guy, but now that Shane Mosley has had enough he is considered ‘desperate’. He confronted Floyd Mayweather Jr. after his fight this past weekend. Asking Floyd to fight him. What is wrong with that. It would be different if Mosley was no longer relevent, but he is considered universally as the Best Welterweight in the World. It is not as if he went out there and beat him over the head with a steel chair. There is no problem with another Hall of Famer asking another Hall of Famer for a fight. Heck boxing could use more of that.
Mayweather and Mosley–A History and the Truth on Floyd
Since 1998 when they split the fighter of the year award. (Mosley won the BWAA and Mayweather the Ring Award) There has been something brewing between Mayweather and Mosley. In 1999 there are conflicting stories out there on who ducked who. But the fact is, Mosley and Mayweather could have fought in what would have been a great fight, with little fanfare as both were not popular with the Mainstream public. Mosley moved up to Welterweight defeating Oscar De La Hoya in 2000, After that win Mosley was considered by most to be the best fighter in the sport. Mayweather toiled in the background beating good fighters but not getting much credit for it.
Mayweather to his credit would continue to win and ascend to the top of the sport in 2005. Then in 2006 there seemed to be a chance for Floyd and Mosley to finally meet in a match-up that would have generated a lot of interest. Mosley had just defeated Fernando Vargas and moved back in the top 10 Pound for Pound. And Mayweather offered Mosley a fight. Mosley decided at that time to turn the fight down because he wanted to spend time with his family, and he wanted to give Oscar De La Hoya an opportunity to fight Mayweather. In hindsight it may have been a bad move by Mosley, but he figured there would always be a shot a Mayweather.
Mayweather defeats Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007. Shane Mosley at this time calls him out. Shane is Floyd’s mandatory being the WBC Welterweight Interim Champion, but Floyd opts for the easier fight and bigger payday against Ricky Hatton. Floyd retires abrubtly even though there are 4 excellent fights to possibly made, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley and Pacquiao
Shane Mosley destroys Antonio Margarito to win the WBA Welterweight Championship and his camp immediately calls out Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd says he will not come out of retirement to fight Shane. Yet one month later when the much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez calls out Floyd Mayweather Jr. he jumps up at the chance to fight Marquez. That my friends is the ultimate insult. Imagine if Sugar Ray Leonard would have come out of retirement in 1987 to fight Julio Cesar Chavez instead of Marvin Hagler. He would have been destroyed by the media. Yet that is exactly the equivelent of what Mayweather did. And the media jumped on board And Shane Mosley was forced to ask for a fight with Manny Pacquiao in a fight that Manny didn’t need to take.
Flash forward to this past Saturday night. Shane Mosley is sitting there watching Floyd Mayweather beat up a smaller man. What do you think Marvin Hagler would have done if he was watching Sugar Ray Leonard beat Julio Cesar Chavez to a pulp and people were just going along with it as if it was ok. He sure as heck would have been as mad or even madder then Mosley. There are times in life for un-civil disobedience. For instance if someone spits in your face. Or someone continues to insult you as if you aren’t their equal. There was nothing wrong with what Mosley did. Period
Part of the reason I believe Mosley never became as popular as Mayweather was because he actually was friendly to people. He actually showed everybody respect. But in a day in age when being nice is boring, Shane Mosley did the right thing last Saturday. He called out Mayweather for what wasn’t right. Taking 12 millions dollars beating a guy not Mosley’s equal in size and speed.
I believe Floyd Mayweather Jr. will never fight Shane Mosley. His people won’t allow it because they don’t understand legacy. They care about safety and money. His thinking is well, I can make 15 million fighting Shane Mosley, but I can make 22 Million fighting Pacquiao. So I will fight Pacquiao and make my 22 million and get out of the fight game. All time greats don’t think like that. Imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70’s saying they didn’t want to win another Super Bowl, or Michael Jordan saying I only wanted 3 NBA titles not 6. They would think they could make 15 million AND 22 million in 1 year, and prove they are the best in the process. But unfortunately Mayweather doesn’t think like that. And that is why some people don’t like him. They don’t dislike him because he is too good, they don’t like him because he could do so much more. He says he is the best but yet he doesn’t prove he is the best. Floyd is a brilliant fighter no doubt. He will be in the Hall of Fame on the 1st ballot, but he is no Sugar Ray Robinson, no Muhummad Ali, no Manny Pacquiao or not even Shane Mosley. They will be talking about what could have been with him, very much like Roy Jones Jr. There will always be that yeah but…he didn’t fight this guy or he didn’t fight that guy. And for a guy who believes he is the best ever, he will not come anywhere close to his lofty standards. That my friends is the truth about Floyd Mayweather Jr.
They both had the chance to fight,who ducked who?
Put yourself in this situation. You are one of the best at your profession. Yet most people believe a couple others are a little better. You just accomplished something that very few in your profession had, yet nobody seems to care. Your resume is on par with anybody’s but some believe you are not worthy of the job. You always produced great results and you have never complained before, but you just had enough. Pretty frustrating..huh. Now put yourself in Shane Mosley’s shoes.
