Sweet at the Very End By Steve Kim (Sep 29, 2008) Send this page to friend Give us your feedback In front of a rather sparse gathering at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Shane Mosley needed literally every second to dispatch of the game and awkward Ricardo Mayorga this past weekend. In what was a close fight (where one judge had him losing and the majority of ringside press had him behind the wild Nicaraguan) Mosley showed once again why he is among the most respected practitioners of this trade in recent years. He didn't just run out the clock, play the four corners offense and rely on the judges. Instead, he went out with his usual flair for the dramatic. In an era of safety-first fighters who are bent on taking the easy way out, Mosley has constantly shown a willingness to take risks, put himself in peril and empty his bucket to the last drop. This isn't the first time he's finished with a flourish with a fight on the line. In his welterweight debut in 1999 against Wilfredo Rivera, where he struggled in for much of the night, he would halt Rivera in the tenth and final frame to seal the deal. Then in his memorable first encounter versus Oscar De La Hoya in 2000, despite having seemingly taken charge of that fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, he would put his foot on the gas and continually beat 'the Golden Boy' to the punch in what was a memorable 12th round. And it turns out he needed that round to capture a split decision victory. For much of the night he was very uncomfortable facing the raw Mayorga, whose downright lack of technique and grace is perhaps his biggest asset. For skilled fighters like Mosley, facing someone who does everything wrong technically can be unnerving. After dropping the early rounds he would finally get on track in the fourth by landing a series of blistering right hands and left hooks. It was at that time that the class of Mosley finally showed. But just when it seemed that Mosley had taken some semblance of control in this bout, he would tire and Mayorga would begin to maul him on the inside and out-work him with his slapping punches. While Mosley landed the majority of clean shots, Mayorga's workrate kept him in the fight throughout. And unlike other fights where he is brought in as the big-mouth cannon fodder, Mayorga would actually stick around and make things interesting late. As the championship rounds unfolded, the result of this fight was hanging very much in the balance. There seemed to be a certain uneasiness on the premises, as the throngs that had shown up for Mosley from nearby Pomona screamed encouragement almost in a desperate, pleading manner. Quite simply, this wasn't supposed to be happening. They weren't supposed to be here this late into the night. They figured that after the obligatory early blitz by Mayorga, things would settle down rather quickly and Mosley would finish things within six, seven, maybe eight rounds (if Mayorga had actually trained). But to be going life-and-death with him? As the final bell neared, it seemed as though the fight was destined for the scorecards. But Mosley would continue to chip away and keep letting his hands go. While Mayorga seemed content on letting the fight go the distance, Mosley, perhaps sensing how close this contest was, charged ahead. He would basically wear out Mayorga, who by that time was exhausted, and he would send him to the canvas with just seconds remaining in the fight. After the mandatory eight was administered by referee David Mendoza, Mosley would put a punctuation on the night by stepping in with a lightning fast left hook that sent Mayorga crashing to the canvas in a lifeless manner. The fight would be waved off immediately. At 2:59 of the round. Literally, not a second to spare. Not that he was going to lose the fight on the cards, but once again 'Sugar' Shane had proven that when you pay for your ticket and take the time out of your life to see him perform, he will give you everything he has and you'll never come away cheated. What was just a decent fight turned into something rather memorable with the late flurry of Mosley. As you heard the din and the ruckus of the crowd - which looked considerably smaller than the announced number of 5,798 - it was clear that they had gotten their monies worth. "I wanted to give the fans what they deserved and that was a knockout. When I fight, I do go for a knockout," Mosley would say afterwards, which is why the fact he's not a big time ticket seller on his own is a bit mind-boggling. Where many other of his colleagues have no problems admitting they are strictly businessmen who want the easiest fights possible, there has been a certain purity in the manner in which Mosley has conducted his career. All he does is fight. And fight hard. Against anybody. Which is why he had made it clear in the lead-up to this appointment that he wanted to weather 'the Tijuana Tornado', Antonio Margarito, in the near future. But it has to be said that the Mosley at 37 has slipped considerably (which of course, most fighters do at that age.). He is no longer the whirlwind we saw at lightweight that had Larry Merchant uttering 'Sugar. Ray. Robinson.' when asked to describe him. Nowadays, the speed and quickness he once displayed constantly only come in spurts. The bottom line is this, Mosley can still beat the Mayorga's of the world (even if he has to struggle to do so) but no longer can he defeat the likes of Margarito and Miguel Cotto, premier fighters who are still in the midst of their physical primes. You wonder if it's even the right thing to do on many levels to allow Mosley's fighting pride and heart to get in there with the likes of a meat grinder like Margarito. As he heads into the twilight of what is a Hall-of-Fame career, you'd hope that it ends the right way. Like it did on Saturday night. NACHO Freddie Roach likes nacho cheese, but he hates whine. And he's already bracing for Nacho Beristain to complain about the decision in the upcoming bout between his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya, who just hired the respected trainer for their December 6th bout. "Of course, Nacho is a baby," said Roach, laughing. "But Nacho's a real good trainer. All Oscar really needs in the corner is someone to give him some direction and a drink of water. Let’s face it, at this stage of his career it's going to hard to change Oscar. I trained Oscar for eight weeks and the fight we trained for never happened. When the bell rang he did his own thing. And that's what Oscar's going to do." And it's clear Beristain was tabbed because of Juan Manuel Marquez's success versus Pacquiao. "Of course, and he wants to be accepted by the Mexican people and everyone knows that Oscar's a Mexican but the Mexicans are on Manny's side," says Roach. But the question persists, is De La Hoya a natural counterpuncher? "He does have a good counter left hook, but natural counterpuncher? I would say no. The thing is, it's really, really hard to get used to a new trainer. It's just not enough time to get to know somebody, and when you try to change a guy, it's almost impossible. So I'm confident and I'm happy. Him and Floyd Mayweather, at least they had a history and have a rapport with each other." Asked about his newest pupil, Amir Khan, who was recently KO'd in less than a minute, Roach says, "He's a talented guy, he's a good boxer and in that fight he just got caught. He had very strange methods of training, though, going up to the fight. Six hours before the fight, an hour long workout of conditioning, get the blood flowing, lifting weights and throwing balls. Just unbelievable stuff that he told me that his strength coach, who was a rugby coach, had him doing. I've never heard of it before. The thing is, he got clipped. Does he have a chin? Well, we're going to work on that. We gotta get him back to his boxing style and not let him get hit. We'll see." VERSUS Geez, guys were getting taken out early on the last Versus telecast weren't they? Almost had me pining for the days of Ty Fields. Almost. But seriously, seeing Paul Williams blow out Andy Kolle in one round, I wonder if we'll ever see 'the Punisher' back at 147 pounds. He's big for even a super middleweight, but at a higher weight, it seems as though his legs are underneath him much more and he does look stronger not having to sap his 6-2 frame down to the welterweight limit. As for really, really heavyweight, Chris Arreola, who came in at a rotund 285.5, he's very lucky he faced an over-matched opponent he probably could have downed at any weight. Sources tell me that Dan Goossen will make every effort to make Arreola's next outing against either David Tua or Hasim Rahman. Williams and Arreola are slated to co-headline an HBO show on November 29th and it could be taking place at the brand new arena in Ontario, California. HOME DEPOT CENTER There's something about fights at that tennis court. For some uncanny reason, memorable things seem to happen there. In 2008, we have witnessed two remarkable 12th rounds that won’t be forgotten about anytime soon. Back in March, Israel Vazquez would overtake Rafael Marquez in the final frame of their rubbermatch. Then you have Mosley's finishing kick against Mayorga. As always, I had a great time meeting a lot of you readers who made it down there. It's become my favorite venue to cover a fight. Sources tell me that the November 1st bout between Cristian Mijares and Vic Darchinyan could end up there or at the Nokia Theater, which is located right across the street from the Staples Center. FINAL FLURRIES That was a good Telefutura show put on by Golden Boy last Friday night - some prospects shone brightly and Vicente Escobedo came up with a big win by stopping the tricky Dominic Salcido in six....I like lightweight prospect Luis Ramos, who improved to 7-0 with 5 stoppages by stopping journeyman Celestino Rodriguez in one round at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Ca.....As I was getting ready for the fights on Saturday, Jim Lampley, a North Carolina grad, would yell to me, "Hey, Steve, how bout them Tar Heels!' Until Randy Shannon and/or Pat Nix learn how to stay aggressive and take the handcuffs off Robert Marve, Miami will continue to lose close games....Speaking of Margarito, he was at the fights at the Home Depot Center and he was absolutely mobbed. It was almost Chavez-like, the reception he received.....If championship fights were four rounders like they are in the amateurs, Steve Forbes would be a perennial world champion.....My college football top five: 1- OU, 2- Bama 3- Penn St, 4- LSU, 5, Mizzou.... For Questions or Comments E-Mail Steve: k9kim@maxboxing.com Today's Boxing Press Discuss this Topic - Go to the forums