ANTHONY MUNDINE FINISHES SHANE MOSLEY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
The aftermath of a fight delayed by more than a month suggests that it should have never taken place at all.
Anthony Mundine had his way with whatever is left of a badly faded Shane Mosley, dominating the action over six rounds before the fight was waved off. Back spasms were cited as the reason for Mosley being unable to continue prior to the start of the 7th round.
The bout aired live on pay-per-view in Australia, and was streamed free online on ESPN3.com in the United States.
The fight began as so many other Mosley fights of past – with the 42-year old former three-division champ looking to touch gloves, and with little action to follow in the opening round. Mundine was in control early on simply by working his jab and throwing an occasional power punch.
Mosley attempted to pick up the pace in round three, landing his best punch of the fight to that point in connecting with a straight right hand. Mundine took the punch well and seized control well before round’s end.
Things went from sluggish to scary for Mosley in round four. The round began with the American scoring early and getting the attention of the house fighter, but his good fortunes wouldn’t last for very long. Mundine turned the tide in a big way, badly rocking Mosley and causing him to fall to the canvas, though the sequence was correctly ruled as a slip.
A near replay transpired in round five, with Mosley unable to steady himself or mount any sort of offensive attack. The faded former champ was once again on the canvas as the result of losing his balance following an attempt to clinch. The threat of a knockout wasn’t quite as evident in the round, but it was all Mundine, who wisely didn’t waste any punches.
Mundine in control during a water-treading sixth round that further raised speculation as to what exactly Mosley had left. Little did anyone know, that answer would be provided in between rounds.
Referee Raul Caiz brought in the ringside doctor prior to the start of round seven, claiming Mosley was no longer able to continue due to back spasms. The physician ultimately agreed with the third man, prompting an anti-climactic ending to an event that couldn’t have provided more disappointment.
The official time was 3:00 of round six.
Mundine advances to 45-5 (27KO) with the win, his first since July 2012 when he stopped Bronko McKart in an American debut witnessed by next to nobody. His lone piece of ring action in 2013 ended in disappointment, falling short to Daniel Geale in a bid at a middleweight title this past January.
If there was any greater evidence of Mosley needing to call it a career once and for all, it was provided in Sydney. The badly aged veteran falls to 47-9-1 (39KO), claiming just one win in a span of nearly four years – a narrow victory over Pablo Cano earlier this year.
The night marked the first time Mosley suffers an official stoppage loss in the span of his storied career of more than 20 years. World titles in three weight classes have highlighted a potential Hall of Fame career, with the only hesitance coming from where voters stand on his past involvement in the BALCO scandal in the early 2000’s.
As is the case with most faded veterans, Mosley’s greatness has long ago been established to where post-prime setbacks are often dismissed.
However, this is one that had a chance to not take place at all, and should have been left that way. The clash in Sydney was supposed to take place last month, but Mosley instead packed his stuff and bolted to the airport during the week of the fight, claiming failure on the part of the local promoter to satisfy pre-fight financial arrangements.
Whatever satisfaction Mosley gained in being convinced to proceed with the fight, he repaid with a dissatisfying effort that will hopefully be the last in a storied career that has extended far beyond its shelf life.
UNDERCARD
Renold Quinlan and Joseph Kwadjo delivered the type of crowd primer that belongs on every boxing undercard. The pair of super middleweights waged war for eight rounds, with Quinlan overcoming a rough early start to take a very well-earned unanimous decision.
Scores were 79-74, 77-75 and 78-74 for Quinlan.
The bout was not without its anxious moments for the local novice, who turned pro just four months ago. Kwadjo was by far his most experienced opponent to date, which showed in the first couple of rounds. Both fighters had their say, but Kwadjo had Quinlan hurt in round two and appeared to be well on his way to an upset.
Quinlan eventually settled in and was able to figure out the crafty veteran. Straight right hands were key throughout the contest, though it was a recurring right uppercut that helped Quinlan turned the tide on several occasions before taking full control throughout the second half of the contest.
Kwadjo went for broke in the final round, but was unable to avoid the fate awaiting him on the final scorecards.
The win was a valuable learning experience that should go a long way in the career of Quinlan, who improves to 6-0 (3KO). Kwadjo drops his second straight, but still has yet to be stopped as he falls to 21-7 (16KO).
David Aloua was bombs away in a third round stoppage of Mosese Serovi in their cruiserweight bout. Aloua dropped the 43-year old Serovi in round two for the bout’s lone knockdown. Serovi was game throughout and scored the occasional attention-gaining power punch, but was wobbly and defenseless when the referee – who gave the veteran every chance to fight back – jumped in to wave off the contest at 2:37 of round three.
Unbeaten super welterweight prospect Sam Ah-See barely broke a sweat in pitching a shutout over Daniel Roy Maxwell (1-16-2, 1KO) in their four-round affair. Scores were 40-36 across the board for Ah-See (9-0-1, 6KO).
The first official bout of the card saw Ahmed Dib remain unbeaten after scoring a 3rd round stoppage over hapless challenger Mike Wanprasert. Dib (10-0, 6KO) registered three official knockdowns, drawing a count in round two before twice dropping Wanpraset (8-23-1, 0KO) in forcing the stoppage at 2:48 of round three.
Controversy arose well before the first bell rang. The fighters gloves weren’t immediately located, delaying the show by nearly 30 minutes. One improvement to the subpar undercard, however, came with the news that a scheduled super middleweight bout between Bilal Akkawy (7-0, 6KO) and winless Jacques Henrisson (0-12-2, 0KO) was canceled when realized by the New South Wales Combat Sports Authority that the pairing was a gross mismatch.
Billed as the evening’s semi-main event, Luke Turner won a four-round decision over troubled rugby star Blake Ferguson (0-1). Scores were 39-37 across the board for Turner (1-0, 0KO) in a pairing of heavyweight debutants, in a bout fought in four two-minute rounds.
Full results: Anthony Mundine 44-5 (26KO) TKO6 (3:00) Shane Mosley 47-8-1 (39KO) Renold Quinlan 6-0 (3KO) UD8 (79-74, 79-73, 78-74) Joseph Kwadjo 21-7 (16KO) Luke Turner (1-0, 0KO) UD4 (39-37) Blake Ferguson (0-1) David Aloua 9-1 (6KO) TKO3 (2:37) Mosese Sorovi 22-18-1 (22KO) Ahmed Dib 10-0 (6KO) TKO3 (2:48) Mike Wanprasert 8-24-1 (2KO) Sam Ah See 9-0-1 (6KO) UD4 (40-36, 3x) Daniel Roy Maxwell 1-16-1 (0KO)
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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