Since starting his career with 32-0 record he has taken on some of the best fighters his generation. Yes he has lost a few, but yet here he is one of the top 5 fighters in the world today. Yet none of the top guys want to fight him. Mosley has always been the ‘nice’ guy, but now that Shane Mosley has had enough he is considered ‘desperate’. He confronted Floyd Mayweather Jr. after his fight this past weekend. Asking Floyd to fight him. What is wrong with that. It would be different if Mosley was no longer relevent, but he is considered universally as the Best Welterweight in the World. It is not as if he went out there and beat him over the head with a steel chair. There is no problem with another Hall of Famer asking another Hall of Famer for a fight. Heck boxing could use more of that.
Mayweather and Mosley–A History and the Truth on Floyd
Since 1998 when they split the fighter of the year award. (Mosley won the BWAA and Mayweather the Ring Award) There has been something brewing between Mayweather and Mosley. In 1999 there are conflicting stories out there on who ducked who. But the fact is, Mosley and Mayweather could have fought in what would have been a great fight, with little fanfare as both were not popular with the Mainstream public. Mosley moved up to Welterweight defeating Oscar De La Hoya in 2000, After that win Mosley was considered by most to be the best fighter in the sport. Mayweather toiled in the background beating good fighters but not getting much credit for it.
Mayweather to his credit would continue to win and ascend to the top of the sport in 2005. Then in 2006 there seemed to be a chance for Floyd and Mosley to finally meet in a match-up that would have generated a lot of interest. Mosley had just defeated Fernando Vargas and moved back in the top 10 Pound for Pound. And Mayweather offered Mosley a fight. Mosley decided at that time to turn the fight down because he wanted to spend time with his family, and he wanted to give Oscar De La Hoya an opportunity to fight Mayweather. In hindsight it may have been a bad move by Mosley, but he figured there would always be a shot a Mayweather.
Mayweather defeats Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007. Shane Mosley at this time calls him out. Shane is Floyd’s mandatory being the WBC Welterweight Interim Champion, but Floyd opts for the easier fight and bigger payday against Ricky Hatton. Floyd retires abrubtly even though there are 4 excellent fights to possibly made, Cotto, Margarito, Mosley and Pacquiao
Shane Mosley destroys Antonio Margarito to win the WBA Welterweight Championship and his camp immediately calls out Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd says he will not come out of retirement to fight Shane. Yet one month later when the much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez calls out Floyd Mayweather Jr. he jumps up at the chance to fight Marquez. That my friends is the ultimate insult. Imagine if Sugar Ray Leonard would have come out of retirement in 1987 to fight Julio Cesar Chavez instead of Marvin Hagler. He would have been destroyed by the media. Yet that is exactly the equivelent of what Mayweather did. And the media jumped on board And Shane Mosley was forced to ask for a fight with Manny Pacquiao in a fight that Manny didn’t need to take.
Flash forward to this past Saturday night. Shane Mosley is sitting there watching Floyd Mayweather beat up a smaller man. What do you think Marvin Hagler would have done if he was watching Sugar Ray Leonard beat Julio Cesar Chavez to a pulp and people were just going along with it as if it was ok. He sure as heck would have been as mad or even madder then Mosley. There are times in life for un-civil disobedience. For instance if someone spits in your face. Or someone continues to insult you as if you aren’t their equal. There was nothing wrong with what Mosley did. Period
Part of the reason I believe Mosley never became as popular as Mayweather was because he actually was friendly to people. He actually showed everybody respect. But in a day in age when being nice is boring, Shane Mosley did the right thing last Saturday. He called out Mayweather for what wasn’t right. Taking 12 millions dollars beating a guy not Mosley’s equal in size and speed.
I believe Floyd Mayweather Jr. will never fight Shane Mosley. His people won’t allow it because they don’t understand legacy. They care about safety and money. His thinking is well, I can make 15 million fighting Shane Mosley, but I can make 22 Million fighting Pacquiao. So I will fight Pacquiao and make my 22 million and get out of the fight game. All time greats don’t think like that. Imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70’s saying they didn’t want to win another Super Bowl, or Michael Jordan saying I only wanted 3 NBA titles not 6. They would think they could make 15 million AND 22 million in 1 year, and prove they are the best in the process. But unfortunately Mayweather doesn’t think like that. And that is why some people don’t like him. They don’t dislike him because he is too good, they don’t like him because he could do so much more. He says he is the best but yet he doesn’t prove he is the best. Floyd is a brilliant fighter no doubt. He will be in the Hall of Fame on the 1st ballot, but he is no Sugar Ray Robinson, no Muhummad Ali, no Manny Pacquiao or not even Shane Mosley. They will be talking about what could have been with him, very much like Roy Jones Jr. There will always be that yeah but…he didn’t fight this guy or he didn’t fight that guy. And for a guy who believes he is the best ever, he will not come anywhere close to his lofty standards. That my friends is the truth about Floyd Mayweather Jr.
DD