Why wasn't Shane Mosley able to crossover like Floyd and Pac?

[Motorcity Cobra]

lets not get to carried away, yea mosley didnt have a crazy personality and didnt draw in certain people.. but mosley was a big big name and i think its fair to say was a household name

I agree, household name. I remember seeing him on a cpl TV shows and talk shows. Much more known than most fighters. But after he beat ODLH his career didn't go the same way as Pac's and Mayweather's

[jqSide]

Too inconsistent wins. Not even about his personality. He's eloquent. Gets guest appearances on Leno, which would get even the non-fans of boxing curious in following him. He lost his fight after that interview, if I remember correctly.

[bluebeam]

They say the road to becoming a PPV star was to beat Oscar. Shane beat Oscar twice before Mayweather and Pac. His only PPV fights were against Oscar, Mayweather and Pac. Why wasn't he able to crossover and become a PPV star?

Edit also Mora, Cotto, Vargas I were PPV

Not just mosley though. Hopkins and tito didn't become as big as floyd and Manny either.

But the real reason mosley didn't cross over was because he passed on the rematch with oscar because he didn't feel oscar deserved the bigger split coming off of a loss.

Mosley turned down 8 million dollars for an immediate rematch. All momentum was loss from there.

[Motorcity Cobra]

Not just mosley though. Hopkins and tito didn't become as big as floyd and Manny either.

But the real reason mosley didn't cross over was because he passed on the rematch with oscar because he didn't feel oscar deserved the bigger split coming off of a loss.

Mosley turned down 8 million dollars for an immediate rematch. All momentum was loss from there.

I didn't know that. Why was he with a smaller promoter?

[- Ram Raid -]

Granted his opposition in between wasn't great but Forrest derailed his career somewhat. By then I'm sure Mosley was sick of the site of him bearing in mind he'd also beat him in the '92 Olympic trials. Those back-to-back defeats to Forrest and Winky stick out a mile on his resume. Especially by today's standard response to a defeat. Confidence building gimme fights.

Mosley for me, and this isn't meant as a slur given the standard we're holding him up to, wasn't good enough to cross over like Pacquiao and Mayweather. Plus, Mosley had some alright wins by the time he'd fought Oscar but Manny already had wins over Barrera, Morales and Marquez. Floyd already had an Olympic medal (in memorably controversial fashion), wins over Hernandez, Manfredy, Corrales, Castillo, Corley, Gatti and Judah. Some quality fighters and some that had decent exposure themselves.

So both Manny and Floyd already had better momentum and track records going into fights with Oscar.

[boliodogs]

I don't know. Maybe because he wasn't quite as good as they were. I didn't like to watch him that much although he was very good. He did way to much grabbing, holding with one hand while hitting with other, clinching and wrestling.I like to see a fist fight in boxing matches and not a wrestling match. If I want to see a mix of boxing and wrestling I'll watch MMA. That's why I was never a Mosley fan but I can't speak for other fans.

[kej718]

He fought everyone when he should have ducked some guys and milked those wins. After Oscar he should have went for Felix Trinidad fight some winnable fights, then Arturo Gatti fight some winnable fights, and then Fernando Vargas.

But he dared to be great and tried to fight the best out there. He really should have went after Floyd when he was the one calling him out. I think that is the time he began having issues with his hands. If he won that fight things would be a lot different.

[HAY-B]

They say the road to becoming a PPV star was to beat Oscar. Shane beat Oscar twice before Mayweather and Pac. His only PPV fights were against Oscar, Mayweather and Pac. Why wasn't he able to crossover and become a PPV star?

Edit also Mora, Cotto, Vargas I were PPV

I feel Shane was on the cusp of super stardom until Forrest wrecked him in their first fight. Had Shane won that fight things would have been different IMO.

[bluebeam]

I didn't know that. Why was he with a smaller promoter?

Oscar was the cash cow, so he still demanded the lion share of the money.

If you watch the rematch between oscar and mosley, you will hear lampley and merchant talk about how mosley was basically stupid for turning down 8 million for a rematch only to eventually fight Oscar again for less than 8 million.

[sicko]

I will be honest and I know most fans would never admit it because they have their heads stuck so far up the favorite fighters asses but...

Cherry Picking Is Required To Build Up A Superstar In Boxing! I'm sure Managers and Promoters would probably admit this that yes you do avoid certain fighters for awhile until your fighter is at that level in which even if he takes risk and lose he will still be a draw. That is basically what Oscar did when he stepped up and fought Trinidad he was at that level in which Defeats to Trinidad and Mosley did not hurt him in fact he would go on to become a bigger draw even after those defeats.

Shane on the other hand wanted to test himself vs the best himself and wanted to be that fighting champion and ran into Vernon Forrest. Back then MOST avoided Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright for a reason. Respect to Mosley for fighting them but those fights also showed why others wouldn't dare fight either of those fighters at the time INCLUDING OSCAR!

So no he never reached that Superstar/Draw Level because he did not cherry pick.