By Chris Cella
This Saturday night from the Grand Oasis Resort in Cancun, Mexico, young and up-and-coming welterweight prospect “El Demoledor” Pablo Cesar Cano (26-2-1, 20 KO) will face former three-division world champion and future Hall-of-Famer Sugar Shane Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KO) in a 12-round contest for the vacant WBC International Welterweight Title.
The 23-year-old Cano is coming off a close split decision loss to Paulie Malignaggi last October, a fight which many argued the young Mexican pulled off and should have emerged victoriously from.
Emerging onto the professional fight scene in 2006, Cano has rapidly risen through the rankings with his heavy hands and ability to close out a fight. In addition to the loss against Malignaggi, the only other defeat suffered was against former champion Erik Morales.
Shane Mosley has already solidified his legacy between the ropes, having gone to battle with and defeating countless world champion and future Hall-of-Famers. Over the past few years he has been unable to maintain any type of winning streak, a major reason due him facing the most elite competition out there. He hasn’t had his arm raised in over four years, so there is a big motivation on his side to go in Saturday night and get things done.
Mosley has soared through his career due to his power and lightning fast hands, and although Father Time has caught up with the boxer in the latter part of his career, he still has the skills and knowledge to derail the young Mexican’s hopes of fighting for a belt in 2013.
When not preparing for his own fights, Mosley lends his time sparring with contenders, but still he has some gas left in the tank to go to war.
Cano has prided himself on his conditioning and ability to last in the fight, so he will surely look to make Mosley work often and early, looking to wear down the elder fighter.
This is a huge opportunity for Cano to get back into contention to fight for the hardware, while for Mosley it is proving that he still has what it takes to bang with the young guns.
Live action of the telecast of Cano vs. Mosley will get started this Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. on Fight Network.
