Mosley – Mayweather: “Pretty Sweet”

By Jason Pribila


By Jason Pribila: Have the contracts been signed? Check. Has there been an official press conference to announce the fight to the public? Check. Have tickets gone on sale? Check. Does the Promotion have a name? Umm, next question.

At the time of this writing we are only 57 days away (who’s counting?) from “Sugar” Shane Mosley facing Floyd “Money” Mayweather in the second biggest fight that could be made in boxing. No it is not Mayweather – Pacquiao, and I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t disappointed when negotiations between the two fell through. However, for me personally this is my dream fight.

In June of 1997, my boxing idol, Mike Tyson disgraced himself and the sport when he was DQ’d for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears during their second meeting. Once again the un-silent majority showed up in droves with shovels in hand in an attempt to bury the sport for good. Boxing’s cash cow just had a meltdown on the sport’s biggest stage and the barbaric nature of his act turned away fans that never came back.

The man who would eventually pick up that torch was still two years away from gaining the respect of fight fans that still weren’t convinced that he was anything more than a media creation. Oscar de la Hoya was coming off a close debated decision over the popular Pernell Whitaker. Beating up an old Julio Cesar Chavez did as much to alienate fans as it did to inspire them. It was not until a series of fights in 1999 against Ike Quartey, Oba Carr, and Felix Trinidad that Oscar had truly struck gold.

Eventually De la Hoya brought old and new fans back to the sport. However, for me that credit went to a lightweight from Pomona, California. I read an article in The RING magazine bracing fans for Mosley’s arrival. I was already on board the Mosley bandwagon when he won his first title on HBO against Philip Holiday. Paying for his PPV victory against De la Hoya in June of 2000, while at a friend’s engagement party, proved to be a much smarter investment than the champagne flutes I purchased earlier that day off their wedding registry. Mosley is still fighting, while my friend and his ex-fiancé decided to go their separate ways, and in essence stop fighting.

Last year I flew to Los Angeles for the Mosley – Margarito fight. I figured that the bout would either be Mosley’s last fight or his greatest victory. I had completed my report on the undercard before the fighters were announced, and I was able to enjoy the main event as a fan. Fortunately the demand for press credentials was so great that my seat was reserved in the rafters of the Staples Center. Apparently “Prib Notes” had yet to make a splash on the West Coast.

The question of who Mosley should fight next only had one answer. Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The man, who retired the pound for pound king and linear welterweight champion, now had a fight that would make enough dollars and sense to end his hiatus.

Of course I didn’t predict that it would take 16 months to happen. Nor did I think Manny Pacquiao would become a cross-over star so soon. But at the end of the day I got the fight I wanted all along.

Mosley and Mayweather are both elite athletes, but each handles their business as polar opposites. Each has also carved out a niche that has worked best for them.

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