Tomorrow, twenty-fifth of July at the Indigo at the O₂ in London. Airing live on Triller. Yes, you read right - SENIOR. Yes, this is apparently not an exhibition but a real sanctioned pro bout (as was Manny Pacquiao's return against Mario Barrios last weekend, and Ricky Hatton's upcoming return in December). Not sure how this snuck under the radar. Kind of sad it did. Kind of sad it's happening. Sugar Shane last stepped in the ring nine years and two months ago, losing to David Avanesyan via UD. His record currently stands at 49-10-1-1 (41). He is 53 years old, and has been away from the game for so long that his son Shane Mosley Jr. - a rookie when he fought on the undercard of his dad vs. Avanesyan - is now a grizzled veteran himself with a full decade in the game. Mosley Sr. was inducted into IBHOF's modern category in 2020 - meaning he needed to spent three whole calendar years retired before becoming ballot eligible, and it's been more than five years since he got in. He made over 19 million dollars in his career, but lost a considerable sum in his acrimonious divorce with wife (and longtime stepmom of Shane Jr.) Jin Catherine Sheehan. His opponent Matt "The Jedi" Floyd is a six foot tall Aussie who didn't turn pro until late in life - debuting a month before his 32nd birthday - and is now 36. He is coming off his second loss last month, to Queensland prospect Jack Gregory. Before that he split a set with Thai quasi-legend Sirimongkol Iamthuam. For those unfamiliar with Iamthuam - he was the WBC bantamweight champion in 1997, and has bizarrely extended his career across numerous decades and weight divisions. Iamthuam lost to Floyd at light heavy, then avenged himself in their rematch at cruiser. Floyd's opponents in total, besides Iamthuam, have a combined losing record. All of his bouts to date have taken place on the Australian or Asian continents - mostly in Queensland or Bangkok, with a single outing each in Türkiye and Indonesia.
Co-main event is Victor Manuel Ortíz vs. Anthony "The Rhino" Giles, a 7-2 pro MMA fighter. Ortíz got a gift draw with Jorge Páez Jr. a few months ago.
Oh boy. These geezers should be fighting each other in a "seniors tour," not wasting their time, not to mention their brain cells, fighting young nobodies.
Yeah, at least with Mosley vs. Ortíz you'd get some morbid interest from people in our age bracket curious to see a couple of Floyd Mayweather Jr. opponents get it on years past their sell-by. But with both of them versus no-marks, who is the intended audience for this supposed to be?
I'll admit to feeling slightly tempted...but end of the day, I can't justify blowing a quarter bill on Mosley and Ortíz vs. Aussie cab drivers and MMA wash-outs.
I had to do a double take reading the thread title. and now im reading it for a 3rd time as I write this post.