When people talk about Mosley they often remenisce about his lightweight days saying how he was the best since Roberto Duran. I have seen most of these fights on dvd and was wondering what other fighters were there out there he didn't face and would they have stood a chance. I'm talking about when he won the title in 1997 against Phillip Holiday. If he had fought the other champions would they enhance his legacy or be fogotton by names like Margarito or De La Hoya. What was the state of the divison in that period anyway, because his 8 defences don't seem to special to me. I aren't claiming he avoided people but am wondering what were the other elite like?
He was dominant there but his opposition was weak. The fight in retrospect that would've done the most for his legacy, and would've been the most interesting matchup, was a bout with Stevie Johnston. As far as people like Larry Merchant saying Shane was the best LW since Duran, no, they're forgetting a guy named Pernelll.
Floyd wanted a lightweight showdown against mosley but got ducked. All this Talk of mosley being untouchable at 135 makes me laugh. He's fought nobody, period. Lightweight Mosley is very overrated.
Johnston and Nazarov where the other top lightweights at that time but both lost to other fighters during his reign Cardona was also a good fighter but he didnt want nothing to do with Shane,those wouldve been very good fights but Mosley would be the fav to win them.
people say beast because of how he looked and how strong he was....but his lightweight days were surrounded by good comp, not great.....either way though, he never stuggled with anybody there....
lightweight divsion got pretty weak once sweet pea and camacho and all the likes moved north ... it stayed weak too till fmj and castillio ..corrales and company came forward and made it strong again
Johnston is the big name that he didnt fight. Bazan Manfredy Robinson Grigorian All would have been much better names to have on his resume over the guys he did face.
:huh Floyd was far from an established name at that stage...neither was Shane really. Floyd had only just won his superfeatherweight title when Shane left for welter.