Saturday, February 10, 2007 Quijano: More sugar, please By Jingo Quijano The last round
HE owned all the right moves—a blinding jab, a scintillating body attack, impeccable footwork and an impressive array of fluid combinations. He even had the stamina and the speed to complement his natural boxing abilities.
So they nicknamed him “Sugar” in the tradition of two proud warriors who once ruled the squared circle— Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard.
It was only a matter of time, they said. Destiny would not be denied and so indeed, on June 17, 2000, Sugar Shane Mosley rightfully ascended to the top of the boxing world by dethroning WBC Welterweight champion Oscar de la Hoya. In doing so, he became pound-for-pound, the best in the world.
But sadly, too much sugar is bad for our health and so, as fate would have it, on January 2002, Mosley lost to rival Vernon Forrest, the same boxer who defeated him in the amateurs.
The bigger, rangier Forrest proved that the good old one-two, the left jab-right hand combo performed with some pop behind it, was more than enough to compensate for Mosley’s flashier ring moves.
Doubtful that Forrest was the better man, Mosley tries again in a rematch, but it yielded the same result. Thereafter, the ranks of the doubters began to swell. He wasn’t worthy of his moniker, they wailed. Unperturbed, Mosley managed to score a second victory over De la Hoya in 2003, but the outcome was far from being decisive. Most of the fans thought the Golden Boy deserved the nod, and so instead of boosting his career, the controversial win only generated more doubt.
Then came the back-to-back losses to lefty Winky Wright and quite unfairly, some people began wondering whether he was that good enough in the first place. He did manage to come up with a four-fight winning streak after that, punctuated by his recent double TKO victories over “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas.
However, that proved nothing, his detractors argued. Vargas was already a shot fighter the first time they fought. This Sunday, Sugar Shane will try to silence his critics and make one more stab at glory when he faces southpaw Luis Collazo for the WBC interim welterweight crown. Can he pull one more sweet trick out of his bag of goodies? Late in their careers, the other sugar men made successful comebacks, which to this day, defines and underscores their greatness. At 37 years of age, Sugar Ray Robinson still managed to beat Hall of Famers Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio and before he retired, wore the middleweight crown a few more times. Sugar Ray Leonard came out of a three-year retirement to score a victory over Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
My prediction? Mosley may be fading, but his championship experience pulls him through. He will again have trouble with Collazo’s southpaw stance, but wins by decision in an action-packed, crowd-pleasing give-and-take affair.
PUERTO RICAN GETAWAY. Just as I suspected, there was no way Bob Arum was going to allow Manny Pacquiao to train in Puerto Rico with Oscar de la Hoya, so that he could be with Freddie Roach. That’s the equivalent of allowing your girlfriend to go on a business trip with her much younger, and handsomer ex, knowing they had to share a room for professional reasons. Go figure!
SHOW ME THE CONTRACT. First, he was rumored to be fighting Valero. Then it was definitely In Jin Chi in Macau. Now, it’s reportedly Jorge Solis in Texas. No wait, he’s still busy fighting off his urge to run as mayor in General Santos City. With all the frenzy going on about who Manny’s next opponent will be, I have decided I am going to go about it in a lawyerly manner.
Which means, no signed contract, no fight. I am not going to waste precious column space on something purely speculative.
But if Manny is fighting off a hangover in some rundown bar, the Last Round will surely feature it. He’s our kind of guy!
THE LAST ROUND. Today’s last round goes out to the best corner man a son could ever have. None other than my idol, my dad Atty. Froilan V. Quijano, who is celebrating his birthday this week. My dad rose from humble beginnings to become an OIC Mayor of his hometown, Medellin and a Dean of the Southwestern College of Law. Take a bow dad, you have definitely earned it. Cheers!
