by David P. Greisman
Sergio Mora has long been used to going the distance.
The middleweight contender is 28-3-2 with 9 KOs. That means he’s won by judges’ decision 19 times. The losses and, obviously, the draws also were decided on the scorecards.
He knows that not having power in this sport can leave a fighter derided. Mora says he’s had to embrace his lack of heavy hands, however, and has actually benefited because of it.
“I can’t knock people out. I’m sorry, I wasn’t born with power. You need to be born with power. If I had a way where I could inject power and knockouts and what people want to see into my arsenal, then I’d do it. But I can’t,” he said on a June 23 conference call held in advance of Aug. 1 bout against Daniel Jacobs. “I was born the way I’m born. I’ve gotta do with my abilities. I think I’ve come a long way with all the other assets I have, lacking power. I think that makes me an even better fighter. It made me evolve into a different type of boxer.
“These are the things that boxing purists and outside fans need to understand,” he said. “He’s fighting the guy with a lot of power, but how come the guy with no power is actually doing better than the guy with power? Because this is the Sweet Science, and that’s how I became a champion before. Power is not the No. 1 asset to be successful. It’s intelligence and technique and defense and body shots and strategy.”
Mora did say he’s sought to be more entertaining, noting that in his last five fights he scored knockdowns against three of his opponents.
Those also were foes who weren’t on the same level as Jacobs, a 28-year-old who is 29-1 with 26 KOs. The lone loss came via technical knockout to Dmitry Pirog back in 2010. Jacobs was out of the sport for about a year and a half from 2011 into 2012 as he battled cancer that not only threatened his career, but his life as well. Since returning he’s won seven straight, including a 12th-round stoppage of Caleb Truax this past April.
Mora will be a step up for Jacobs, though, given his experience and the skills he brings to the ring. Mora, who won boxing reality series “The Contender” a decade ago, briefly held a world title at 154 pounds after taking a majority decision over the late Vernon Forrest in 2008. Forrest won their rematch months later. Mora also had a draw with Shane Mosley in 2010 and dropped a pair of decisions to Brian Vera in 2011 and 2012.
Their fight will be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, serving as the chief co-feature undercard fight for a “Premier Boxing Champions” show on ESPN with Danny Garcia vs. Paulie Malignaggi in the main event.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com