Why the arrival of Sugar Shane doesn't taste so sweet

 

 

Danny Green thought his crushing win over Roy Jones would launch him into some mega fights in the US.

His next two fights were against Manny Siaca and Paul Briggs, which eventually led to a shot at Antonio Tarver, which was just his second fight in three years.

The reason – The Boxing world knew Jones was done and that the win meant nothing in the larger scheme of things.

Now Anthony Mundine will bring the next superstar to our shores in “Sugar” Shane Mosley. A man who is guaranteed a place in the Hall of Fame, with two victories over Oscar De La Hoya and a World Champion across three weight divisions.

There is no denying Mosley is one of the biggest names this country will have ever seen, but Mosley is well past his prime.

Sure his recent resume makes good reading. Fights with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez case in point. But looking beyond the names and having seen each fight, Mosley was never in the contest.

Sure he had Mayweather in trouble for a round in their fight, but he didn’t come close to winning another round thereafter.  It was a complete shutout in the Pacquiao fight and whilst he showed heart against Alvarez, it was again largely one sided.

The fact is he was won only one fight in his last five, with a draw against The Contender winner Sergio Mora separating three straight losses.

His only win in those five came in his last fight against Pablo Cesar Cano, who at 26-2 is reputable, but not yet world class.

There’s a similar angle being played here to the one used in the build-up to the Green-Jones fight. Jones defeated an equally done Jeff Lacy to setup the Green bout, with the marketers now able to say that Jones was back.

Lacy in his day was real quality, but after being destroyed by Joe Calzaghe, he rode a steady ride to oblivion. The Super Middleweight fought Jones at Cruiserweight, with Lacy adding the extra mass at the Hot Dog stand and not in the gym. Jones was too fast and looked good in the process, but as we saw in his fight against Green it was all smoke and mirrors.

I wrote in my preview of that Green-Jones fight that you’d have to question the willingness of an aged fighter to get into a war, when they are already guaranteed $1-2 million before stepping in the ring. Why hurt yourself for good when the cheque is as good as cashed?

Mosley’s fights have taken a similar trend in recent times, with the fighter seemingly more interested in self preservation than actually winning.

It isn’t just the Boxing world saying these things; Sugar Shane even decided so himself, retiring earlier this year, before the Mundine offer tempted him out of retirement with a nice big superannuation cheque to go along with it.

A Mundine v Mosley fight will do good business, simply because Mosley still remains a name. The fact Mosley has continued to fight for the last two years despite everyone telling him to give the game away is based on that very fact.

Mosley will sell tickets, something Anthony “The Man” Mundine has never struggled doing either. But Mundine has always been criticised of taking the easy options in his quest for world domination and his decision to take this fight over others will again give writers like me ammunition.

It wasn’t long ago that Mundine turned down the chance to fight Austin Trout for a shot at Miguel Cotto, despite being the WBA No.2 and Trout No.1. Trout would not only go on to defeat Cotto but walk into a fight with Canelo Alvarez, two fights that Mundine has filled newspapers talking about for the past few years.

The easiest way to get noticed in boxing is to pick the hardest fight possible and make a statement. Sometimes your risk will pay off like it did for Daniel Geale, who walked into Germany twice and won and could now be just a fight away from a Middleweight superfight.

 Mundine v Mosley will sell tickets and do well on PPV, and truth be told, I will most likely buy it, but I did buy Fenech v Nelson 3!

The fact is a Mundine win will not do anything more than line his pockets. His credibility won’t rise and neither Alvarez, Mayweather nor Pacquiao will come knocking at his door.

Boxing fans know where Mosley sits in the current scheme of things and it’s the same place Roy Jones sat in 2009.

I’ve seen the story before and I know its ending.

The winner will use the victory to try and make as much noise as possible in the days and months following the fight in the hope that another payday will land in their lap.

 They'll proclaim that they are ready for the biggest and baddest that the boxing world has to offer.

But the best won’t come, because the best left both “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Anthony “The Man” Mundine a long time ago.

Follow Adam on Twitter at - @adamsantarossa