In part 1 of my “On The Ropes” interview with Shane Mosley, he discusses his decision to take a fight with Anthony Mundine and what he believes this fight will do for his boxing career. Shane also talks about his last fight that saw him get his hand raised as the winner for the first time in 4 years. Additionally Mosley talked about Saul “Canelo” Alvarez training at his gym, and also stated his reasons why he chose not to spar a man he once faced in the ring before. Here is what Shane Mosley had to say.
Jenna J: Shane your next fight is set, you will be facing off against Anthony Mundine on October 23rd. How do you feel about this match up?
Shane Mosley: I think it’s going to be a great fight, I know I have a lot of Australian fans out there, it’s going to be buzzing, real big there in Australia. I’m excited to go out there again, I have been out there a few times already but I decided to go back and be able to face a fighter like Anthony Mundine.
Jenna J: What do you think this fight is going to do for your career Shane? You are going back up to 154 pounds, what do you think this fight will do for you if you can win it?
Mosley: This fight is going to give me a million dollars in my bank account. That’s what it will do for my career at this point. After that I will do back down to welterweight and resume my fighting at welterweight to win a world title and dominate the division.
Jenna J: Now this will only be your second time fighting out of the united states, the first being in your last fight against [Pablo Cesar]Cano. Do you think that experience was good to prepare you for stepping in front of a potentially hostile crowd?
Mosley: Well being that I have been to Australia a couple of times I don’t think it will be too hostile, I know a lot of people out there, and the fans welcome me very well. There is going to be a lot of people there, but I don’t know if they will be hostile or not.
Jenna J: Shane, I mentioned your last fight briefly a second about, and I want to get your thoughts on it. You faced Pablo Caesar Cano and got your first win since the Margarito fight. What I saw in this fight was fire, you were more aggressive then you had been a lot of your recent fights. Was there any change in yourself for the Cano fight?
Mosley: The difference in the Cano fight was that I was able to move, I was not injured. My other fights I was injured when I fought this time I was not injured, and I have more fire in my belly to prove to people that I’m still relevant, and still could fight, fight at that level. Cano is a great fighter, a young fighter and will be champion pretty soon. He went up against Paulie Malignaggi and had a great outing with him, that a lot of people thought he won, and Paulie had a great outing with Adrien Broner, so that let’s you know Sugar Shane Mosley is still around. I’m getting better and better, my legs are getting better, I’m not injured anymore and I’m ready to fight.
Jenna J: The fight you had against Cano, both you guys actually hurt each other at one point later in the match he actually had you hurt. What did you think of the action in the fight, and how the crowd responded?
Mosley: It was great going to Mexico and fighting. With that type of fight and Cano he surprised me that he had good power at the welterweight division, being young and having the heavy hands, he was actually a tough fighter, and it let people know I can hit hard, but also can take a punch well too.
Jenna J: Speaking of young tough fighters, you got into the ring with one over a year ago, that being with Saul Alvarez. He was down in Big Bear training for the fight, so I’m curious what you have seen from him?
Mosley: Well he has sparred my son 5 times already, my son was one of his sparring partners, and stayed in there and was able to hang through the whole camp so I’m very happy about that. I think it gave my son a lot of confidence in himself and really helped out a lot. I think he’s sharp, he’s fast, I think he looks good.
Jenna J: Shane, as a father was it hard for you see your son in the ring with a fighter you fought just last year, did you get at all nervous about that?
Mosley: No, not at all. My son is a little bigger than me, he fights at 165 in the amateurs, but he’s a good fighter and I know he can be world champion one day. All it takes is confidence and mentality , he’s there, he’s ready to go and even Canelo told him he punches very hard and he is a good fighter. That was a lot for my son to hear.
Jenna J:Alright Shane, we recently saw in the “All Access” show for the build up of the fight that they actually asked you if you wanted to spar Saul Alvarez and you chose not to. What was the reason behind that?
Mosley: The reason behind not getting in the ring with Alvarez was because I wanted to keep the honor in the fight with Floyd Mayweather and with Saul, I didn’t want to be the factor of that, of coming in between those guys fighting. It had nothing to do with Saul Alvarez and us fighting each other. I just wanted to keep it neutral. It was ok for Saul to use my gym and all that stuff but I just didn’t want to be the factor you know.
Mayweather already made claims to Oscar De La Hoya being a hater and not really liking him and all that other stuff. I didn’t want to be involved with that mix up, let them do their fight and hopefully I can fight Mayweather or Saul Alvarez in the future, again healthy, this time healthy. I think that’s my ambition is to be healthy, go into the fight, rule the welterweight division like I know I can and then maybe from there we can talk about different things.
