By Sean Crose
So yeah, two guys who were over the hill got it on Saturday in California for a chance to reclaim some glory and relevance. The second fight between Shane Mosely (47-9-1) and Ricardo Mayorga (31-8-1) may not have been one fans were dying to see, but it had the potential to be entertaining, nonetheless.
Mosely looked in decent shape. Mayorga looked a bit physically sloppy. Still, the old school tough guy claimed he was going to knock out Mosely in round one. Ironically enough, however, it was Mosely who nailed Mayorga with a hard right almost immediately. Needless to say, “Sugar Shane” carried the opening chapter.
Mayorga started the second with a bit more aggression. Three huge rights hurt Mayorga, however, and Mosley already had his foe in danger. Mayorga survived the round, but Mosely was clearly the man in control. Mayorga tried to lure Mosley into a brawl in the third – a tactic that briefly worked. Mosley landed the harder shots throughout the round, but Mayorga actually seemed to love the fact that he was in a brawl.
The next few rounds were not the most exciting three minute intervals of boxing. Nothing particularly eventful happened. Mosley’s jab, though, was proving effective enough to keep Mayorga away from doing serious damage. Credit also had to go to Mosley’s right hand, as well, which was helping him pretty much drive the fight from his own comfort zone.
A hard left hook in the sixth from Mosely got Mayorga motivated. In fact, he came back and scored with a hard left hook of his own. Yet Mayorga was down before the round was over. What’s more, he was counted out – despite the fact Mayorga claimed it was a low blow that sent him to the canvas. It wasn’t a low blow, however, it was a destructive body shot from Mosley. He could complain all he wanted to, but Mayorga was now 0-2 against Sugar Shane.
The match certainly wasn’t a terrible affair, though it’s doubtful the victory will put Mosley back in the running to face a serious opponent. Still, fans got to see a very impressive knockout and some solid action. For a pay per view affair that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, it was hard to call the bout a dud. The viewers at home, as well as the crowd at the Forum in Inglewood, California pretty much got what they should have expected.
Earlier in the night, Yulihan Luna (12-2) fought Maureen Shea (24-2) to a draw. Joel Diaz Jr (19-0) also made Luis Arcea call it quits after the fifth round (28-13-4).