By Keith Idec
Shane Mosley tweeted this week that Bernard Hopkins has inspired him to remain committed to winning another world title.
That could require more patience than Mosley might’ve thought just a couple months ago. Since his proposed April 27 WBA welterweight title fight against champion Paulie Malignaggi fell apart last month, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer has encountered resistance from executives at HBO and Showtime regarding Mosley’s return on one of those networks.
“I talked to the networks, to HBO and to Showtime, and there’s sort of a reluctance to have Shane back on premium-subscription TV,” Schaefer said. “So I was telling [Golden Boy matchmaker] Eric [Gomez] I think that if Shane wants to continue his career, what he might need is one or two tune-up fights, where the networks, the fans and the media see that Shane is, in fact, not done, that he’s back. I think he needs at least one of those before we’re really able to get him on HBO or Showtime.”
The 41-year-old Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KOs, 1 NC), a former champion in three weight classes, has not fought since Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KOs) dominated him in a 12-round WBC junior middleweight title fight May 5 in Las Vegas. Though the Pomona, Calif., native is certain to become a first-ballot Hall-of-Fame selection when he becomes eligible, Mosley is 0-3-1 in his last four fights and hasn’t won since he destroyed Mexico’s Antonio Margarito to take the WBA welterweight title in January 2009.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
