BoxingScene.com was advised by former three division world champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley (49-10-1, 41 KOs), that he wasn't planning to retire in 2017 or even 2018.
On Tuesday, the 45 year old announced his decision to join the recent pack of former world champions who announced their retirements in recent weeks - including Wladimir Klitschko, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Robert Guerrero.
Mosley has been out of the ring since losing to then WBA interim-welterweight champion David Avanesyan on May 28, 2016. There was a scheduled fight in Russia against undefeated prospect Magomed Kurbanov, but it was canceled after Mosley underwent surgery for an elbow injury.
Mosley details that his surgery was botched and he's now required to undergo another surgical procedure - which forced his hand to walk away.
"I had a few more years left in me and had a few big fights lined up for 2017 and 2018. [Bernard] Hopkins fought up to 50 at the world class level and he has always been a role model and friend. However, fate if you will stepped in and took those options away from me earlier this year," Mosley detailed to BoxingScene.com.
"I went in for a minor arthroscopic surgery to remove a couple of loose bone fragments from my elbow and the surgery turned into a whole ordeal after the surgeon admittedly... accidentally burned me on my forearm leading to me getting a sick infection and needing like 4 or 5 days of IV antibiotics and two weeks of antibiotics at home. It was crazy and surreal to learn that I could never fight again."
"I still can’t even straighten my arm or bend my arm to this day and have numbness in my fingers. It’s really sad and I have been dealing with some depression over losing something that was this important to me. I have been in physical therapy since it happened, trying to get my arm ready for the fight against Kurbanov which was an easy win for me. The kid only has 9 fights under his belt and had no idea what he was getting into."
"We just finished a 4 city fight tour in Russia and I was amped to get back in the ring and prove myself after the decision against Avanysean. I am hearing I have post surgical trauma causing bone spurs or something like that and need another surgery, so I know this the time to announce retirement."
Mosley capture world titles at lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight. He fought a who's who of top names - including Oscar De La Hoya (twice), Fernando Vargas (twice), Vernon Forrest (twice), Antonio Margarito, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ricardo Mayorga (twice), Manny Pacquiao, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Winky Wright (twice) and many more.
He is considered to be one of the best lightweights in the history of the sport, but made his mark when he jumped straight to welterweight and secured an upset decision win over De La Hoya in 2000.
Mosley also made headlines outside of the ring, when disclosed to a grand jury during the BALCO scandal that he had used performance-enhancing drugs while preparing for the rematch with De La Hoya in 2003. Mosley has long claimed that he did not knowingly use any banned substances and claims that he was under the impression that all of the products being used were legal.
Mosley and De La Hoya would become business partners in Golden Boy Promotions - until Mosley departed from the company around 2011 to take a fight with Pacquiao.