Yes. Sugar Shane Mosley is a throwback fighter. Win or lose, he always goes after the toughest fights in his division. He fought Forrest when no one else would. He challenged Winky Wright when no one else wanted to get in the ring with him. Now, he challenged the reigning younger, stronger, iron chinned welterweight champion once touted as the most feared man in boxing and systematically broke him down. All this and he's only 37.
Good question, and I'm curious what people who have spent more time than me studying the old timers have to say on this one. In my view, Shane isn't really a throwback fighter at all. He was trained tonight to fight more like one, but for most of his career, he's tried to use his insane physical gifts to simply impose himself on his opponent. He never floated around the ring like a Robinson, Leonard, or Ali. He never had a picturesque jab. He never displayed beautiful defense. His strength to me has always been his strength. For a 5'9 guy who walks around at a little over 160, the guy has always been strong as hell, Balco or no Balco. Of course falling in love with his strength left him with no plan B against Vernon and Winky. Obviously, there were all different kinds of "old school" fighters. But people today seem to think of the lost defensive arts like slipping a jab when they think "old school". I'd never group Shane with guys like Toney or Hopkins, but I think he proved tonight that he's physically gifted enough, and well preserved enough at 37, to use some of their tricks and apply them to his own style. I guess anyone who can administer the kind of beatdown we witnessed tonight has to have a little throwback in them.
Mosley's resume is a who's who of fighters he should have NEVER fought. That list includes Collazo, Cruz, Estrada, Mayorga, Vargas, Winky, Forrest, Margarito. These are guys he had a huge risk in facing...guys who he may not get huge credit in beating, but would get destroyed if he lost. Guys who no one else would face unless they had to.
