Shane Mosley

Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971, Lynwood, California, U.S.) is an American former professional boxer who was among the most dominant lightweight fighters of the 1990s, going undefeated in 33 bouts. Known for his aggressive attacking style and exceptional reflexes, he later moved up weight classes and won championship belts as a welterweight and light middleweight.

Early life and career

Mosley grew up in Pomona, California, with two elder sisters and his parents, Clemmie and Jack Mosley. He took up boxing when he was eight years old and was trained by his father. Mosley quickly became a formidable young fighter, earning the nickname Sugar Shane, in reference to previous legends of the “sweet science” (as the sport is fancifully called) Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard. He excelled on the amateur boxing circuit, winning many titles, including three U.S. national amateur championships—the lightweight title in 1989 and 1990 and the light welterweight title in 1992.

After compiling an amateur record of 250 wins and 10 losses, Mosley made his professional boxing debut on February 11, 1993. He knocked out Greg Puente in a lightweight match at the Hollywood Palladium. Indeed, Mosley won 22 of his first 23 fights by knockout (KO). Those successes earned him a shot at the International Boxing Federation (IBF) world lightweight championship in a fight against titleholder Philip Holiday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, on August 2, 1997. The fight went the full 12 rounds, and Mosley was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

Over the next several years, Mosley retained the IBF lightweight belt by winning title defenses—all by KO—against various opponents, including John John Molina and Wilfrido Ruiz. Perhaps his most notable victory in this period was a November 14, 1998, fight against former World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion Jesse James Leija at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Mosley knocked down Leija in three rounds (6, 8, and 9) and won the fight when Leija did not come out for round 10. Mosley won the eighth and last defense of his IBF lightweight title on April 17, 1999, with a technical knockout (TKO) victory over John Brown at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.

Moving up weight classes

After the John Brown victory, Mosley vacated his IBF lightweight title and moved up two weight classes to fight as a welterweight. He knocked out Wilfredo Rivera and Willy Wise, setting up a major contest versus Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC welterweight title. Both Los Angeles-area natives, Mosley and De La Hoya had fought each other several times as amateurs, the first bout having occurred when they were 12 and 11 years old, respectively. The pair’s debut professional fight took place on June 17, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles; it was the first boxing event at the new arena. Mosley earned a tough split decision over De La Hoya, having landed 284 punches to De La Hoya’s 257. The Ring magazine declared the fight the Event of the Year for 2000 and also named Mosley the best pound-for-pound fighter in both 2000 and 2001.

Mosley—who was praised throughout his career for always agreeing to title defenses and never “ducking” (avoiding) a fight—defended his WBC title in his next three fights. He then agreed to face the undefeated Vernon Forrest, who had beaten Mosley in their only previous meeting, in the trials for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. On January 26, 2002, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Mosley entered the fight as the favorite but was knocked down twice and lost in a unanimous decision; it was his first defeat as a professional boxer. A rematch took place at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 20, 2002, and again Forrest won a unanimous decision.

Mosley moved up in weight again, this time to fight as a light middleweight. His first match in that weight class was on February 8, 2003, against former IBF light middleweight champion Raul Marquez. However, the bout ended in no contest after Mosley accidentally headbutted Marquez in round three, causing cuts above Marquez’s eyes.

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Second De La Hoya fight and doping involvement

Three years after their first fight, Mosley had a rematch against De La Hoya, who by then held the light middleweight titles from the WBC, the World Boxing Association (WBA), The Ring magazine, and the International Boxing Association (IBA). The bout took place on September 13, 2003, at the MGM Grand resort in Paradise, Nevada. In a controversial finish, Mosley beat De La Hoya by unanimous decision even though De La Hoya had landed almost a hundred more punches than Mosley had.

In 2007 news outlets reported that, in a grand jury deposition four years earlier, Mosley had admitted to unknowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs before his second fight against De La Hoya. Mosley said that he had visited the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) lab, owned by Victor Conte, and that he subsequently took what he thought were vitamin supplements but turned out to be steroids and the blood-doping agent erythropoietin. The investigation into BALCO also implicated other prominent athletes, including Barry Bonds and Marion Jones, and in 2005 Conte entered a plea bargain for selling illegal steroids. When news of Mosley’s involvement became public in 2007, he reiterated that he had not known the substances were banned at the time he took them.

On March 13, 2004, Mosley mounted his first defense of his light middleweight titles, against IBF champion Winky Wright at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. Wright won a unanimous decision and then, in their second fight at Mandalay Bay, on November 20, 2004, he beat Mosley again, this time by a split decision.

After a series of victories in the light middleweight division in 2005–06, Mosley moved back down to welterweight, and, in a bout on February 10, 2007, he defeated former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo by unanimous decision. That led to a fight against the undefeated Miguel Cotto for the WBA welterweight title at Madison Square Garden on November 10, 2007. The evenly matched boxers each landed 248 punches, but Cotto held on to the title in a unanimous decision.

Later years

On September 27, 2008, Mosley defeated Ricardo Mayorga by KO in the 12th round. Later that year Mosley began working with trainer Naazim Richardson in preparation for his January 29, 2009, fight against WBA super welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. Though an underdog at age 37, Mosley dominated, and he won by TKO in the 9th round in what was considered a major upset. In a highly anticipated fight on May 1, 2010, at the MGM Grand, Mosley took on Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the most famous boxer of the era, whose defense-first style contrasted with Mosley’s aggressiveness. Mayweather won in a unanimous decision, although Mosley landed two hard right-hand punches in the second round that made Mayweather’s legs briefly buckle—perhaps the closest Mayweather ever came to being knocked down in his storied undefeated career.

In the twilight of his career, a diminished Mosley fought several prominent opponents, including Manny Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight title in 2011 and Canelo Álvarez for the WBC super welterwight title in 2012; both were lopsided losses for Mosley by unanimous decision. Mosley retired twice and came back to fight without winning any further titles. He retired for good in 2017, finishing his career at age 45. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.

Personal life

Mosley was married to Jin Sheehan from 2002 to 2009, and the couple had three children before their divorce. His son Shane Mosley, Jr., from a previous relationship, also became a pro boxer.