Did Shane Mosley deserve the 'Sugar' label?
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hmm, well strictly speaking, he wasn't on the level of Robinson and Leonard, that much is blatant
but that doesn't give context, I remember at the time, not just with hindsight, and when he was unbeaten, the world was going nuts over him and even hardcore boxing fans gladly called him Sugar. I read a chapter in a book once that talked about how his fight with Eduardo Morales was kind of like a moment in which the writer was convinced he truly deserved the name, just some food for thought, and context,
but that doesn't give context, I remember at the time, not just with hindsight, and when he was unbeaten, the world was going nuts over him and even hardcore boxing fans gladly called him Sugar. I read a chapter in a book once that talked about how his fight with Eduardo Morales was kind of like a moment in which the writer was convinced he truly deserved the name, just some food for thought, and context,
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It's intresting, and probably depends on which perspective you choose to take.
Obviously he hasn't had the success that the other Sugar's have had. Those that saw him as a Welterweight upwards will probably see no resembelance to the two Ray's either. It is worth noting that Mosley used to throw lovely fluid combinations with great power as a LW. It was really after the Forrest fight that he seemed shell shocked out of that style, and into that habbit of throwing no more than two power punches at a time.
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yeah, if you're a fan, you might wanna check out the article I wrote for this site about shane and winky both retiring recently, you don't have to like but it you feel like it it's always there
http://checkhookboxing.com/content.php?129-Boxing-Mosley-Winky-retire&fb_source=message
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and that's that
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I think even he accepts he isnt on the level of Robinson or Leonard.
He deserves it more than many other fighters who have used it. If we had footage of a young Robinson and watched footage of a young Leonard and a young Mosley and you didnt have any preconception about them, i dont think anyone would look at Shane and say that guy dosent belong with the other two and mean it too strongly.
He deserves it more than many other fighters who have used it. If we had footage of a young Robinson and watched footage of a young Leonard and a young Mosley and you didnt have any preconception about them, i dont think anyone would look at Shane and say that guy dosent belong with the other two and mean it too strongly.
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:deal
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More than Sugar Ray Seales did. 
He was a great fighter and accomplished great things but he didn't live up to his early career hype, some people really thought he could go on to be a contender for the ATG "title". Mind you people also used to think that Mark Breland was a cross between Ray Robinson and Tommy Hearns.atsch
He was a great fighter and accomplished great things but he didn't live up to his early career hype, some people really thought he could go on to be a contender for the ATG "title". Mind you people also used to think that Mark Breland was a cross between Ray Robinson and Tommy Hearns.
atschShane never belonged at LMW and I think he gets judged too harshly for fighting in a weight he wasn't suited to, even then, losing imo to oscar and winky is no big shame.
Who really beat him when still prime at WW? Forrest and maybe Cotto, after that he was very inconsistent which is a mark of declination.
TBH I don't rate Mosley's skills at all, but as far as brawling goes very few in history can match his chin/speed/power combination. He came to fight and he came to attract fans, whilst doing so he still hit p4p number 1 in a stacked era, still ruled 2 divisions and still had a decent forray in a 3rd weight class.
I wouldn't hesitate to call him great.
Who really beat him when still prime at WW? Forrest and maybe Cotto, after that he was very inconsistent which is a mark of declination.
TBH I don't rate Mosley's skills at all, but as far as brawling goes very few in history can match his chin/speed/power combination. He came to fight and he came to attract fans, whilst doing so he still hit p4p number 1 in a stacked era, still ruled 2 divisions and still had a decent forray in a 3rd weight class.
I wouldn't hesitate to call him great.
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He was an athletic slugger. And damn good at it.
I actually don't rate him all that much at lightweight to be honest. I think he came into his own at welter. One of the 'greats' of the past era but wouldn't put a dent in my top 100. I rank Oscar over him, felt he won their second fight pretty wide as well. But I prefer Shane. The night he battered Margarito was one of my favourite live boxing experiences, and I knew nothing of the wraps at the time and, despite being saddened as a Cotto fan, was as big a Toni' fan as I was Shane.
Mosley showed Margarito he shouldn't have fucked with him. Amazing.
I actually don't rate him all that much at lightweight to be honest. I think he came into his own at welter. One of the 'greats' of the past era but wouldn't put a dent in my top 100. I rank Oscar over him, felt he won their second fight pretty wide as well. But I prefer Shane. The night he battered Margarito was one of my favourite live boxing experiences, and I knew nothing of the wraps at the time and, despite being saddened as a Cotto fan, was as big a Toni' fan as I was Shane.
Mosley showed Margarito he shouldn't have fucked with him. Amazing.
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It's a nickname. What's to deserve? I mean, if it were a negative nickname, then we could get our panties in a bunch. If Ring started referring to him as "Simple" Shane Mosley, then we could be like "Hey, man. I don't think he deserves that. That's messed up. Ahhhh. Nooooo." but come on. We have a modern day Bronze Bomber and Kid Chocolate and I know that is not a comparison. The whole point of nicknames is to sound as great as possible. If names can get retired like jerseys, people are really going to be reaching, eventually. Thirty years from now it's going to be "And the vicious killer from the Bronx...Julian "Facebook Friender" Phillips!" followed by commentators going "Not to be confused with Julius "Facebook Friend" Phillis, the welterweight from Philadelphia." Shit would get crazy. Krazee. Spelled like that. That kind of krazee.
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...Then people are going to be like "Couldn't he have found a nickname that was both positive AND pertained to boxing?" and then the fighters will be like "You try it! This is really hard! Really, really hard! Like, KRAZEE HARD!"
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More than joe rea that's for sure.
Like Tommy 'Krazee' Karpency!
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I agree 100% with you in this well written post Teeto.but..in at least one fight did Mosely reach the level of the other two Sugars.and that was when he met and whipped Antonio Margarito. That was Mosely's high water mark symbollically...but he never attained that level again, and never before, even in the two victories over Oscar.
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I'm in the deserve got nothing to do with it camp.
I actually like the old tradition of taking on a past boxers name, Joe Gans > Panama Joe Gans, Baby Joe Gans, Young Joe Gans and the like.
I don't think Robinson himself was fussed either way on the Sugar name. George Costner who was active and fought Robinson twice used the Sugar tag.
I actually like the old tradition of taking on a past boxers name, Joe Gans > Panama Joe Gans, Baby Joe Gans, Young Joe Gans and the like.
I don't think Robinson himself was fussed either way on the Sugar name. George Costner who was active and fought Robinson twice used the Sugar tag.
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You've gotta be kidding me. I thought Joe Gans, Young Joe Gans and Panama Joe Gans were all the same guy?!? People just refer to him as "Panama" the way people refer to "Tokyo" Douglas.
Heh heh heh.
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