Mora could get big opportunities if he beats Mosley on Saturday

By Boxing News - 09/16/2010 - Comments

Image: Mora could get big opportunities if he beats Mosley on SaturdayBy Jim Dower: Former WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KO’s) could find himself in some big fights if he can somehow find a way to beat boxing great Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KO’s) on Saturday in their fight at the Staples Center. For the 29-year-old Mora, beating the 39-year-old Mosley would be a dream come true, as it would open up possible fights against the likes of Miguel Cotto, Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez.

For a fighter like Mora, who hasn’t been talked about much since losing his rematch against Vernon Forrest two years ago in September 2008, this would be a huge win for him. Mora hasn’t gotten the big money fights some of the other boxers have received, and this would be a great thing for him if he were to suddenly have his career turned completely around and finding himself in big pay per view bouts against the biggest stars in boxing. First, however, Mora has to beat Mosley on Saturday night. Mosley is favored to beat Mora.

However, you can’t really be sure how much Mosley has left in the tank after his one sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his last fight in May. Mosley said that his neck was hurting him in that fight and every time he moved, it hurt him even more. That may be true, but Mosley didn’t look good in his win over Ricardo Mayorya two years ago either. Mosley’s work rate has dropped off considerably from his prime. It wasn’t as noticeable in his win over Antonio Margarito last year, Mosley did a lot of clinching in that fight and there wasn’t a lot of sustained action.

Mora won’t be a stationary target for Mosley, so this is going to have a different look to this fight. Mosley will have to pursue and take advantage of the brief periods in which Mora does choose to exchange with him. With Mora, he’s the type of fighter that likes to peck away with jabs and throw counter shots. He’s not going to try and go right after Mosley and match him power shot for power shot the way that Margarito did. Mosley clearly has the bigger power of the two, but unless he has a way of delivering his shots, he’s going to be unable to land against the constantly moving Mora.

It’s not easy to hit Mora under the best of circumstances, but it’s possible. But you have to really apply a lot of pressure on him and try to cut off the ring. Mosley has never really been all that good at that. Mosley has done well against fighter that come straight at him and look to punch. If Mora fights like that, then I see Mosley easily winning. However, if Mora chooses to box Mosley, we could be seeing an upset with Mora winning.



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