Shane Mosley - ' The best I've faced.'

Came across this Ring magazine article dating from the time Mosley was training for Mora. Mosley was asked to assess his best opponents, and his answers make for interesting reading :

Best overall fighter:

Four-way tie -- Mosley knew he was expected to say Mayweather when he was asked this question but shook his head and refused to name a single fighter. “Everybody had different strengths. Vernon Forrest had his strengths. Mayweather had his strengths. Oscar had his strengths. Winky had his strengths. I’d say they were all on the same level at the time I fought them.”

Best boxer:

Mayweather -- No hesitation here. Mosley was unable to cope with Mayweather’s skills for almost the entire 12 rounds. “His technique, his movement. He was just a very good boxer.”

Best puncher:

Forrest - - Forrest was the first to seriously hurt Mosley, who went down twice in the second round but survived to lose a one-sided decision in their first meeting. Mosley has never been knocked out in 53 fights. “I’m not sure why; maybe it was just natural. He just hit the hardest.”

Quickest hands:

De La Hoya -- Mosley was smiling when he responded to this question because, again, he knew the expected response was Mayweather. However, he was firm with his answer. “It wasn’t Mayweather. Actually, it was Oscar back then. Not now but back then.”

Quickest feet:

Mayweather -- Again, no hesitation. “Mayweather. Very fast.”

Best chin:

Zack Padilla -- Mosley cheated here because he didn’t face Padilla in an official bout but the two sparred well over 1,000 rounds over many years. His response in this category was probably his most enthusiastic. “He had the best chin. I hit him with sledge hammers and it didn’t hurt him. Ask anyone who has fought him and they’ll say the same thing.” Sadly, Mosley did hurt Padilla. He suffered a brain injury after a brutal session in 1994 and had to retire.

Best jab:

De La Hoya and Wright -- Mosley thought about this for a few minutes but couldn’t make his mind. “They both had a really good jab.”

Strongest:

Wright -- This isn’t a surprise because Mosley was still a natural welterweight and Wright was a mature junior middleweight when they met twice in 2004, Wright winning a one-sided decision in the first fight but barely gaining the nod in the second. “Winky didn’t have punching power but he was physically very strong. He was the strongest I faced.”

Smartest:

Mayweather -- One aspect of Mayweather’s game might be his ring savvy. Mosley didn’t hesitate before provided this response. “He’s just smart. He knows when to go in and when not to. He won’t take any chances. He won’t listen to the crowd or anything to get himself riled up. He stuck with his game plan.”

Best defense:

Tie, Wright and Mayweather -- Mosley at first gave Wright as his response to this question. On second thought, though, he wondered out loud whether Mayweather was the better choice. “I think Winky was the best defensive fighter I faced. Mayweather is more a slick counter puncher. … Well, I did hit Winky a lot. Maybe it’s Mayweather. Winky had more a smothering defense. He gets you tired, drains you. With Mayweather, you just can’t hit him really. It’s close. They have different types of defenses.”

One would think that if he can be so open and honest in that interview, he could try be honest with himself and admit it's time to hang up the gloves.

Of course you do realise Windy, that a certain poster will suggest all these picks will change once Mosley's had his next fight

Interesting piece Windy..

I imagine a lefty like Winky would be most fighters nightmare.....

He was a really compact quality fighter but damn was he boring. I don't miss him..

One man strugles with anothers easy prey.....

Seems like a pretty objective, considered summation by Shane...

DAVE667 wrote:One would think that if he can be so open and honest in that interview, he could try be honest with himself and admit it's time to hang up the gloves.

Of course you do realise Windy, that a certain poster will suggest all these picks will change once Mosley's had his next fight

I'm sure I don't know whom you mean, Dave.

In before 'He will have to rewrite all of them in a few months'.

Forrest's jab was fairly dominant against Mosley too, but those straight rights had him seeing stars. Exposed the lack of versatility of Mosley IMO, kept looking for the big punch.

Very hard for a guy who's whole adult life has been given to Boxing and has become his life to just hang it up....

Easier to just ignore the obvious....

You're right though I'm worried about the already slurring Mosley against Paccy..

Hatton aside he tends to hand out brutal beatings and i'm not sure Shane has another in him.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Interesting piece Windy..

I imagine a lefty like Winky would be most fighters nightmare.....

He was a really compact quality fighter but damn was he boring. I don't miss him..

One man strugles with anothers easy prey.....

Seems like a pretty objective, considered summation by Shane...

I know what you mean about Winky, Truss.

I can watch one Winky fight and be spellbound by his brilliance. Two and I'm half asleep. It's a bit like listening to certain musicians / bands, or whatever.

Fantastic craftsman, though.

Personally have never been too taken with Wright's defence, for me he does not really slip too much or draw mistakes he just seems to wear big gloves and tuck up pretty tight.

Is perhaps a little harsh as he has had plenty of success with his style but personally defensively would definitely give Floyd the edge.

Mayweather vs Winky would have been one of the most infuriating fights of all time

It's symptomatic of society when we say, that for the likes of Mosley and Holyfield, they're going to need an almighty beating of life threatening proportions before they call it a day

Scottrf wrote:In before 'He will have to rewrite all of them in a few months'.

Forrest's jab was fairly dominant against Mosley too, but those straight rights had him seeing stars. Exposed the lack of versatility of Mosley IMO, kept looking for the big punch.

Beat me to it.

D4thincarnation wrote:

Scottrf wrote:In before 'He will have to rewrite all of them in a few months'.

Forrest's jab was fairly dominant against Mosley too, but those straight rights had him seeing stars. Exposed the lack of versatility of Mosley IMO, kept looking for the big punch.

Beat me to it.

Qu'elle surprise.

Speaking of people who could do with a life threatening beating

Shame Mosley never faced a prime Tito.

Poor Cotto the only one that didn't get a mention from the fighters that beat Shane.

D4thincarnation wrote:Shame Mosley never faced a prime Tito.

Isn't it ' Shane ? '

Seems like a pretty fair summary by Mosley, not too much to grumble about. Hasn't done his 'nice guy' image too much damage. Nice to see Forrest getting a mention too, I suppose. A quality technician in his time, and people forget that Mosley was a lot of people's choice for the pound for pound top spot when Forrest took him to school.

Wasn't Forrest considerably larger than (a ring-rust-free, in-form) Mosley though?

BALTIMORA wrote:Wasn't Forrest considerably larger than (a ring-rust-free, in-form) Mosley though?

A lot taller, but also far lankier. Hearns type figure. That's just making excuses for him I think, don't think it was size that did it.

BALTIMORA wrote:Wasn't Forrest considerably larger than (a ring-rust-free, in-form) Mosley though?

No, he was taller but lanky, Forrest was a welter, Mosley was a welter too, and had just beating Oscar and was the p4p no.1

Scottrf wrote:

BALTIMORA wrote:Wasn't Forrest considerably larger than (a ring-rust-free, in-form) Mosley though?

A lot taller, but also far lankier. Hearns type figure. That's just making excuses for him I think, don't think it was size that did it.

Mosley will always struggle with guys who have handspeed, I personally think Mosley is slightly overrated. Easy nights for Pacquiao wouldn't be surprised if Mosley makes it past 6, he was washed up against Mayweather, 12 months after that beating can't see any improvement.

Cheers

Rodders

I'm not sure the Mayweather fight showed he was washed up, just that he couldn't adjust. The Mora fight did though.