I fought Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez but my strongest rival was ‘Winky’
Shane Mosley has fought some of the best boxers ever during his time as a professional, but it was Winky Wright that stood out. Mosley won world titles in three weight classes and was viewed as one of the most gifted operators in an era stacked with technical talent. Mosley has fought the best around including MayweatherGetty His resume was one of the best in the game, with fights against Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez on his professional record. All three of the legends possessed sensational boxing IQ and strength, which saw them go down as icons of the sport. But surprisingly, Mosley suggested it was Winky Wright who he views as his physically strongest rival. He told The Ring in Best I Faced: “Winky didn’t have punching power but he was physically very strong. “He was the strongest I faced.” Wright was naturally a super-welterweight, a weight class above Mosley when the pair touched gloves in 2004. The latter was favourite to win but the big and strong Wright sprung a huge upset in Las Vegas. He beat the much quicker Mosley to the punch throughout, outworking him and imposing his more physical style on proceedings. Wright was the victor and became undisputed champion on the scorecards, derailing Mosley’s planned mega-fight with Felix Trinidad. Luckily for ‘Sugar’ he was afforded an immediate rematch later that year. GettyMosley was beaten by a strong and aggressive Wright in 2004[/caption] This time, Mosley performed much better and was able to ease Wright’s periods of domination. He fought well on the inside, but it wasn’t enough as he crumbled to a second consecutive defeat in a narrow decision. The tricky boxer had been on such a high after outpointing De La Hoya to claim the titles in 2003. But the big nights were still to come for Mosley as he went on to fight and lose to Miguel Cotto in 2007 before reaching his clash with Mayweather in 2010. Unfortunately, like 49 other fighters, Mosley was unable to beat Mayweather but he put up a sensational display even wobbling the champion for the first time in his career. It was followed by three seismic bouts, as after drawing with Sergio Mora, he went on to suffer back-to-back points defeats to Pacquiao and Alvarez. The Filipino went on to become a legend of the sport, while the Mexican who was in the infancy of the career is now one of the sweet science’s biggest superstars. Incredibly after losing to the Mexican in 2012, Mosley went on to fight for four more years. Unfortunately for Mosley, his final bow came as a defeat to rising star David Avanesyan. Like many of his fellow icons, Mosley left a superb imprint on the sport. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Shane Mosley has fought some of the best boxers ever during his time as a professional, but it was Winky Wright that stood out.
Mosley won world titles in three weight classes and was viewed as one of the most gifted operators in an era stacked with technical talent.
His resume was one of the best in the game, with fights against Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez on his professional record.
All three of the legends possessed sensational boxing IQ and strength, which saw them go down as icons of the sport.
But surprisingly, Mosley suggested it was Winky Wright who he views as his physically strongest rival.
He told The Ring in Best I Faced: “Winky didn’t have punching power but he was physically very strong.
“He was the strongest I faced.”
Wright was naturally a super-welterweight, a weight class above Mosley when the pair touched gloves in 2004.
The latter was favourite to win but the big and strong Wright sprung a huge upset in Las Vegas.
He beat the much quicker Mosley to the punch throughout, outworking him and imposing his more physical style on proceedings.
Wright was the victor and became undisputed champion on the scorecards, derailing Mosley’s planned mega-fight with Felix Trinidad.
Luckily for ‘Sugar’ he was afforded an immediate rematch later that year.
This time, Mosley performed much better and was able to ease Wright’s periods of domination.
He fought well on the inside, but it wasn’t enough as he crumbled to a second consecutive defeat in a narrow decision.
The tricky boxer had been on such a high after outpointing De La Hoya to claim the titles in 2003.
But the big nights were still to come for Mosley as he went on to fight and lose to Miguel Cotto in 2007 before reaching his clash with Mayweather in 2010.
Unfortunately, like 49 other fighters, Mosley was unable to beat Mayweather but he put up a sensational display even wobbling the champion for the first time in his career.
It was followed by three seismic bouts, as after drawing with Sergio Mora, he went on to suffer back-to-back points defeats to Pacquiao and Alvarez.
The Filipino went on to become a legend of the sport, while the Mexican who was in the infancy of the career is now one of the sweet science’s biggest superstars.
Incredibly after losing to the Mexican in 2012, Mosley went on to fight for four more years.
Unfortunately for Mosley, his final bow came as a defeat to rising star David Avanesyan.
Like many of his fellow icons, Mosley left a superb imprint on the sport.
