Square Circle: Old Man Shane Mosley Highlights Weekend TV Boxing
Square Circle: Old Man Shane Mosley Highlights Weekend TV Boxing
By Jonathan SnowdenThe boxing landscape is packed every weekend with fighters of all shapes and sizes. The proliferation of sanctioning bodies and title fig
By Jonathan Snowden
The boxing landscape is packed every weekend with fighters of all shapes and sizes. The proliferation of sanctioning bodies and title fights means many of the bouts are for presumably highstakes. To make things even worse, padded records make everyone look like a star—at least on paper.
That's where FLO Boxing comes in. We take a look at each fight card on American television every week and help you determine how excited you probably should be about them. We also pick a winner for every main event and give you an idea what to expect in the fight. No one can possibly watch each and every bout—and with our help, you won't have to.
Network: CBS Sports Nework
Promoter: Greg Cohen Promotions
Undercard bouts: Harmonito Dela Torre (17-0). Nick Casal (22-4-1), and other prospects against various journeymen and tomato cans
Interest Level: Low
“Big Baby,” a former kickboxer who lost twice to the old man version of Mirko Cro Cop,is looking to make a name for himself in a wide open heavyweight division. Unfortunately a win over Nick Guivas won’t do terribly much to establish him as a contender—Guivas has been knocked out in his only two fights against notable heavyweights. Though Miller’s overall lack of polish probably prevents this from being a one-round starching, he should get the job done in time.
Main Event Prediction: Jarrell Miller by 5th Round KO
Network: CBS Sports Network
Promoter: GoBox (Shane Mosley)
Undercard bouts: Victor Castro (16-0) vs. Carlos Zatarian (6-2-2), Dimar Ortuz (10-0-2) vs. Ricardo Campillo (9-9-1), Shane Mosley Jr. (6-1) vs. Roberto Yong (5-7)
Interest Level: Medium
Every fighter, if they stick around long enough, has a night where they show up and finally appear truly old. On that night, even the best of the best yield to youth and fury, age giving way to youth, the timeless circle of combat sports life. And then there's Shane Mosley, a fighter weathered enough that he's actually gone through the cycle multiple times.
And yet, in 2016, we have another comeback from a long time champion looking to give it one last go. Luckily for Mosley, Avanesyan has a lot of flaws that he should be able to exploit. Avanesyan tends to switch stances erratically, leaving himself squared up and vulnerable more than he'd probably like. He often throws looping lead shots, even to the body, a habit that tends to get fighters knocked out the higher up the ladder they climb. Worse, he isn’t a purely offensive boxer either. Avanesyan lacks power—if Mosley chooses to come forwards, Avanesyan has shown a willingness to spend the whole night on the back foot.
Still, while he is flawed and clearly not an elite fighter, the old man version of Mosley is not elite himself. Like all defensively adept older fighters, Mosley has become less and less likely to “pull the trigger”, and Avanesyan at times has shown a willingness to walk his man down, applying significant amounts of pressure. Even if Mosley is able to block most of it, he probably won’t return fire.
In a perfect world we don't have to wonder about Mosley winning a bout with a fighter like Avanesyan. It goes without saying that, in his prime, this would be a grotesque mismatch. But the current version of Mosley, a 44-year-old Mosley, is a middling fighter just trying to survive in the middle of the pack. Perhaps a loss here might send him home for good.
Main Event Prediction: David Avanesyan by Majority Decision
Network: Fox Sports 1
Promoter: Leija Battah Promotions/TGB Promotions/Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Miguel Flores (19-0) vs. Ruben Tamayo (26-8-4)
Interest Level: Low
A Shane Mosley fight shouldn’t be the best card of the weekend—but here we are. Even that sad spectacle trumps a Miguel Vazquez fight, no matter who the opponent is.
Vazquez is among the sport's least watchable talents. His inside game consists almost entirely of holding, and his outside game is built behind a jab that leads to the clinch. There will be so many of hugs in this fight CompuBox should consider counting them right alongside power punches. The punches don't stand a chance.
Some might think I'm exaggerating here—but there's a persistent rumor that the CIA has replaced water boarding with repeat viewing of his fights against Ammeth Diaz and Leonardo Zappavigna, both of which could end up being added to the Geneva Conventions as illegal torture tactics. Erick Bone is a decent fighter, but truthfully, there isn’t anything about him that suggests he won't fall into Vazquez’s frustrating traps.
