When Sugar Shane Mosley next enters the ring it will have been nearly a year since his last fight, but he won't be getting any slack from his opponent, WBC junior middleweight beltholder Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
The 21-year-old Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 knockouts) is 19 years younger than Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs), and will bring a substantial amount of Mexican star power to their May 5 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the precursor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto.
Mosley feels strongly that he can defeat the younger man, though, despite the fact that he is 0-2-1 in his past three bouts and is returning to the site of his past two losses: one-sided unanimous decisions against Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
The clash offers Mosley a shot at his sixth major title over the course of three divisions.
Alvarez is after the fourth straight knockout in as many defenses of the belt he won by unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton last March, and he's coming off a fifth-round knockout of former welterweight beltholder Kermit Cintron in November.
******.com: I understand that you're already in Big Bear feeling good about facing Alvarez?
Shane Mosley: I'm ready to fight. I'm excited. I think that it's a great fight for me to put me back on the map. He has the belts and I think that it's going to put me in line for bigger and better things.
But I have to get past him, so let's do it. But he's hungry and he's looking to take out a legend.
******.com: What do you say to those who would say that you're in for a tough night since you turned 40 in September and will not have been in the ring for two days short of a year by the time you enter the ring against Alvarez?
SM: I really don't have anything to say about that. I think that I just have to let my fists do the talking and then we'll move on from there.
******.com: Any thoughts on the fact that you're fighting in the same place where you lost your last two bouts against Mayweather and Pacquiao ironically in the same month -- May?
SM: No. I just think that there are some things that I need to do, like going into the ring at 100 percent healthy. And being able to fight with a guy like Canelo Alvarez, that's going to be a great fight.
******.com: No problems with the fact that you're not the main event?
SM: No, not at all. There are a lot of guys who would love to be in this position to fight for another world title. I'm fortunate, because I have an opportunity to make a statement.
Plus, being able to fight on the undercard of Mayweather and Cotto, two great fighters, that card's going to be a phenomenal card and it's going to be a phenomenal night of great fighting.
******.com: What are your thoughts on the last couple of fights you've seen of Alvarez's?
SM: I saw the fight against Gomez. He looked strong and he had some pretty good punches. I will just have to review the tapes and the CDs and to see exactly what his strengths and weakness are.
And then I'll dissect them. I know that Canelo is a young fighter and he's a strong fighter and you can't take any fighter lightly. Plus he's a world champion, and wearing another belt at 154 would be a tremendous accomplishment for me, especially at 40.
******.com: What opportunity do you believe that Alvarez sees in facing you?
SM: I think that what he sees is the chance to gain credibility, meaning that the guys that he's fought were not on that top level. So if he can manage to win, he can probably get a name under his belt, in the name of Sugar Shane Mosley.
I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have a name of my caliber under his belt, and so that's what he's looking for with this fight.
******.com: What is your answer to that?
SM: Well, I think that he's disillusioned. I think that Golden Boy and his entire team are disillusioned with what they believe is going to happen with this fight. It's an illusion. It's not what it seems. I'm not what they think that I am.
I'm not over the hill. I'm not done. I'm not what they think. I think that they'll find out. In fact, I'm sure that they'll find that out when we're in the ring the night that the fight happens.
******.com: Can you knock out Alvarez?
SM: I think that I have the punching power to knock him out. He's been knocked down before by lesser opponents, so I think that anything's possible
The 21-year-old Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 knockouts) is 19 years younger than Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs), and will bring a substantial amount of Mexican star power to their May 5 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as the precursor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto.
Mosley feels strongly that he can defeat the younger man, though, despite the fact that he is 0-2-1 in his past three bouts and is returning to the site of his past two losses: one-sided unanimous decisions against Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
The clash offers Mosley a shot at his sixth major title over the course of three divisions.
Alvarez is after the fourth straight knockout in as many defenses of the belt he won by unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton last March, and he's coming off a fifth-round knockout of former welterweight beltholder Kermit Cintron in November.
******.com: I understand that you're already in Big Bear feeling good about facing Alvarez?
Shane Mosley: I'm ready to fight. I'm excited. I think that it's a great fight for me to put me back on the map. He has the belts and I think that it's going to put me in line for bigger and better things.
But I have to get past him, so let's do it. But he's hungry and he's looking to take out a legend.
******.com: What do you say to those who would say that you're in for a tough night since you turned 40 in September and will not have been in the ring for two days short of a year by the time you enter the ring against Alvarez?
SM: I really don't have anything to say about that. I think that I just have to let my fists do the talking and then we'll move on from there.
******.com: Any thoughts on the fact that you're fighting in the same place where you lost your last two bouts against Mayweather and Pacquiao ironically in the same month -- May?
SM: No. I just think that there are some things that I need to do, like going into the ring at 100 percent healthy. And being able to fight with a guy like Canelo Alvarez, that's going to be a great fight.
******.com: No problems with the fact that you're not the main event?
SM: No, not at all. There are a lot of guys who would love to be in this position to fight for another world title. I'm fortunate, because I have an opportunity to make a statement.
Plus, being able to fight on the undercard of Mayweather and Cotto, two great fighters, that card's going to be a phenomenal card and it's going to be a phenomenal night of great fighting.
******.com: What are your thoughts on the last couple of fights you've seen of Alvarez's?
SM: I saw the fight against Gomez. He looked strong and he had some pretty good punches. I will just have to review the tapes and the CDs and to see exactly what his strengths and weakness are.
And then I'll dissect them. I know that Canelo is a young fighter and he's a strong fighter and you can't take any fighter lightly. Plus he's a world champion, and wearing another belt at 154 would be a tremendous accomplishment for me, especially at 40.
******.com: What opportunity do you believe that Alvarez sees in facing you?
SM: I think that what he sees is the chance to gain credibility, meaning that the guys that he's fought were not on that top level. So if he can manage to win, he can probably get a name under his belt, in the name of Sugar Shane Mosley.
I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have a name of my caliber under his belt, and so that's what he's looking for with this fight.
******.com: What is your answer to that?
SM: Well, I think that he's disillusioned. I think that Golden Boy and his entire team are disillusioned with what they believe is going to happen with this fight. It's an illusion. It's not what it seems. I'm not what they think that I am.
I'm not over the hill. I'm not done. I'm not what they think. I think that they'll find out. In fact, I'm sure that they'll find that out when we're in the ring the night that the fight happens.
******.com: Can you knock out Alvarez?
SM: I think that I have the punching power to knock him out. He's been knocked down before by lesser opponents, so I think that anything's possible
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