A pair of boxing fights with world title repercussions are getting attention at the sport books. Veteran great Shane Mosley (49-9-1) returns at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona on Sat May 28th. Mosley has won world titles in three different weight classes and here he returns to face David Avensyan (21-1-1) for the “interim” WBA title at welterweight. The bout is scheduled for twelve rounds though no over/under line is posted yet, and the line sees the younger fighter Avenesyan coming in as a -260 favorite, with the comeback on Mosley at +220. Mosley is now 44 years old and he has convinced himself he has one more run at a world title in him. Many remember his November of 2013 loss to Anthony Mundine that seemed to signal the end Mosley did take off more than a year and a half before launching this comeback. He retuned in August of last year to face Ricardo Mayorga in a match that was not taken seriously by the boxing public. He fought again in December for a WBA regional belt as the alphabet soup company featured him on their “KO to Drugs” event. Now with that little back scratch of a fight in the books, the WBA creates an interim belt for Mosley to shamelessly reach for. As for Avanesyan, h eis nearly two decades younger than Mosley at 27 years old. The young Russian is making his debut in the United States after a career with all his figts in Europe and Russia. He won the “Interim” piece of the belt in November of last year when he beat veteran Charlie Navarro (25-7) in Monaco via KO in 9 rounds. Despite facing a legend, he figures to be unimpressed in the ring and is rightfully favored in the fight. Heading over to the Goodison Park Stadium in Liverpool on Sunday, we see Tony Bellew facing Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC World cruiserweight championship. For Bellew, the hard working Liverpudlian, this is his third shot at a world championship and he has earned it by winning six fights in a row since moving up to the Cruiserweight division. He faces hard hitting Ilunga Makabu (19-1) as an underdog at +160, with Makabu paying back at -185. The twelve round bout has an over/under set at 8 1/2, with the over paying -205 and the under returning +165. Bellew is facing a man with 18 KOs, and he has 16 stopsin his 26 wins as well. Four of the six fights at cruiserweight have been won inside the distance by Bellew but in Makabu he figures to be facing an aggressive opponent. Will the third time going for a world title be the charm for Tony Bellew? Sunday night will tell….