Main Event Prediction: Miguel Vazquez by Unanimous Decision
The boxing landscape is packed every weekend with fighters of all shapes and sizes. The proliferation of sanctioning bodies and title fights means many of the bouts are for presumably highstakes. To make things even worse, padded records make everyone look like a star—at least on paper.
That's where FLO Boxing comes in. We take a look at each fight card on American television every week and help you determine how excited you probably should be about them. We also pick a winner for every main event and give you an idea what to expect in the fight. No one can possibly watch each and every bout—and with our help, you won't have to.
Jarrell Miller (16-0-1, 14 KOs) vs. Nick Guivas (12-3-2, 9 KOs)
Key Info
Date: May 27thNetwork: CBS Sports Nework
Promoter: Greg Cohen Promotions
Undercard bouts: Harmonito Dela Torre (17-0). Nick Casal (22-4-1), and other prospects against various journeymen and tomato cans
Interest Level: Low
“Big Baby,” a former kickboxer who lost twice to the old man version of Mirko Cro Cop,is looking to make a name for himself in a wide open heavyweight division. Unfortunately a win over Nick Guivas won’t do terribly much to establish him as a contender—Guivas has been knocked out in his only two fights against notable heavyweights. Though Miller’s overall lack of polish probably prevents this from being a one-round starching, he should get the job done in time.
Main Event Prediction: Jarrell Miller by 5th Round KO
Shane Mosley (49-9-1, 41 KOs) vs. David Avanesyan (21-1-1, 11 KOs)
Key Info
Date: May 28thNetwork: CBS Sports Network
Promoter: GoBox (Shane Mosley)
Undercard bouts: Victor Castro (16-0) vs. Carlos Zatarian (6-2-2), Dimar Ortuz (10-0-2) vs. Ricardo Campillo (9-9-1), Shane Mosley Jr. (6-1) vs. Roberto Yong (5-7)
Interest Level: Medium
Every fighter, if they stick around long enough, has a night where they show up and finally appear truly old. On that night, even the best of the best yield to youth and fury, age giving way to youth, the timeless circle of combat sports life. And then there's Shane Mosley, a fighter weathered enough that he's actually gone through the cycle multiple times.
And yet, in 2016, we have another comeback from a long time champion looking to give it one last go. Luckily for Mosley, Avanesyan has a lot of flaws that he should be able to exploit. Avanesyan tends to switch stances erratically, leaving himself squared up and vulnerable more than he'd probably like. He often throws looping lead shots, even to the body, a habit that tends to get fighters knocked out the higher up the ladder they climb. Worse, he isn’t a purely offensive boxer either. Avanesyan lacks power—if Mosley chooses to come forwards, Avanesyan has shown a willingness to spend the whole night on the back foot.
Still, while he is flawed and clearly not an elite fighter, the old man version of Mosley is not elite himself. Like all defensively adept older fighters, Mosley has become less and less likely to “pull the trigger”, and Avanesyan at times has shown a willingness to walk his man down, applying significant amounts of pressure. Even if Mosley is able to block most of it, he probably won’t return fire.
In a perfect world we don't have to wonder about Mosley winning a bout with a fighter like Avanesyan. It goes without saying that, in his prime, this would be a grotesque mismatch. But the current version of Mosley, a 44-year-old Mosley, is a middling fighter just trying to survive in the middle of the pack. Perhaps a loss here might send him home for good.
Main Event Prediction: David Avanesyan by Majority Decision
Miguel Vazquez (35-5, 13 KOs) vs. Erick Bone (16-3. 8 KOs)
Key Info
Date: May 28thNetwork: Fox Sports 1
Promoter: Leija Battah Promotions/TGB Promotions/Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Miguel Flores (19-0) vs. Ruben Tamayo (26-8-4)
Interest Level: Low
A Shane Mosley fight shouldn’t be the best card of the weekend—but here we are. Even that sad spectacle trumps a Miguel Vazquez fight, no matter who the opponent is.
Vazquez is among the sport's least watchable talents. His inside game consists almost entirely of holding, and his outside game is built behind a jab that leads to the clinch. There will be so many of hugs in this fight CompuBox should consider counting them right alongside power punches. The punches don't stand a chance.
Some might think I'm exaggerating here—but there's a persistent rumor that the CIA has replaced water boarding with repeat viewing of his fights against Ammeth Diaz and Leonardo Zappavigna, both of which could end up being added to the Geneva Conventions as illegal torture tactics. Erick Bone is a decent fighter, but truthfully, there isn’t anything about him that suggests he won't fall into Vazquez’s frustrating traps.
Main Event Prediction: Miguel Vazquez by Unanimous Decision