By Eric Thomas: Former three division world champion Shane Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO’s) will be turning 41-years-old in six months and he’s starting to really show his age, not only inside of the ring but outside as well. Mosley just looks like a 40-year-old and compared to his May 5th opponent WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KO’s), Mosley looks old enough to be his dad.
Mosley has been chosen as the sacrificial lamb for the young 21-year-old Alvarez to slaughter on the 5th of May in their HBO pay-per-view bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alvarez is the new star on the boxing block and Mosley wasn’t selected for his potential to beat Alvarez. He was clearly chosen to give a name to Alvarez’s resume and some credibility. The casual boxing fans will see the fight and figure Alvarez is the s**t because he’s beating Mosley. Some of them won’t know that Mosley is way past his best. That’s the whole idea about matching a young fighter like Alvarez against an old lion like Mosley. However, with that said, Mosley has a small chance in this fight if he comes out of the blocks fighting as hard as he can shooting for a knockout. That’s the only way he can possibly beat Alvarez.
Mosley’s not going to be able to beat Alvarez with his punch and grab technique he used in beating Antonio Margarito by a 9th round TKO in January 2009. That won’t work against Alvarez. He fights too good on the inside for that to work. Incidentally, that was the last time that Mosley won a fight. It’s been three solid years since Mosley last had his hand raised in victory. But he still has a chance because Alvarez is vulnerable early in his fights against guys that start fast against him. Jose Miguel Cotto staggered Alvarez in the 1st round of their fight in May 2010. Unfortunately for Cotto, he was unable to finish off a hurt Alvarez once he had him staggering.
Mosley has to see the fight like a one or two round fight instead of a 12 rounder. He’s got to go all out in the first couple of rounds by flurrying on Alvarez to try and get him out of there fast, because if he doesn’t he’s going to lose badly and possibly get stopped. Mosley might as well rush Alvarez because the alternative is to take a slow methodical beating over 12 rounds, and I doubt Mosley wants that.
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