By Dan Ambrose: This Saturday’s fight between Shane Mosley (49-9-1 41 KOs) and interim WBA welterweight champion David Avanesyan (21-1-1, 11 KOs) will be facing the winner of the Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter fight, according to the World Boxing Association. That’s good for the Mosley- Avanesyan winner and potentially a good thing for the Porter vs. Thurman winner if they’re looking for a lesser threat.
That’s not a knock on Mosley and Avanesyan, but neither of them look like solid fighters compared to some of the other top guys in the division. It’s a perfect situation for the Thurman-Porter winner because they’ll wind up with an opponent that will be little more than a stay busy fight for them rather than someone that has the talent to defeat them.
Mosley and Avanesyan will be fighting at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The 27-year-old Avanesyan is a narrow favorite to win the fight, but it’s still a fight that could easily go the way of the 44-year-old Mosley.
There are many unknowns about Avanesyan right now, because he still hasn’t fought anyone decent during his short seven-year pro career. Thus far, Avanesyan has been mostly padding his record with easy fights since he turned pro. He was beaten by Andrey Klimov by a six round decision in his second fight of his career in July 2009. Avanesyan was held to a 12 round draw against Aslanbek Kozaev in March 2013.
The reason why Avanesyan is likely the favorite over Mosley is because he’s a lot younger, and he’s got fast hands and decent punching power. Avanesyan covers up much of the time and then explodes on his opponents in throwing three to four punches. That style is hard to deal with because he’s like a firecracker in the ring. Mosley will likely be the busier guy, but Avanesyan will be catching the attention of the judges with his bursts of punches. Unless Mosley’s defense is sound on Saturday night, he’s going to get hit a lot with some eye-catching shots from Avanesyan.
The World Boxing Association seems to have given Mosley a ranking based on things did earlier in his career rather than the things he’s done since his comeback. Mosley has beaten two fighters – Ricardo Mayorga and Patrick Lopez. Mosely’s wins over those guys shouldn’t have resulted in him getting ranked at No.3. The WBA’s high ranking for Mosley has led him this far, but he’s going to need youth and talent to beat Avanesyan on Saturday night, and I don’t think he has enough of either at this point in his career to get the job done.
Thurman will be defending his WBA welterweight title against Porter on June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. That’s a toss-up fight. Some boxing fans think Thurman will be too much for Porter, but it’s impossible to say because Thurman has looked vulnerable in several of his fights. He’s also not shown the ability to stand in the pocket. Thurman’s style is a timid hit and run style, and that kind of style only works if you run and not get caught or cornered.