The following video caused an uproar this past week as Showtime revealed a previously unseen conversation between boxing trainer Naazim Richardson and legendary boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley between the 10th and 11th rounds of his recent championship fight against pound-for-pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao.
Mosley, well-renowned for his toughness and indomitable spirit, was trying to quit on his stool. More accurately, he was ordering Richardson to do it for him.
The video was used to promote the final installment of Showtime's "Fight Camp 360" that aired this past Saturday night. In the full clip, it is revealed that Mosley had felt a massive blister pop on his foot and was concerned about the resulting lack of mobility. Richardson, as he later explained, believed Mosley quitting on himself and getting out of the fight would be a decision that would haunt Shane for the rest of his life once the dust had settled and the fight was over. He also stressed to Shane afterward that he would never put him in danger and truly believed in Mosley's ability to finish the fight.
Richardson's been blasted by many in the media for not listening to Shane's demand to stop the fight between rounds, saying that decision belonged to the fighter and the fighter alone. Others have attacked Mosley for trying to quit during such a high-profile bout when his performance prior to then had already been so lackluster, despite scoring a bogus knockdown in the 10th round due to an admitted error by referee Kenny Bayless.
I think a guy that has accomplished what Shane Mosley has in his career should be given benefit of the doubt regarding his conversation with Richardson and his desire to end a bout he was badly losing. However, I also think Richardson acted appropriately as well. It is the trainer's job to sometimes protect the fighter from himself. Normally, this means calling off a fight when the boxer is too hurt to safely continue, even if the fighter wants to go on. In this case, Mosley was getting beaten but was not gravely injured. The physical problem was a blister which, while extremely painful, was not going to put him at risk of catastrophic injury. His lack of movement could set up punches from Pacquiao but if Manny started bombing on Shane to where Shane was getting hurt, I believe Richardson would throw the towel in. As it was, Shane Mosley was about to pull a Roberto Duran if left to his own devices. One of the greatest and most accomplished boxers of any generation, Duran is still best known for his "No mas" quitting on the stool against Ray Leonard. After a lackluster fight, Mosley refusing to come out for the bell in the 11th round would have been the defining moment of his career that, up until then, had been so brilliant. (Controversy about PEDs aside.)
In addition, I think Mosley knew this. That's why he was demanding Richardson to stop the fight for him. If he really believed he was in danger and that the fight must be stopped for his health, all he had to do was tell the referee and the fight would be called without question. Instead, he wanted Richardson to do the deed for him, likely so he could spin it as a corner decision after the fight was over and not his personal choice. Risky game to play with a documentary crew around ringside, but if Mosley couldn't continue, he could have stopped the fight himself.
Boxing's a brutal sport that claims several lives every year in the United States alone so the dangers of continuing a losing fight should not be glossed over. But it is a sport these athletes chose and that these two particular athletes got paid very richly for. That money comes from the people who purchase the pay-per-view event at sixty bucks a pop. The guy who worked an overtime shift the past week and paid his phone bill late so he could see Shane Mosley try to make history one more time. That guy deserves another two rounds, six minutes, if Shane Mosley has it in him. And while the last two rounds were mostly Mosley backing away and not engaging the aggressive Pacquiao, he clearly had it in him.
Naazim Richardson wasn't wrong. He saw the angles, saw the responsibility and knew what Mosley could and couldn't do at that moment in time. The result was a mostly boring fight, but a still preserved legacy that was nearly destroyed in the 60 seconds between rounds. Richardson protected Shane Mosley from himself.
And that's the trainer's job.
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