By Allan Fox: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is going to be playing it safe with former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KO’s) by putting him in with 41-year-old Shane Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KO’s) in the late summer rather than letting Ortiz fight Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, who is really itching for a fight with Ortiz.
You can’t blame Schaefer for wanting to take it easy with Ortiz. He’s lost his last two fights and is coming off of a 9th round stoppage loss to Josesito Lopez last year in June in a fight where Ortiz suffered a broken jaw and ended up quitting on his stool.
Schaefer said to Dan Rafael at ESPN “I would like to see it [Ortiz-Mosley]. Both guys have a lot to prove if they want to fight for a title again. I ask people. ‘Who do you think wins?’ And the response is split. That makes it an interesting fight for me.”
What Schaefer should be asking is who wants to see Ortiz vs. Mosley? I think Schaefer might not look what he hears. Not too many boxing fans want to see Ortiz waste a fight against Mosley; not when there are much better options for Ortiz out there such as Robert Guerrero, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia, Marcos Maidana, Josesito Lopez or Amir Khan. Putting Ortiz in with Mosley is kind of let down.
It shows that Schaefer doesn’t understand what boxing fans want to see. Mosley just picked up his first win in the last four years in beating 2nd tier fighter Pablo Cesar Cano last month, and Mosley had to really struggle hard to beat him by a close 12 round unanimous decision. This is the same Cano that a shot Erik Morales destroyed easily in 2011.
Mosley doesn’t have enough left to beat Ortiz, but if he does then what can Schaefer do with Ortiz after that? He’ll be pretty much finished if he can’t beat Mosley. That’s a fight that you’ve got to win if you’re a top 15 contender in the division.
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