Jack Mosley is no dummy. He has learned a thing or two during his many years as trainer for his son, “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Psychological warfare is one of them, according to Bob Arum.
Arum is Miguel Cotto’s promoter. Cotto will defend his welterweight championship against Shane Mosley on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As is usually the case, there has been a level of trash-talking between the camps, although nothing similar to what we hear from the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricardo Mayorga, two of the biggest talkers in the game.
But Jack Mosley seemed to touch a nerve with Arum when he said during a recent conference call that Cotto “is worried sick” about Saturday’s bout. According to Arum, Jack Mosley doesn’t really feel that way. Rather, he is just trying to make his son believe that he has the upper hand going in.
Arum noted that trainer Emanuel Steward tried to do the same thing before his fighter, Jermain Taylor, was stopped in the seventh round of his middleweight title defense against Kelly Pavlik on Sept. 29. Pavlik is promoted by Arum.
Therefore, Arum said, Jack Mosley’s words were music to his ears.
“And what does that music mean?” Arum said. “That music means that Taylor, in the case of Steward, and Shane, in the case of Jack, are afraid because they know the kind of fighter that Pavlik is and that Miguel is. And so they (the respective trainers) say things to demean the fighter in order to get their fighter more confident because they’re worried. Obviously, Emanuel was worried about Jermain’s confidence, and with reason. And Jack is obviously worried about Shane’s confidence.
“And so they say things to demean the opponent. When Shane has fought a whole host of guys who were relatively easy opponents, you never heard Jack demean the opponent, did you? I’ve never heard Jack demean an opponent, ever. I never heard Emanuel demean an opponent, ever. So they do it for a purpose. Remember that.”
Arum’s comments came last Wednesday morning. That afternoon, we saw Jack Mosley at a media workout his son was participating in at a gym in Los Angeles. Jack Mosley almost burst out laughing when told of Arum’s remarks.
“I say he’s trying to build himself up, his own confidence up about Cotto, and Cotto as well,” said Jack Mosley, who was smiling ear-to-ear. “I think they know what they’re in for. There is no way he can go through Shane like he’s gone through those other guys. No way.”
Cotto disagrees wholeheartedly. In doling out perhaps the biggest verbal shot of the promotion, Cotto said last week that he has been more concerned about past opponents.
“We were more worried about Zab Judah than Shane Mosley,” Cotto said. “I don’t think with the age of 36-years old, he can handle Miguel Cotto.”
This is something that Cotto, 27 late last month, seems to be counting on – Mosley’s age. Judah was 29 when he was stopped by Cotto in the 11th round in June at Madison Square Garden, but Judah has been known to fade late. Judah also has posted a record of just 8-5 with one no-contest in his past 14 fights after going 27-0 with a no-contest in his first 28. Which begs the question: Even though he was seven years younger than Mosley is now, was there any reason for a young lion like Cotto to be concerned with Judah in the first place? Probably not.
Mosley is an altogether different animal. He has always been much more disciplined than Judah. Mosley also has incredible courage and a will to be back at the top of the pound-for-pound list, where he resided in some of the more respected polls once upon a time. Then again, let’s not be fooled by Mosley’s resurgence. Since going 1-4 with a no-contest in a six-fight span, Mosley is 5-0 with two knockouts. The four aforementioned losses were to Vernon Forrest twice and Winky Wright twice. Both were in their respective primes at the time. Mosley’s five victories since have come against David Estrada, Jose Luis Cruz, Fernando Vargas twice and Luis Collazo. Hardly a murderer’s row. Vargas was washed up by the time Mosley got hold of him twice last year, stopping him both times.
To be fair, Mosley does seem to be throwing more combinations these days, as he had done for most of his career, but had stopped doing during his slump. Jack Mosley said that’s because his son is no longer living a dual life of boxer and weightlifter.
And make no mistake, this is a fight that could be affected by intangibles. Certainly, Cotto still has a lot to prove. He is 30-0 with 25 knockouts, 10-0 with eight knockouts in world title fights. But he doesn’t have a victory over that big-name fighter. And a win over Mosley could give him that, even if Mosley is not the fighter he once was. Chances are, Cotto’s fans would overlook that.
Mosley’s desire is undeniable, and, perhaps, unmatched by Cotto. The feeling here is that, through and through, Mosley has just a bit more fire in his belly than does Cotto. That’s not a knock on Cotto. But he just doesn’t seem to get too excited about anything. Mosley (44-4, 37 KOs) isn’t just hungry to return to the top, he is famished. He said he is proud that people still know that he is a force to be reckoned with, and that if things work out well with Cotto, he wants Mayweather.
“That is definitely a fight I want to happen because it’s showing people … I want to show people I can be the best fighter in the welterweight division right now,” Mosley said. “People say he is the best, so I want to beat the best. Cotto is first, then Mayweather. If he wants it.”
It’s all about the love of the game he’s been playing for some 30 years.
“Boxing is fun to me,” Mosley said. “It’s something that I love to do. If you love it,
you perform well. You perform at your peak level. If you don’t love it and you’re just fighting for money, then you won’t do as well. It’s that thrill of the crowd.”
It all sounds good. But heart and passion can take a fighter only so far. Bottom line is, Cotto is the better fighter at this moment. He may taste the canvas in this one. If he does, he will – as always – get up. And as always, he will win.
So, sorry to Jack Mosley. He knows that his son is in deep stuff with Cotto. But he’s not about to tell him that.