Interviews
Forging your own legacy in boxing
“I want them to say one day, ‘Oh, you’re Shane Mosley Jr., didn’t your dad box too?’ That’s the goal. “You’re just as good as your dad” or “which Shane Mosley was better?” These are the conversations I want to have and that’s why I’m in the game.
When your dad has a career as decorated as that of former three-weight world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley, who pushed undefeated Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr to his limits and is considered the greatest of his era, there won’t always be a unique expectation in attitude towards their closest relatives who will try to follow their example and ultimately exceed their feats.
Middleweight contender Shane Mosley Jr is under the same pressure that has fallen on the shoulders of Conor Benn, Chris Eubank Jr and more recently Campbell Hatton, but combined with the benefit of a direct profile and therefore a comparative advantage with their peers without a high-profile parent.
Almost every time the child of a former great fighter turns professional, the boxing public feels a sense of nostalgia and fascination for him.
The hope that the next generation can provide the same excitement and thrilling nights that their parents, in this case Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Ricky Hatton, provided for so many years.
Mosley Jr (17-3, 10 KO) addresses the weight of expectation and attention that all three fighting sons mentioned above have gone through at least some stage in their careers, and expresses his full admiration for Benn and Eubank Jr, as well as Tim Tszyu, son former undisputed world champion, Kosta Tszyu, for the progress he has made in establishing himself in the sport beyond his fathers’ legacy.
“I know exactly who these guys are, man, I look up to them and I root for all of them,” Mosley Jr. said. proboxing-fans.com.
“They actually lived up to it, fighting for the belts, they are in championship talks.
“Conor Benn could be fighting for a world title soon, just like Eubank Jr, he could be fighting for a world title soon, even Kosta Tszyu’s son.
“All these guys who fight like their fathers do a great job. I commend them. I also want to be one of those guys who says, “Hey, my dad used to box too.”
For Mosley Jr. boxing was a right of passage and a lifelong sport.
Such was the success and longevity of his father’s career, which ended in 2016. Mosley Jr witnessed most of his father’s 61 fights and says he was fortunate in his success.
“I have been involved in boxing all my life,” recalls the 30-year-old.
“I remember being pushed in a wheelchair to the gym.
“I’ve been doing this for too long and I think once I got into it, I realized it was in me and who knows if it was just the environment or just growing up around my dad.
“Whatever it is, considering everything boxing has brought.
“Boxing is the reason I have such a great life and have had such a great life, so wanting to be apart of it is a given.
“Boxing has literally given me some of the greatest experiences of my life. Thanks to this, I was able to get into the best schools, live in a nice house, make many memories with my family, go to fights and meet people.
“If my dad was able to do it and I was around it and found I liked it, why wouldn’t I want to do it too? If I am able and I do it to the best of my ability.”
“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’ll do it because I have nothing else to do,’ or, ‘I’ll milk it.’
I was like, ‘I really love this, I want to do this,’ so I’m going to do it.”
The Californian will fight for the second time in Las Vegas on Saturday night when he faces Golden Boy stablemate Jason Quigley at the Michelob Ultra Arena in a rescheduled clash on the undercard of Devin Haney’s WBC lightweight world title defense against Jorge Linares on DAZN .
The two fighters were scheduled to face each other on February 13 in Indio, but Quigley had to withdraw due to illness.
Mosley Jr is on a four-fight winning streak since his third professional loss. He last stopped Cristian Olivas in five rounds in February. Should he defeat the Irishman, who has won two fights in a row since his first defeat and is ranked in the top 15 for WBO titles and could put himself on the path to winning his own world title.
“I am ready for this challenge,” he added.
“Of course I know that Jason is a very good player, he comes to win and we will give our best.
“We are both at the stage where this is the intersection and we are fighting for it.
“I expect it will be a good fight. From what I see of him, he is the type of player who attacks and definitely causes fights, so I have to be responsible defensively and be acute because I know he will come for me.
Comparisons will always be there for Mosley Jr., which is the equivalent of having a father as successful as his.
However, he maintains an admirable and balanced view of the situation and focuses his energy on becoming the best version of himself with several years ahead of him to achieve his goals in the sport.
“There are comparisons, whereas like an ordinary guy who doesn’t have a dad who fought, there are no comparisons because there’s really nothing to compare it to.
“But if you let it affect your game, it will happen. If you say, “Oh, I get compared all the time.”
“If you play this game, you won’t be able to achieve what is there. Michael Jordan always says, “I never try to be the best on the team, I try to be better than myself.”
“As long as you try to be better than yourself every time, everyone else will have to be better than you, instead of you trying to be better than someone else, because I can’t be better than anyone else, I can only be better than me, because that’s I control the ship.
“So I like to take this stoic idea and try to be better today than I was yesterday, and tomorrow will be the same.”
Daniel Dubois believes that Tyson Fury will return to the ring and claims that a fight between them may happen.
