Boxer Mosley Has Success on a String

Since he first stepped into a boxing ring at 9, success has been in Shane Mosley’s corner.

The 18-year-old from Pomona has won with ease at every level.

Competing in the 132-pound lightweight division, Mosley’s recent string of successes has included back-to-back titles in the U.S. championships the past two years and second place in the Junior World championships in 1989.

Last week he captured the 132-pound title at the first U.S. Olympic Cup, an international boxing event in Salt Lake City, with a majority decision over Leonid Bronnikov of the Soviet Union.

But Mosley’s best days as a boxer appear to be in his future.

“I think he has all the potential in the world and the desire to go with it,” said Pat Nappi, longtime coach of the U.S. national team. “With (more) international experience, he’ll get even better.”

Mosley will receive the most difficult international test of his career when he represents the U.S. at the Goodwill Games July 20-Aug. 5 in Seattle. He qualified with a 4-1 decision over Lamar Murphy in the Goodwill Games boxing challenge June 9 in Las Vegas.

It is a challenge that his trainer and father, Jack Mosley, said he is prepared to meet.

“I think he’s definitely one of the favorites at the Goodwill Games,” Jack Mosley said. “There’s always room for improvement and the competition will be good. But he has to be right at the top of his division.”

Joe Zanders, who coaches the U.S. national team, said: “Right now he’s probably above and beyond anyone in the world at his weight class. Some people would say that’s pumping him too much but I think he is.”

Zanders said Mosley’s work ethic stood out during the recent Goodwill Games training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“Shane practiced more than anyone else at the Goodwill training camp,” Zanders said. “That shows me that he is willing to go above and beyond what we ask him to do to prepare. He is willing to go that extra mile as we like to call it.”

Besides his strong work ethic, there are the natural skills that have enabled Mosley to earn the top ranking in the U.S. in the 132-pound class.

“I feel his hand speed and his reflexes are some of the fastest around,” Nappi said.

“He leads effectively and he counters effectively,” Zanders said. “One of his best skills is his ability to defend. As a boxer he’s constantly adjusting to his opponent.”

Mosley said the frequent adjusting is part of his overall strategy as a boxer.

“I don’t really go in with a strategy because you never really know what the other guy is going to do,” he said. “You have to come in ready to fight different strategies. I always come in with different strategies in case one doesn’t work. I like to be flexible, not to just have a one-track mind. A good fighter adjusts real well.”

Mosley realizes there are still areas in which he needs to improve.

“I know there’s still some things I need to sharpen up,” he said. “I don’t want to get tangled up with my opponents and I have to work on finding a little more punching power. The speed and the power is there. You just have to twist your body and snap it at the right time.”

But Jack Mosley said his son is always willing to learn.

“He’s still got a lot of things to work on,” he said. “He’s learning all the time and there’s always room for improvement. Styles change and he has to learn them as he goes along. But my philosophy is to keep an open mind and keep working hard and that way you’ll always stay ahead of the game.”

For the moment, Mosley has set his sights on a gold medal in the Goodwill Games--a goal that appeared more reachable after his victory over Bronnikov in the U.S. Olympic Cup final last week. The win was particularly impressive since Bronnikov, nearly 10 years older than Mosley, is two-time European champion and ranked No. 1 in the Soviet Union in his class.

“He had a lot of experience,” Mosley said. “Since he’s No. 1 in Russia and he’s won the European championships two times, he knows what he’s doing.”

He said he has to keep the victory in perspective, though.

“I’ve fought fighters in the U.S. that I thought were tougher than he was, very strong and determined,” Mosley said. “I was just quicker and outsmarted him.”

But Mosley said the bout provided a good tune-up for his appearance in the Goodwill Games, an event that he is approaching at an opportune time.

“I feel like I’m going into the Goodwill Games at the right time because I’ve been training hard and my mind is focused on it so I think I can do well.”

Since returning from the U.S. Olympic Cup tournament, Mosley has resumed training with his father at the Pasadena Youth Athletic Club in Pasadena’s Villa Parke.

“I’ll be doing a lot of running, training techniques like twisting my body and just sharpening myself and keeping ready,” Mosley said.

Mosley will train at the gym until July 6, when he will leave to train with the rest of the U.S. team in Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., near the Mexican border.

After the Goodwill Games, Mosley has the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and a professional career in his plans.

The only question seems to be what weight class he will competing in. At 5-9, Mosley is expected to grow out of the 132-pound class.

“He still has a lot of growing to do,” said Jack Mosley, who is 6-0. “Our doctor said he should end up 5-10 1/2 or 5-11. I don’t want to push him (to stay at 132) either. As you get older you just put on more weight.”

The boxer says he is undecided if he will make the switch to the 139-pound junior welterweight class after the Goodwill Games.

“I think I might make it after the Goodwill Games,” he said. “It depends on how well I do and how much I grow. . . . I know that I’m lighter and I’m quicker and sometimes I feel a little stronger at that weight, too. I can easily move up to 139 now, but I feel more comfortable right now at 132.”

But Mosley, whose natural weight is about 142, realizes that he will have to make the move up to a higher weight class eventually. When he turns pro, his father thinks Mosley will fight as a welterweight (147) or middleweight (154).

“Next year we will probably have to go up to 139 pounds so we’ll have to start all over again,” Jack Mosley said. “But I think he should be at the top of that level, too.”

Zanders thinks Mosley has the ingredients to be successful at any level.

“I really think he has the potential to be a world champion,” Zanders said. “He has the potential to be a champion in the Olympics, the Pan Am Games and the pros.

“The only thing he has to realize is that he has to stay focused and keep his intensity through each of his goals.”

Mosley is not about to get caught looking ahead.

“I think about the Olympics all the time but I know I have to work to stay on top and there are a lot of people underneath me that want to get there, too,” he said.

The first step is to win at the Goodwill Games.

“Winning the gold medal at the Goodwill Games can help too--maybe not as much as the Olympics, but it’s definitely a good steppingstone.”

With a little more hard work, Mosley realizes it is an accomplishment that is well within his reach.