‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley
Speaking to the Sporting Post, 51-year-old Shane Mosley revealed that 50-0 Floyd Mayweather, who labels himsel as "The Best Ever", wasn't his hardest opponent.
The Californian won world titles in three weight classes and was named Fighter of the Year two years running in 2000 and 2001. Over his 61 fights, Mosley singled out the one toughest opponent he ever faced and why.
Toughest night was Winky Wright, not Floyd Mayweather
Winky Wright was my toughest night. Not because he hit hard, but because he was so much bigger than me. He was ring savvy and ring smart, and he had the size. Punching Winky was like punching pillows. It was like hitting a soft bag because I was getting no reaction. Then he'd come back and throw a combination after my hard shots did no damage, and he was a southpaw too.
If I hit someone like that at lightweight or welterweight I'd rock them or put them down with my best shots, like against Mayweather I at least rocked him. Mayweather was harder to hit and faster than Winky, they had about the same punch power, but fighting Winky was like fighting in quicksand because he was so much bigger. Nothing was happening when I was landing.
If Shaquille O’Neal chose boxing instead of basketball, he would beat AJ, Fury, Wilder and Usyk!
It was crazy because he's over 350-pounds and seven feet tall. It was hard for me to hit him. I had to squat down, so then he'd squat down, then I had to leap up back and hit him. His punches were like pushes, they'd knock me off a balance and across the ring. It's not like a snap, it's a big boom, it knocks you off course.
Shaq was an athlete, so had great movement. If he would have learned how to fight from a younger age, he'd be a great fighter. He had great footwork, he was having fun against me, but I could tell athletically he could have been a good fighter like Tyson Fury or somebody like that. He had great feet and moved well.
If he would have committed to boxing like he did with his basketball career, he would definitely have been a good heavyweight fighter. He could have been heavyweight champion. His body movement and body mechanics could have helped him get to the top.
He would have probably beaten all of them; Fury, Joshua, Wilder, Usyk. If he trained like them from a young age, he would have beaten them all. He had the mentality to beat everyone.
Jake could KO Diaz…Diaz does not have much left in the tank
Nate's a guy who wants to get in there and scrap. Jake has been preparing against guys who can scrap. Nate style is to come at you and be aggressive, he's not going to come out and move around the ring and box, he's coming straight to you.
In the UFC Nate fights at 170 whereas this fight is 185, which is closer to Jake's size. For me this fight could end by knockout, I like knockouts. But he will need to sustain a good temp for the fight because Nate comes at you pretty strong. He's a mexican style fighter. I'm kind of a Mexican fighter myself. The antidote is to work well on the inside and throw body shots and then work the head.
He's bigger than Nate, he's not going to have to find Nate. He will box and pepper him and also show him his power on the inside. But it's his boxing that will win the fight because he has good speed and power and can use his height advantage. And when he catches Nate he's going to go at him.
I'm not sure how much Nate has left because he's been fighting a long time. I don’t think he has that much left in the tank, especially in the boxing arena.
Victor Conte threw me under the bus with steroids, It’s crazy how he is renowned for vitamins and supplements now !
It was before the Oscar De La Hoya fight. My strength and conditioning coach told me Conte is a great guy who provides vitamins and stuff. He had me fly to Northern California for the day to take my blood, so he could see my deficiencies. Then they came up with a protocol.
I believe Conte gave me a steroid, but I did not know what it was, it was a cream that you rub on yourself. But in that fight I was tight instead of being loose and flexible and it really did not help me. It was called "clear and cream". It's not something that was taken with a needle.
Conte was then being investigated by the Federal government and he supplied them with a list of athletes that he was working with, including me. The media got hold of it and all of a sudden I'm a steroid abuser and it was crazy.
Conte is now out there working with boxers, he's the vitamin guy in boxing ironically, after throwing me under the bus. He's running boxing in regard to vitamins and supplements and it's crazy given his past.
‘Cheat’ Antonio Margarito loaded gloves with Plaster of Paris, I still knocked him out!
I understand what Antonio Margarito's team were trying to do, they were trying to protect his hands. But they didn't care about the damage they were doing. I never thought he was a monster or anything, I believe he was being misled and should not have done it. He was hurting a lot of fighters and he was getting a lot of knockouts and it was giving him a false sense of accomplishments.
I found out before the fight. My coach went in to check his wraps and saw that there was dust coming out of it. He had them cut the open the wrap, he snatched it, and took it back to the commission. They inspected it and said it was plaster of Paris.They asked me if I wanted to still fight. I said he can keep them on, I've trained too hard not to fight. Plaster of Paris is like a cast you put on a broken arm. They wrap your hand and then soak it in a solution and it hardens up in time for the fight.
Fun Fact: Shane has two older sisters, named Venus and Cerena.
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