--- Rating 'Sugar' Shane Mosley (prime) ---

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Mosley, who is no D master, was pretty effective at not getting hit to much when he wanted even pass his prime. Goes to show the difference in skill and talent between the Mosley era fighters and the majority of fighters now.

 

Mosley does have good reflexes and isn't some sort of punch magnet in the style of an Antonio Margarito, his real problem comes from the way he fights. He doesn't rely too much on parrying with both hands which would be good for a fighter as upright and square on as him. Instead, he relies more on head movement than using his gloves and arms, which means hes very vulnerable to powerful shots such as straight rights and the uppercut. In his prime he wasn't quite as square on or upright and I thought that proved a better base from which too throw out his combinations and body attack, but also for his ability to avoid punches with his head movement.

 

like Sexy Faced Oscar did:hey:hey:hey

 

:yep

 

what do you think of Shane's clinching skills as a defensive maneuver?:think pass prime Shane was knew how to clinch and had a much easier time with margoe compared to emmanuel

 

Damn... that was a really good breakdown!! Good post

 

His clinching is pretty dependant on just his sheer physical strength. Manny didn't have that advantage over Margarito who is by all means a massive WW/JMW, Shane could afford to tie him up and bully him about inside the clinch. Manny on the other hands had the footwork, footspeed and endurance to keep Margarito turning all night and make Margarito follow him around the ring. I think what was more impressive about the Mosley fight was that many people would have wrote Mosley off as being unable to move continuously at that age and not get walked down by the bigger and stronger man, who had beaten Cotto into a pulp. Instead Mosley pretty much beat Margarito in a way that people for the most part wouldn't have expected him too. By beating the tar off of him he came forward with body shots and massive overhand rights, and then bully him all over the shot in the clinch.

It was a very deceiving fight (even for me personally, when I like to think of myself as being astute as far as styles go). I really should have known that Shane strength wouldn't have left him, and that any one would have to search far and wide to find a fighter at 147 who could take an endless amount of body and head punishment and have it left in him to bully Mosley in clinch, Antonio Margarito is not your man for that it turned out.

 

Good points about his defense. I'd like to point out that at Lightweight and early Welterweight, he angled his body in the style of Robinson a bit; the way he jabbed while keeping his head off-center and shuffling backwards (hence "Sugar" I suppose.) His guard was really his only real weakness in those days, and even then he rarely got hit. It annoys me when people say he was a black Mexican style fighter, and had no defense. So dumb. He could box and counter-punch well too, even by the time he fought Collazo. Roach commented on this in the lead up to the Pac fight and during the Shaq fight (lol).

 

Heart a 7.5? Lol, some people man. His adaptability was poor not his heart. I would not blame him for quitting against Mayweather or Pacquiao but he didn't though that's a shot Mosley. Against Forrest he still took the fight to him early in the rematch despite being almost ko'd in the first fight, that's not brave? He also had at least 3-4 rounds in the bag against Wright in the rematch proving again that he did better in rematches(except against DLH but that was roids and DLH just being the better fighter that night).


Mosley gets underrated and I'd take him as a young fighter over the usual cowards nowadays. His D was underrated but didn't become a liability until after his prime. Pretty exciting overall and gets too much hate for the steroid thing. He was more willing to take the ODST than Pacquiao was and eventually Shane did take the test so shouldn't that count for something? He even beat Margarito more impressively imo though it was not as brutal if that makes sense.(12 round beatdown>>>9th round stoppage)

 

True. Also there's no "Mexican" style. You can't compare Antonio "no defense" Margarito to the likes of Morales & Olivares.

 

Pretty interesting but you also have to consider that the punches landed stat is very skewed and only based on opinion. Stats say Calzaghe landed the most on Hopkins but true fans know that's bs(How?lol. '93 RJJ connected FAR more against Hopkins). I was more unimpressed with Pacquiao's lack of skill than with Mosley's defense when they fought but it was still an eyeraiser that Mosley looked like a young Pernell against Pacquiao most of the times.

 

:good

 

I think it says quite a bit, that a prime Shane Mosley was so able to easily handle Collazo with his boxing skill. Collazo is sort of the boogeyman of the 147 division for the past years in the same way Sergio Mora has been of sorts. He's been there to give up and coming fighters such as Hatton and Berto torrid nights, really making them look silly against his southpaw stance and his quick straight shots. When Shane faced him, he had no answer for Mosley's body attack and right hand. A past prime Mosley took him to the cleaners that night without really upping the gear to get the stoppage. Hatton and Berto on the other hand had to go life and death to scrap out a decision when both where in their respective physical primes. I think it does highlight quite a gulf between those greats of the 90's/early 2000's and some of the fresh meat around today.

I'll open a question. What would you consider Mosley's prime and peak years? I'd go with his prime being between 1996 (the Ramon Felix fight?) and ending after his second fight with de la Hoya in 2003. I think his absolute peak was from the Johnson fight and up till the second Forrest fight.