By Rick Reeno
Former three division champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley (47-8-1, 39KOs) spoke to BoxingScene.com about Adrien Broner's arrival to the welterweight division. Broner (27-0, 22KOs) jumped from lightweight to welterweight last month and won a twelve round split decision to capture the WBA championship.
After a one year layoff, Mosley returned to action in May and won a twelve round decision over Pablo Cesar Cano in Cancun, Mexico. Mosley is eager to get another shot at the welterweight crown and likes his chances against Broner.
BoxingScene.com: Thoughts on Broner's welterweight debut.
Mosley: I think Adrien Broner did pretty good. It was his first fight at welterweight moving up. You could see that he wasn't a full-fledged welterweight yet. For what he had, he did well. I think 140 would be a possibly good weight to go down to because that's more of his size, but I think he did some pretty good things with Paulie. He landed some nice clean shots with him. I thought he did pretty good at welterweight.
BoxingScene.com: How did your jump from 135 to 147 differ from the move Adrien made?
Mosley: It was a little different for me because I was a 147-pounder fighting at lightweight, where Adrien went from 126 to 130 to 135 and then he jumped to 147. [Paulie] was the perfect guy to fight at 147. When I fought at 147, my guy was coming down in weight from 154. I was going up to 147 and I got the knockout. I think he was a lot tougher than Paulie Malignaggi. I think if you put my opponent, Wilfredo Rivera, againt Paulie - he would have beat Paulie. I think Wilfredo went to a [split decision] with Pernell Whitaker and [Whitaker] was great fighter.
BoxingScene.com: How do you and Broner match up at 147?
Mosley: I think Adrien is used to guys who are a little but smaller and not a full-fledged 147-pounder. I think I would do well because of my strength. It’s like when you saw Cano fighting Paulie and he was chasing Paulie around the ring. Paulie got away with a close decision and then you see me fight Cano and I was chasing Cano around the ring in his hometown at welter. Paulie is a small welter but he hits like a lightweight, so it was the perfect opponent for Adrien to fight. I think when Adrien gets in there with somebody bigger, a real big welterweight who could really punch and he gets hit with some real hard shots - it could be a different outcome. He still has time to fill in and be a full welterweight but right now I don't think he's a full welterweight yet. But he did have a perfect opponent to win a world title but that wasn't a real welterweight.
BoxingScene.com: There is some discussion about Broner facing Marcos Maidana.
Mosley: Maidana is not a real welterweight but he's a big 140-pounder. I think it will be an interesting fight. Adrien will have to punch a lot. I think this fight will let us see what kind of chin he has, if he has a welterweight chin or a lightweight chin. We'll see if he's a real welterweight because Maidana will test him to see if he has a real welterweight chin.
BoxingScene.com: You were the original opponent for Malignaggi in June. There were some financial issues and the fight fell through. Based on his performance with Broner, what are your thoughts?
Mosley: He did the smart thing. He wasn't believing the hype that everybody was saying - 'oh he's too old, he's washed up and done.' Paulie didn't believe the hype and he knew better. I can't get mad at him.
BoxingScene.com: You lost to Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul Alvarez - three of the best fighters from 147 to 154 and there is no shame in that.
Mosley: And when I did lose to those guys I was injured except for Saul. For Saul I was just coming back and finished with my injury. I was injured when I fought those other two guys and I couldn't move like I wanted to. Now my legs are behind me. And I'm able to do what I need to do. I can really move like want to instead of being flat-footed, and now I can be more bouncier and springier off my feet. A lot of people are overlooking that. Now I'm better and I'm ready to fight anybody out there. I think things would have been a lot different if I would have fought those guys how I am now.
