By every objective measure, Shane Mosley vs Ricardo Mayorga II is a bad fight. Both men are 41. This is not good for their health, nor does it add anything to their legacies. Mayorga hasn’t won a meaningful fight in well over a decade and Mosley hasn’t fought it two years. So why am I so excited for it? I blame boxing Twitter.
Before I explain why I’m deeply into this freak show, I suppose it makes sense to explain just how big a freak show it is. I think the easiest way to do that is with some dot points:
- Both men turned pro during Bill Clinton’s first term.
- Mayorga hasn’t won a big fight since 2003.
- Mosley’s last fight was a TKO loss to Anthony Mundine in 2013.
- Since they fought in 2008, Mayorga tried his hand at MMA.
- Mayorga’s record in MMA was 0-3-0, 1 NC, and in the No Contest, Mayorga illegally kneed his opponent in the back.
All things being equal, it would probably be for the best if both these dudes retired. But if they’re going to continue boxing—and I don’t see how anyone can stop them, barring major medical problems—then they may as well fight on the senior circuit, rather than against young foes who might do them permanent damage.
So with that moral justification out of the way, let me explain why I’m pumped for Mosley vs Mayorga for the Weird Boxing Twitter Championship of the World.
After a career of being the nice guy, Mosley has enjoyed a late-career renaissance as a loose cannon on Twitter. Whether he’s hanging with his monkey, shadow boxing topless in Vegas hotel rooms or generally overusing the crying emoji, Mosley is a must-follow. (Side note: Seeing the emoji use of grown men you once looked up to is almost too much to bear.)
Mayorga, meanwhile, has been a Twitter star for years. An account purportedly run by his brother-in-law spews out Spanglish trash talk of the most hilariously politically incorrect (and optimistic) variety all the time. I couldn’t possibly endorse it, but go see for yourself (trigger warning: everything).
We make offer of job for Kirkland. We are need nuevo heavy bag en our gym.
— Ricardo Mayorga (@THEREALMAYORGA) May 10, 2015
In the end, people don’t always watch sport to see the best compete against the best. It’s about the spectacle. And if a 41-year-old Nicaraguan chain smoker fighting a man who owns a diaper-wearing monkey named Tito isn’t a spectacle, then God damn it, I don’t know what is. The build up to this fight is going to be so incredibly, stupidly beautiful.
Let the trash talk begin.
What does revancha mean? And did this mother fucker call me grandpa? Is that abuelo? We are the same damn age #STFU https://t.co/nSxMkjuffr
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) May 11, 2015
