In the months following his disappointing points loss to Manny Pacquiao this past May, Shane Mosley received his share of criticism due to his listless performance, with some even calling for the 40-year old’s retirement from the sport. One man who made a point to stand by Shane was the fighter’s trainer Naazim Richardson, who has been with him dating back to his January 2009 upset over Antonio Margarito.
Months went by without any real noise concerning Mosley’s future but this past week a shockwave went through the sport when it was revealed that the former five-time champion is being lined up for a May 5th fight with WBA junior middleweight king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto super fight.
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<--- Slideshow: Recent and bonus images of Shane Mosley's girlfriend Bella Gonzalez at photo shoots, with her man, and on the scene
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Richardson has yet to talk to Mosley in detail about the news but finds it odd that Mosley’s former promoter Golden Boy, who now co-promotes the budding Alvarez, has angled for the matchup.
“My thing is, the kid Saul Alvarez is a hot, young kid,” Richardson said on Sunday afternoon, taking a few minutes away from a family function to speak. “Golden Boy has him; Shane was once partners with Golden Boy. I don’t know how to look at that particular scenario. Is that Golden Boy thumbing their nose at Shane?”
And while the perception of everyone looking at him as a sacrificial lamb to the 21-year old Alvarez may serve as a chip on Mosley’s shoulder, Richardson has to wonder just how much motivation he would be able to summon.
“Is that going to be enough motivation for Shane to go in there and handle this kid?” asked Richardson. “Because you can see the kid is talented, you can see he is special but he still hasn’t really been tested. Are they picking Shane because they think he’ll be a significant test in front of the kid? There’s a lot of interesting scenarios to come up with that.”
A clear underdog heading into the Pacquiao fight, Mosley was dropped in the third round by a crisp left hand and would retreat the rest of the contest, showing no real signs of initiative along the way.
Asked how much dismay Shane took from that particular display, Richardson pointed to the obvious.
“Come on now, of course Shane was disappointed in his performance,” Richardson continued. “We know better than that. We know he’s more man than that. But these moments can happen to any human being. But like I said, if he can put that past him and keep it moving, and he’s still got something left, it is what it is. It’s a bad night and you keep it moving.”
Assessing Mosley’s chances come May 5th, Richardson can’t help but to respect how formidable Alvarez has become.
“For the most part it’s what you see in camp and the production that we get out of camp,” Richardson pointed out. “Like I said, ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has all the markings of one of the future guys. He’s shown us everything that these young champions have shown us coming up that matter thus far. He doesn’t fight like the cliché Mexican but he punches like that cliché’ hard-punching Mexican.”
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LATEST SLIDESHOWS FROM THE BOXING WORLD
Pacquiao makes an appearance on HBO's On Freddie Roach - In the fourth episode, Freddie Roach travels over to the Philippines and starts working with his premiere fighter, Manny Pacquiao, at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City
Inside Chavez Jr.-Rubio/Donaire-Vazquez Jr. - Donaire defeats Vazquez, Chavez Jr. overcomes Rubio - Candid shots from ringside of Donaire and Chavez's victories plus bonus shots of Mosley, Rigondeaux, and others / Massive Weigh-in Gallery - A closer look at all four HBO stars weighing in, and cameos by Roach, Arum, Merchant, and others / Tensions arise at final Donaire-Vazquez presser - See images of Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez going face to face plus bonus shots of Freddie Roach, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Bob Arum, Marco Antonio Rubio and others
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com and www.Twitter.com/CRHarmony
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