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Mosley wants to take boxing back to the golden days, promote in S. Korea

August 29, 2015

Shane Mosley poses at an official weigh-in on Aug. 28, 2015, before his fight against Ricardo Mayorga at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (Brian Han/Korea Times)

By Brian Han

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Former championship boxer Shane Mosley is stepping out of retirement for the second time and back into the ring on Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Although many critics are skeptical and even confused by the decision to fight in a rematch with Ricardo Mayorga, the answer is simple for him.

“I love to fight and I love to box,” he told the Korea Times on Friday during an official weigh-in. “That’s all it is. I have so much respect for this sport and I want to bring it back to the way it was back in the 80s and 90s.”

Trying to revitalize boxing by fighting again may not be a means to that end, but through his company GoBox Promotions he hopes to accomplish a variety of things to help the cause.

That includes taking the sport overseas to places like South Korea.

“There’s no doubt that I would love to take my work to places like Korea,” he said. “I haven’t been there yet, but I would even be open to bringing fighters from overseas. There are great Korean boxers out there. I’ve been thinking about places like Russia, China and Macau, too.”

Another angle is championing women’s representation inside the ring. It’s something he feels needs to change.

“It’s an important issue,” he said. “The UFC has women fighters coming out making a lot of noise, like Ronda Rousey. We have a lot of talented and beautiful female boxers out there and it’s a shame that they haven’t been able to get back on the map, but we’re going to change that Saturday night.”

In fact women’s boxing has not been shown on pay-per-view in over 10 years, and Mosley and his company have teamed up with the International Female Boxing Association to help produce a title fight between championship belt holders Yulihan Luna and Maureen Shea.

“This is the second time Shane has worked with the IFBA and we’re more than happy that he’s on board and helping expose this hidden world of talented female boxers,” IFBA Director of Boxing Operations Kim Messer-Caminschi said.

But really, Mosley’s drive comes down to the most basic of instincts — the desire to win.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “I want to get in at least three to four more fights against guys like Mayweather, Pacquiao and Cotto. Then I can ride off into the sunset and just focus on promoting. I want to get back in the ring and show my talents and show that I’m the best fighter today.”

It’s a bold statement, but it illustrates his confidence before going toe-to-toe against Mayorga. The two last fought in 2008 when Mosley won the match after knocking out Mayorga in the final round.

He assures that his main priority is to bring boxing back from its dip in popularity and he’s ready to invest himself fully into that cause. But now that he’s getting older, it’s becoming evident that he’s more attuned to putting on the promoter’s hat when looking at the sport.

“The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was lackluster, but I don’t mean anything against them,” he said. “They’re both sharpshooters, but if you put two technicians in the ring, it’s not going to be a fan-friendly show. If I promote a fight or I’m in the ring, I’ll try to make sure something exciting happens. Something that’s good for the sport and good for the fans.”

“It’s not about money, it’s about the long term vision to bring this sport back to what it can be,” he said.