FIGHT OF FANTASY: SHANE MOSLEY VS. DEVIN HANEY By Anson Wainwright
probably could hurt Devin. I’m not going to say finish him, but he would probably win a decision.” Prediction: Mosley by decision
ANDRE BERTO Two-time welterweight titleholder “I think it would definitely be a tremendous fight.
SALVADOR RODRIGUEZ Sports journalist “I would like to give more credit to Haney, because despite everything, he has made a good career and has been building his legacy, little by little. But comparing him with Mosley at welterweight seems a little unfair to me. Mosley had a couple of seasons in the welterweight [division] and made it brilliant in the first and decent in the second. Beyond beating Antonio Margarito, the triumph over Oscar De La Hoya meant a lot among his achievements. So I would see Sugar as a favorite. “Mosley is one of those atypical cases where going up in division did not affect his power and speed, which earned him a lineal championship in the division. In the end, he scared Mayweather, and he had expected defeats, but he was competitive. Haney surprised me in his rise to welterweight, not for what he did against Jose Ramírez but for the great triumph over Brian Norman Jr. His intelligence can help him to compete with anyone. “Credit to Haney, but his best version would have problems with the best version of Mosley. Good jaw, speed and power, in addition to the IQ, I think [these attributes] would help Mosley capitalize on his advantages, as Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko did [in their fights against Haney] at some point. “It wouldn’t be an easy fight, but I feel that Mosley’s resilience and virtues would allow him to take a close victory over Haney.” Prediction: Mosley by decision
“It’ll be tough to beat prime Shane. He was extremely explosive and extremely fast off the front foot; he had a very fast twitch with his movement. He had a lot of different attributes about him – great body work, always worked up and down, was very aggressive, very fast and very strong. “Devin is an amazing fighter as well. His strengths are he’s very calculated and he’s a very smart individual. I’ve known Devin since he was a kid; he’s always been a gym rat, always been bouncing through a lot of different gyms to where a lot of other great fighters lie, just so he can pick up and learn. For Devin, if I was his coach, I’d tell him to stay behind that jab, keep that jab extremely consistent and make sure to stay off the line, meaning never to go straight forward or straight back with Shane, always stay at an angle, always keep Shane’s feet moving – you don’t want him to stay solid; you don’t want him to have too much of a solid foundation to get off those explosive shots. Just like how Vernon [Forrest] done, stay behind a very long jab, very long right hand. Everything was long. He didn’t try to go on the inside, didn’t get too close. He used all of his attributes, and I believe Devin can do the same. Devin is very athletic. He has an amazing jab. He has great fundamentals and IQ. He’d have to
JOHN SCULLY Retired fighter/trainer “I think on paper, it’s an interesting fight. It’s something that would definitely draw attention. I think Shane was a terror at 135. But at 147, especially when he was in with De La Hoya, he’s a rough customer. He’d be hard for anybody. “I think in a fight like this, Devin’s only prayer would be to put on a masterful boxing exhibition and really be flawless. He’d have to really box and use supreme skills, because there’s no way he could stand in there with Shane Mosley. “Shane had speed, skill, combinations, but the thing he doesn’t really get the credit for is he was kinda like Sugar Ray Leonard in a way: When he hurt you, he would go for it. He was known as a nice guy, but he was a killer. If he got you hurt, he got you out of there. I think if he got Devin in the situation Ryan [Garcia] did, I think it would be very hard for [Haney] to make it the distance. “I would say it would be a fight where for the first half it would be a tight fight. Shane would have to adjust to [Haney’s] speed. I just think as time went on, Shane would get stronger, faster and more determined, and I could see a clear decision or even stoppage.” Prediction: Mosley by decision
CEREBRAL BOXING TECHNIQUE AND EXPLOSIVE TOUGHNESS ARE BOTH IN THE MIX FOR THIS CLASH OF POUND-FOR-POUNDERS FROM DIFFERENT ERAS T here are several parallels between Shane Mosley’s and Devin Haney’s careers. Both started out and won world titles at lightweight. Mosley skipped junior welterweight, while Haney’s brief dalliance saw him win a title before heading to welterweight, where, like Mosley a quarter of a century ago, he claimed a title. Mosley was a pound- for-pound-rated fighter for most of his career and even held the No. 1 spot, while Haney is currently No. 8 in The Ring’s mythical rankings. Let’s look back at their journeys in more detail. Mosley was a top amateur before he turned pro in 1993. Four and a
half years after his debut, he annexed the IBF 135-pound belt from Phillip Holiday (UD 12). Eight defenses quickly followed, all won inside the distance, before Mosley took aim at his old amateur rival and Los Angeles neighbor Oscar De La Hoya up at welterweight. The two collided in a high-speed battle of wits and athleticism at Staples Center in June 2000, with Mosley pulling away in the second half to become WBC welterweight champion. He later lost twice to both Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright, but between those setbacks he added the junior middleweight championship by edging past De La Hoya in a rematch. Mosley also scored a riveting upset win over Antonio Margarito (TKO 9) and regularly looked to test himself, sharing the ring with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez before retiring. Haney was also an excellent amateur before turning professional at 17. He claimed the WBC lightweight title by the time he was 20 and then dominated George Kambosos Jr. (UD 12) to
become undisputed champion. Haney dominated Kambosos in a rematch and then edged past future Hall of Famer Vasiliy Lomachenko (UD 12) in controversial fashion. That led to junior welterweight, where he outclassed Regis Prograis (UD 12) to win the WBC title. He lost to an overweight Ryan Garcia but saw the result amended to a no- contest when Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine. Haney became a three-weight titleholder when he scored a 12-round decision over Brian Norman last November. Physically, there isn’t much difference between them. Haney at 5-foot-9 is half an inch taller than Mosley, and both have a 71-inch reach. While they match up well, Mosley had issues with opponents who move and jab well, both of which Haney does. On the other hand, Haney hasn’t faced anyone as complete at welterweight as Mosley, who was physically strong and could box and punch in equal measure. Who would triumph on the mythical matchup battlefield?
put all that stuff into play and not get into a fight with Shane. “I believe it can go either way. If Devin would be able to implement that game plan, he could outbox Shane, but it’s hard to outbox Shane – he could box as well, but he was so quick off the front foot and so explosive. He would possibly get to Devin. He
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Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk, and you can follow him on X @AnsonWainwr1ght.
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