Shane Mosley
New York, NY (Sports Network) – NFL football fans were just treated to Super Bowl 41-and-a-half, with the New England Patriots eking past the Indianapolis Colts, 24-20.
Now, fight fans can get ready for their very own Super Bowl, which will take place Saturday at the famed Madison Square Garden when former 3 division champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley (44-4, 37 KO’s) takes on undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto (30-0, 25KO’s). And while this fight won’t have the glitz or the promotion of Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr., it promises to be a much better fight, pitting Mosley’s speed and skill versus Cotto’s pressure and power.
It has the makings of a a fight similar to the 1990 classic between Meldrick Taylor and Julio Cesar Chavez. Cotto is the younger, fresher fighter at just 27 years old, while Mosley is the wily old vet looking to cement his legacy as one of the finest fighters of his era.
"I trained really hard for this fight," explained Cotto in a recent conference call with the media. "I’m pretty happy with that…I hope chances stay pretty good for bringing a good show to all the people."
Miguel Cotto is coming off a defining win over Zab Judah this past June, in a fight for which he gave all fans of the sport a night to remember. His consistent pressure of the fast and slick Judah led to an 11th-round TKO victory. The question people have going in is whether Cotto can duplicate that performance against a much better fighter in Mosley. Cotto believes his time has come.
"I don’t think at the age of 36 years old Shane can handle [me]," stated Cotto, believing that his youth and strength will carry the day.
Mosley, meanwhile, has been preparing for this fight in his usual seclusion in Big Bear, California, as he looks to once again place himself among the elite in the sport. Mosley is excited about the chance to fight in Madison Square Garden, a place where legends were made.
"It’s going to be a great feeling to be in Madison Square Garden to fight where all the legendary fighters fought," said Mosley. "You know, Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, all the great fighters fought in this arena. And for me to fight in there in the big arena with Miguel Cotto who is a great Puerto Rican fighter, young fighter, coming up, this is history in the making. And I love to be in these types of fights, with the crowd screaming." call with the Media.
What will happen on Saturday night? For that answer I reached out to get the opinion of former world title challenger and now elite trainer John "Iceman" Scully.
Scully explained, "This fight will be Cotto’s biggest test. But I wouldn’t say this is Mosley’s biggest test, as he has been in there with the best already. Shane is a little more well-rounded and he brings a lot to the table. Some of the things that were missing from Judah, Mosley has them because he is a higher-level fighter. Too bad he couldn’t have fought Cotto when he was younger, because I think the guy who beat De La Hoya a while back beats Cotto, no problem. But the sentiment for the fight seems preordained for Cotto. This will be the first time that Mosley will be going in as the opponent. The way it is going, I would consider it a slight upset to other people if Mosley were to win, just because of the sentiment…Every time Cotto has fought, he has been the stronger guy. So we will see this time. Shane has looked really good in his last few fights, but not the way he looked in his first fight with Oscar."
Just read the above analysis from Scully and you pretty much have my thoughts as well. I think a young Mosley would have won comfortably over Cotto, but this is an older fighter, so this will be a very close fight until the end. The question is, will Mosley be able to keep Cotto off of him? If not, Cotto will win, but if Mosley can control the action, Mosley will prevail. Mosley has more speed and the higher skill level, but Cotto has fantastic skills along with great strength. So you want my opinion? I think it will be the fight of the year. Who do I think will win? The fans will win.
Source: Mosley vs. Cotto – Fight of the Year?
