American legend Sugar Shane Mosley is primed to cross the Atlantic for his first appearance in a British ring.
A deal has been agreed in principle for Mosley to challenge Liam Smith for his world super-welterweight title in Manchester on December 19.
The fight is earmarked as the co-feature with Andy Lee’s WBO middleweight championship defence against Billy Joe Saunders, the first world title fight between two members of the travelling community in boxing’s modern era.
At 44, Mosley is clearly past his peak, during which he reigned as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter on the planet while winning world titles in three weight divisions.
But he is one of the new breed of ring veterans kept dangerously active by medical science, modern diet and training regimes - as he proved this August by launching a second comeback with an eighth-round knock-out of the tough Ricardo Mayorga.
For his part Smith, the first of the Liverpool family of four boxing brothers to win a world title, is thrilled by the prospect of sharing a ring with boxing royalty.
He says: ‘Mosley is one of the all-time greats. It will be an honour to fight him and he will be a distinguished name on my career record.’
When he decided to make a second return to action Mosley declared himself interested in ‘fighting only the top welterweights in the world.’
With Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao unavailable, he adjusted his sights to winning yet another world title and has declared himself willing to make a rare journey out of the US and step up a weight in hope of adding Smith’s WBO super-welterweight belt to his collection.
Smith became champion earlier this month in Manchester when he knocked out John Thompson in a fight for the vacant title.
Mosley has ventured abroad only once in his 59-fight, 22-year career.
That was two years ago in Sydney when, against Australia’s Anthony Mundine, back spasms forced him to retire from the fight and temporarily from boxing.
That represents Mosley’s only loss against anyone outside prize-fighting’s elite. He has been defeated twice by both Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest and once apiece by Mayweather – who he came closer than anyone to knocking out – Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.
He has also beaten both Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and Mayorga twice, as well as numbering Fernando Vargas and Antonio Margarito among his 48 victims, 40 of them by KO.
The arrival of Mosley in the Manchester Arena will excite huge interest among the boxing public here.
Perhaps more importantly for promoter Frank Warren his presence will ensure exposure for Smith, Lee and Saunders on major network television in America.
That will help propel the winner of Lee versus Saunders towards a title unification super-fight against middleweight KO sensation Gennady Golovkin next year.
Article courtesy of Daily Mail