Last month, BoxingScene.com and other members of the media caught up with former three-division champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley at his Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction. Other inductees included Laila Ali and Chris Byrd.
One of the topics discussed with Mosley, who retired with a 49-10-1 record and will be a first ballot International Boxing Hall of Fame member when he is eligible, is the upcoming Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin rematch. The second installment was originally slated to take place in May but those plans were nixed when Alvarez tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol and was subsequently suspended 6 months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The HBO pay-per-view event takes place Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip. Their first fight ended in a controversial split draw last September and there has been a lot of bad blood between the two fighters and their respective camps in the lead up to the rematch.
Mosley, who lost a unanimous decision to Alvarez in 2012, expects another close fight.
“I think that Canelo is a complete fighter but I don’t think he is a full-fledged middleweight. Triple G is a full fledged middleweight and he can probably go to 168 because he is a little stronger. I think that naturally with Triple G being 5’11 or 6′ and Canelo being my height, 5’9″, he has an advantage. It is kind of like when I fought Winky Wright. Winky Wright was a lot bigger and had an advantage. He had good defense and was a lot bigger,” Mosley told BoxingScene.com.
As for Canelo’s failed tests, Mosley is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and doesn’t believe that he is a cheater.
“I think training with Canelo and seeing him in Big Bear, he is a clean fighter,” said Mosley. “He is very strong and fast and I don’t think in his mind he thinks he needs anything to beat Triple G. I think he believes he is Superman and he can do what he wants to do. He has beat a lot of great guys and he is a great fighter. I like the way Canelo fights. I love it.”
- Boxingscene