Mosley-Judah: Bad Timing for The Welterweights
By Cliff Rold
Having advocated openly for the fight even before it was signed, the best word I can come up with for the cancellation/postponement of what was to be a May 31st Welterweight showdown between former legitimate champions of the division, Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KO) and Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KO), is a bummer. It’s a childish word I suppose, but that’s just what it is.
And not just for fans.
It’s a big time bummer for the Welterweight division.
Certainly Boxing’s most talented division in recent vintage, Welterweight has fallen shy of its potential thus far in 2008. The recognized World champion, Floyd Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO) doesn’t appear in any hurry to fight a Welterweight until at least 2009. The April 12th doubleheader showcase of Miguel Cotto-Alfonso Gomez and Antonio Margarito-Kermit Cintron II turned out to be as predictable as predicted. It hasn’t been the sort of schedule that ‘the best division in boxing’ delivers.
Mosley-Judah was the road back to better. Given the hollow reign atop the division, it was one of the few fights on the foreseeable Welterweight slate worth looking forward to.
It’s Boxing’s good fortune that the other members of that party of ‘few’ are worth the utmost anticipation. The April doubleheader was about bringing things to a head on the road to a showdown between Cotto (32-0, 26 K), WBA titlist) and Margarito (35-5, 26 KO, IBF titlist). Puerto Rico vs. Mexico doesn’t come much more pure than this one. It’s as close to a lock for Armageddon as anything short of a bear coming out the ocean.
The alleged next big thing, Paul Williams (33-1, 24 KO), stubbed his professional toe in February against Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19 KO, WBO titlist) and is confronting the issue the best way possible: a healthy attempt at revenge. That both Cotto-Margarito and Quintana-Williams II will occur in July means a needed summer jolt at 147 lbs.
Mosley-Judah was the bridge fight to tide the fans over and its absence will be, already is, glaring. It had the storyline that so many great fights are built on. It had two men, both a little past their prime but still willing, fighting to stay relevant. There were to have been no titles on the line, but pride was. The future was.
For now, the question is if it will be rescheduled? Early chatter isn’t promising.
Published reports vary. Some have Mosley’s wife and regular mouthpiece being sited as shooting down a new date for the contest while others have Golden Boy head Richard Schaefer working to resuscitate the match. Let’s hope that it’s the latter. If it is, a stuttering start to the year could become a roaring finish.
It could also create a window of opportunity for Mosley that might have otherwise been trickier.
When the business of Mayweather beats De La Hoya II is concluded in September, Mayweather will likely be looking for his next opponent not named the winner of Cotto-Margarito. A rematch with Ricky Hatton in early-2009 lingers as a possibility but there’s no evidence that the public is dying to see that re-run.
A Mosley-Judah bout, won by Mosley and in closer proximity to September, would make Mosley the most viable, and perhaps most intriguing, opponent available that Floyd has yet to fight.
It’s been a decade since Mosley and Mayweather ruled at 135 and 130 lbs., respectively and concurrently. The thought of the two paired off in Superfight fashion was mouthwatering then. It would still be worth a look now. Mosley exhibited last year in a narrow loss to Cotto that he’s still got world class stuff in the tank. Securing a well-timed, quality win (and no, Ricardo Mayorga would not be a quality win for Shane…sorry) could secure him far more than that.
And it would give Mayweather one of the few options available to at least turn down the volume on the criticism he’s earning. No, it still wouldn’t be the fight real fans want today between he and Cotto, but it could be the next best thing.
So let’s hope this bummer, this moment of poor luck for Judah and bad timing for Welterweight, is only a bump in the road on the way to what would had the look of a damn good show (seriously, Golden Boy had even assembled an undercard that didn’t suck).
The first half of 2008 will pass with little other than Williams-Quintana to look fondly back on.
