i respectfully disagreewith you TIGEREDGE. As evidence with fights against Forest and Wright, a textbook fighter with an excellent jab beats mosley. What we learned in those four fights is that mosley does not know how to adjust to a strong quick jabing fighter. Quartey in my opinion had a much better jab than both forrest and wright. He also kept the same high guard defense as wright did. (although not as good). Mosley keeps it competitive for maybe three rounds and then gets taken apart. Quartey by clear ud.
Quartey doesnt have the height advantage that forrest has or the weight advatage and southpaw stance of wright. The jab would give mosley hell. its a great 50-50 fight. it could either way
Quartey should've gotten the nod over Oscar too. Oscar did nothing for much of that very overrated (because of two rounds) fight. Mosley would have success in spots, but drop a clear 8-4 type decision.
Very true, and I'd like to add that Mosley was fearful of getting hit at welterweight. Quartey had very exploitable habit, that of putting his weight onto his front foot when he jabbed (thereby making his right hand a two step dance- he had to rock back to throw it) but so did forrest and shane showed no inclination to get around that awkward jab or to work off that slow right hand.
I like Mosely to pull the upset here and get the close decision nod. Ringsmarts. I think Shane turns the guy and neutralizes that jab. Takes away the effectiveness of it. What's left for Quartey to do? His right hand? Adapt? Think during a fight? That predictable attack is what I think Mosely can capitalize on and he simply won't play the game and accommodate what Quartey wants him to do. And Shane is not going to stop this guy and would just go into the fight with the plan of outsmarting him and getting a close decision win. Footwork and upper body movement are big advantages for Mosely. Pepper him and throw those flurries a few times every round the judges love. Ike could certainly be hit by right hand leads and that jab was countered. Mosely would use boxing brains and turn it into a combinations or right hand effectiveness type fight and would never make the mistake of turning the bout into a jab or power contest. A better corner and a better right hand and ringsmarts, I think anyway, would become the factors and Ike loses another one of those "if only" fights because of those shortcomings.
Mosley of 2000 was a physical phenomenon at welterweight, the guy who beat Oscar in that 1st fight was the best Mosley ever, above 135lbs. That guy vs mid 90s Ike would've been a hellacious fight. Quartey would have success with the jab, but he doesn't have the size/height/weight/ranginess of Winky and Forrest, so Shane would find him easier to get to than he did those two, which is why I think this would be a closer fight than any of the four SSM vs Vernon/Wink fights. Shane also had the power to hurt/drop Quartey. I think this would be a barnburner, and I'd expect a majority or split decision because Shane scoring a KD would tighten it up, but over the piece Quartey would've done enough good boxing in enough rounds to shade it.