Lately it has been the young against the old in the boxing world. Last weekend the younger Chad Dawson (31-1, 17KO‘s) defeated Bernard Hopkins (52-6, 32KO’s) and several weeks ago, Danny Garcia (23-0, 14KO‘s) defeated Erik Morales (52-8, 36KO’s). No disrespect to any of these great champions, but it may be time to hang up the gloves. This weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the young WBC Super Welterweight champion Saul “el Canelo” Alvarez (39-0, 29KO’s) will be defending his title against the 40 year old Shane Mosley (46-7, 39KO’s). It is the undercard of the Miguel Cotto v. Floyd Mayweather fight and it will change the careers of both of these fighters.
Shane Mosley has had his day in the boxing sun and it may be time to do the same. Mosley has won six world titles and has fought against such great fighters as Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30KO‘s), Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30KO’s), Antonio Margarito (38-8), Mayweather (42-0), and the pound for pound king of the ring, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. In his last six fights Mosley has lost to Cotto, Mayweather, and Pacquiao. Granted he did bring back the clock against Antonio Margarito, but against Pacquiao he went down in the third round and Pacquiao carried him the rest of the way.
This time the rising 21year old Alvarez, who has 29 out of 39 fights by knockout, will probably be too much for the older Mosley. Although the reigning WBC Super Welterweight champion Canelo has a mighty knockout punch, he doesn’t plan on going for the knockout, unless the chance arises. He has said “My mentality is to go in there, perform and win, but not look for the knockout. When you go out there and look for the knockout, other obstacles will come through and you don’t get your plan out…I’m ready for 12 rounds.” Alvarez also goes on to say “The key in this fight for me is not to get desperate. I have to take my time and stick to my game plan,” “This is just another test, another gate that I have to walk through. With Mosley being who he is, I feel that I have entered the big leagues. There will be way bigger fights and better things for me.” Although Mosley was able to escape from getting knocked out by Pacquiao and Mayweather, El Canelo will not have any mercy and may well be the first fighter to knock out the slick Mosley. Mosley is quoted as saying “I feel really confident that I can withstand whatever he throws at me,” and that may be the case, but he may not be able to withstand it for 12 rounds.
Canelo, the biggest boxing star coming out of Mexico and a huge fan favorite, is being guided along by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions. If Canelo wins, this will catapult him to bigger and better fights in his young career. This win could set him up for such opponents as Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, and even Mexican fan favorite, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.
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