The Forum in Inglewood, California hosts a night of PPV boxing this Saturday as Shane Mosley takes on Ricardo Mayorga in a re-match. Right now, the books have Mosley as the (-700) favorite, with Mayorga returning at (+500). The over/under for this twelve round bout is set at 9 1/2, with the over paying at (-220) and the under at (+180). Mosley is now 44 years old and he has not fought in almost two years. The two men first met in September of 2008 in a match that saw both men slug it out and ended with Mayorga getting knocked out in the last second of the last round. Mayorga is 41 now, and though he boxed twice in 2014, those bouts came after a layoff of more than two years that saw Mayorga flirt with a low-level career in Mixed Martial Arts. Now the two men meet again in what may be an entertaining match-up, but the truth is that no one was calling for this fight. Mosley has been working on his son Shane Mosley Jr’s boxing career in his off-time, and Junior is now (4-1) as a professional. Many were questioning Mosley’s motivation for returning, but once the fight was signed, Mayorga’s usual trash-talking nature kicked in and ratcheted up the heat. Mosley should still be financially set from his long, hall of fame level career, so this may be more about pride for Mosley. Mayorga however, needs the money. His last big boxing outing saw him put on a credible performance in losing to Miguel Cotto in March of 2011, but the cigarette-smoking Nicaraguan slid into a questionable career in MMA that saw him go (0-3) officially. At least one of those fights came with a low four figure payday, and controversy surrounding the match saw Mayorga forced to leave the venue through a bathroom window. Mayorga is still crazy and he is still a hard puncher, and perhaps he will be motivated by this return to big time action. In his first meeting with Mosley, it was Mayorga who struck first, winning the early rounds and getting through with big right hands throughout the fight. If Mosley has slipped further since his last outing where he lost to Tony Mundine, there me be value to be found in “El Matador.” Also on Saturday night on the island of Saint Maarten, 46 year old former pound for pound #1 Roy Jones Jr (62-8) returns to face off against Danny Santiago (33-7-1). Despite his age, this is remarkably, Jones’ fourth fight of 2015 already, and he last stepped in the ring less than two weeks ago when he notched a win over Eric Watkins. Jones Jr is also booked to fight in mid-September against England’s Tony Moran as he continues to try and make a case for a shot at a Cruiserweight world title. Though the line is not up at the books yet, check back closer to fight time for this one, where Jones Jr is expected to be a massive favorite.
