Mosley, not Mayweather, is worthy of fan appreciation

The more I hear Floyd Mayweather’s mouth, the more I appreciate Shane Mosley.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate Mayweather at all. I do appreciate some things about the former five-division titleholder, who I consider, along with Mosley, to be among the best fighters I’ve had the privilege of covering in the late 1990s and this decade.

I think Mayweather’s overall ring generalship -- his balance, positioning, footwork, hand-eye coordination, head and upper-body movement, timing, punch accuracy and fluidity during a fight -- is a thing of beauty.

I understand the fans who celebrate Mayweather because of his superb skill and ring prowess, but I don’t agree that technique alone is enough to elevate a prize fighter to the top of the sport.

Professional boxing is more than technique, folks. (If technique is all you care about maybe figure skating should be your sport, not boxing.)

Boxing isn’t just about what a fighter does in the ring, it’s also about who he fights.

Mosley, who has always challenged the best fighters in the weight classes he occupied, gets it. Mayweather doesn’t.

The more we hear from “Money May” in the buildup to his July 18 comeback fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, the more we hear about who he won’t fight.

Manny Pacquiao, who earned universal recognition as the sport’s pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter after Mayweather “retired” last summer, appears to be on that list.

So is Mosley.

Mayweather tried to explain why the reigning pound-for-pound king and the sport’s best welterweight were not on his radar during a recent interview with ESPN’s Brian Kenny.

In that interview, which can be found on ESPN.com’s boxing page (http://espn.go.com/boxing/), Mayweather said a showdown with Pacquiao would be “hard to make” because he and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum “have a problem.”

Mosley was dismissed as a future opponent because he has “five losses” and is “not a pay-per-view attraction,” according to Mayweather.

Mayweather’s disrespect was enough to make the normally affable and reserved Mosley fire back.

“Floyd’s delusional,” Mosley said from his home in La Verne, California on Friday. “He talks about his pay-per-view numbers but everyone knows that it was Ricky (Hatton) and Oscar (De La Hoya) who brought in the fans and sold those pay-per-view buys. Before he fought De La Hoya his numbers were so disappointing HBO didn’t want him to fight on pay-per-view anymore.

“The fights with Oscar and Ricky, and the 24/7’s he did on HBO before those fights, got his name out there but I don’t think it made him more popular with boxing fans. I don’t think he’ll ever be as popular as he thinks he is until he really fights the best.”

Early in his career, when he campaigned in the 130- and 135-pound divisions, Mayweather did fight the best. He beat the likes of Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales, Jesus Chavez, and Jose Luis Castillo displaying once-in-a-lifetime talent and athletic gifts that were on par with Mosley’s abilities at lightweight.

Somewhere during his transition from lightweight to junior welterweight and welterweight in the middle part of the decade, Mayweather’s focus shifted from proving his potential greatness to protecting his undefeated record and making as much money as possible.

It can be argued that it worked out for him, as he made a small fortune fighting Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton in 2007, but it’s a damn shame. read more