Getting Mosley-Judah made official again, knowing what’s already on tap in July, would be a signal that Welterweight is full speed ahead in the second half. Given the talent involved, full speed is what everyone should expect
By Cliff Rold
Having advocated openly for the fight even before it was signed, the best word I can come up with for the cancellation/postponement of what was to be a May 31st Welterweight showdown between former legitimate champions of the division, Shane Mosley (44-5, 37 KO) and Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KO), is a bummer. It’s a childish word I suppose, but that’s just what it is.
And not just for fans.
It’s a big time bummer for the Welterweight division.
Certainly Boxing’s most talented division in recent vintage, Welterweight has fallen shy of its potential thus far in 2008. The recognized World champion, Floyd Mayweather (39-0, 25 KO) doesn’t appear in any hurry to fight a Welterweight until at least 2009. The April 12th doubleheader showcase of Miguel Cotto-Alfonso Gomez and Antonio Margarito-Kermit Cintron II turned out to be as predictable as predicted. It hasn’t been the sort of schedule that ‘the best division in boxing’ delivers.
Mosley-Judah was the road back to better. Given the hollow reign atop the division, it was one of the few fights on the foreseeable Welterweight slate worth looking forward to.
It’s Boxing’s good fortune that the other members of that party of ‘few’ are worth the utmost anticipation. The April doubleheader was about bringing things to a head on the road to a showdown between Cotto (32-0, 26 K), WBA titlist) and Margarito (35-5, 26 KO, IBF titlist). Puerto Rico vs. Mexico doesn’t come much more pure than this one. It’s as close to a lock for Armageddon as anything short of a bear coming out the ocean.
The alleged next big thing, Paul Williams (33-1, 24 KO), stubbed his professional toe in February against Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19 KO, WBO titlist) and is confronting the issue the best way possible: a healthy attempt at revenge. That both Cotto-Margarito and Quintana-Williams II will occur in July means a needed summer jolt at 147 lbs.
Mosley-Judah was the bridge fight to tide the fans over and its absence will be, already is, glaring. It had the storyline that so many great fights are built on. It had two men, both a little past their prime but still willing, fighting to stay relevant. There were to have been no titles on the line, but pride was. The future was.
For now, the question is if it will be rescheduled? Early chatter isn’t promising.
Published reports vary. Some have Mosley’s wife and regular mouthpiece being sited as shooting down a new date for the contest while others have Golden Boy head Richard Schaefer working to resuscitate the match. Let’s hope that it’s the latter. If it is, a stuttering start to the year could become a roaring finish.
It could also create a window of opportunity for Mosley that might have otherwise been trickier.
When the business of Mayweather beats De La Hoya II is concluded in September, Mayweather will likely be looking for his next opponent not named the winner of Cotto-Margarito. A rematch with Ricky Hatton in early-2009 lingers as a possibility but there’s no evidence that the public is dying to see that re-run.
A Mosley-Judah bout, won by Mosley and in closer proximity to September, would make Mosley the most viable, and perhaps most intriguing, opponent available that Floyd has yet to fight.
It’s been a decade since Mosley and Mayweather ruled at 135 and 130 lbs., respectively and concurrently. The thought of the two paired off in Superfight fashion was mouthwatering then. It would still be worth a look now. Mosley exhibited last year in a narrow loss to Cotto that he’s still got world class stuff in the tank. Securing a well-timed, quality win (and no, Ricardo Mayorga would not be a quality win for Shane…sorry) could secure him far more than that.
And it would give Mayweather one of the few options available to at least turn down the volume on the criticism he’s earning. No, it still wouldn’t be the fight real fans want today between he and Cotto, but it could be the next best thing.
So let’s hope this bummer, this moment of poor luck for Judah and bad timing for Welterweight, is only a bump in the road on the way to what would had the look of a damn good show (seriously, Golden Boy had even assembled an undercard that didn’t suck).
The first half of 2008 will pass with little other than Williams-Quintana to look fondly back on.
Getting Mosley-Judah made official again, knowing what’s already on tap in July, would be a signal that Welterweight is full speed ahead in the second half. Given the talent involved, full speed is what everyone should expect