Fury ended hopes of All-British fights against the likes of Dubois and long-time rival Anthony Joshua after retiring last Monday, less than a month after his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
However, “Dynamite” believes that his compatriot will return in a similar mood as when he retired in April 2022, only to return seven months later.
If the “Gypsy King” ends his final retirement, Dubois insists the fight with Joshua must happen, which has opened the door for him to face the winner.
“I think he will definitely come back,” said the 27-year-old talkSPORT.
“He’s always done that throughout his career, mind games and all that.
“So I think he will come back. He plays various characters. He will definitely come back.
“Get them in the ring [Joshua and Fury].
“I want to see them fight now.
“I punched Joshua so he had to fight Fury.
“I want to see what’s left between these two.
“And then maybe I’ll fight the winner.”
The Londoner knocked out “AJ” five rounds in September at Wembley Stadium and on February 22 in Riyad, he will defend the IBF world heavyweight title against Joseph Parker.
Dubois stormed the ring after Usyk’s rematch victory over Fury, calling for a rematch from their August 2023 clash.
The Londoner’s argument for wanting a rematch is based on a controversial low blow in the fifth round of the fight against the Ukrainian, which he believed was a legal shot.
“Usyk, I want to take revenge,” he said.
“Good job tonight.
“I want revenge for the last robbery.
“Let’s sort this out. Let’s go.
Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury will retire after a legacy-defining clash with Anthony Joshua.
Fury stunned the boxing world on Monday when he announced his retirement from the sport, leaving behind a megafight with Joshua.
The “Gypsy King” announced his shocking decision less than a month after suffering, among other things, second defeat in a row against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyad, but Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, is convinced that the fighter from Morecambe will return to the ring to fight the long-awaited showdown with “AJ”, who is returning after a fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois.
“In my opinion, I think he will come back,” the 45-year-old said talkSPORT.
“But I don’t know him well enough to judge that.
“He’s coming back after two defeats, and these defeats hurt the boys.
“AJ was devastated by the defeat to Dubois and I’m sure Fury was too [with his defeats to Usyk]both are winners.
“I don’t know if Fury can leave one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport on the table.
“I know he’s a competitor. I know he will want to give the British fight fans what they want and I hope we see more of him.
“But if we don’t, God bless the speed and all the best.”
Fury hung up his gloves after defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return eight months later for a third fight with Derek Chisora, whom he defeated comfortably at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn said Joshua will now look to secure a clash with the winner of the February 22 fight between his former rivals Dubois and Joseph Parker, who will fight in Riyad for the IBF heavyweight world title.
If Fury returns to fight AJ, the Matchroom boss insists the loser would have nowhere to go.
“They would both be devastated by defeat,” he added.
“It’s one thing to lose the world heavyweight title, but at the same time losing in a fight of this magnitude is the biggest bragging rights.
“At this stage of their career, the last word is goodbye.
“Whoever loses this fight is finished and whoever wins it moves on and that’s what you fight for.
“You’re not just fighting for a legacy, you’re fighting to save your career.
“It’s a huge fight, but it’s not on the table right now.”
Callum Simpson defended his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles after a second-round victory over Steer Woodall on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.
Simpson (16-0, 11 KO) proved too good for Zak Chelli in his last competition and went on to sweep wide and claim the British and Commonwealth titles last August. Woodall (19-3-1, 12 KO) picked up his best career win, stopping Lerrone Richards in six rounds in an upset in Bolton last June.
This attack ended quickly in the second round, with a right uppercut that left Woodall on wobbly legs, and then another attack punctuated by another right uppercut, leaving “The Stallion” on the deck.
Despite beating the count, referee Mark Bates waved off the fight shortly afterwards.
Simpson dedicated his victory his dead sisterwho died tragically in August in a road accident.
“It’s bittersweet,” the 28-year-old said Heavenly sports after the fight.
“I won these titles in front of all my fans, but there’s one person that I think everyone knows who I wish was here, but I know she’s looking down on me and I make her proud.”
Dubois is tied with Camara
On the card below, Caroline Dubois (10-0-1, 5 KO) made her first defense of her WBC lightweight title against Canadian Jessica Camara (14-4-1, 3 KO), but the fight ended in a technical draw.
The fight was stopped due to a cut to Camara’s left eye from the head collision, and she also went down in the first round.
Forrest stops Miller
Cruiserweight prospect Scott Forrest needed just two rounds to defeat Deevorn Miller.
Miller (8-3, 6 KO) lost once in the first and second rounds, while Forrest (7-0, 4 KO) won outright.
Undercard remaining
In the featherlight heavyweight division, where Billy Deniz defeated Mickey Ellison (15-8, 5 KO) by one point.
Deniz (13-0, 5 KO) won with a score of 77-76.
In the six-round middleweight division, Sam Hickey (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Lewis Howells (3-2) three times en route to a first-round victory, and Mauro Silva (7-0, 3 KO) scored a 59-56 victory against Emmanuel Zion (6-3, 3 KOs).
Ellis Price (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Liam Fitzmaurice (0-1) twice en route to a first-round lightweight victory.
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