How Shane Mosley Jr. Plans to Continue the Family Legacy

Shane Mosley Jr. has big shoes to fill, a fact not lost on the 23-year-old from Pomona, California.

Like other sons of famous prizefighters who choose to pursue their father’s trade, Mosley Jr. has the unique task of coming up through the ranks with eyes glued to just about everything he does or says.

But Junior seems to have a level head about him, something that appears to have been instilled in him by his famous father, “Sugar” Shane Mosley Sr., and his quick-witted grandfather, Jack.  

“The way I approach my task is working and training very hard and learning as much as I can from my father and my grandfather,” Mosley Jr. told Bleacher Report. “I just take it one day at a time, doing the best I can possibly do. I don’t necessarily try to be anybody besides Shane Mosley Jr.”

Who Mosley Jr. is right now is a young middleweight with a 2-1 record, high hopes and a world-class pedigree. If you believe the latter distinction puts pressure on him, guess again.

“I do feel pressure, but it’s the pressure I put on myself to be the best that I can possibly be. I want to be world champion. I want to be great. I put pressure on myself. As far as outside [pressure], I don’t really let that stuff bother me. That stuff doesn’t matter. What matters is me being the best I can be.”

Maybe it’s just the way he was raised. Jack Mosley, who trained Junior’s father for the majority of his career, said Mosley Jr. is his own man.

“I want him to always try to be the best at whatever he does—whether it’s boxing, swimming, talking or whatever—that, and always put God first.”

credit: Nicole Rodrigues

Mosley Sr. lived his father’s creed to the fullest measure. Before Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao ruled the boxing world, Mosley Sr. was boxing’s pound-for-pound king.

Mosley Sr. had absurdly fast hands, fiercely aggressive punching patterns and a style his father and trainer devised through long hours of training called “power boxing.” This combination made him an absolute terror at lightweight, a division he ruled as soundly as just about any fighter ever.

Mosley Sr. fought just about every world-class fighter he could during his career, from Oscar De La Hoya to Mayweather and everyone in between. He’s a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.

But Mosley Sr. retired last year, and while he recently hinted at a potential comeback, he said his primary focus in life right now was making sure his son became the best fighter he can be.

MARK J. TERRILL/Associated Press

“I love being a trainer,” said Molsey Sr. “I love to teach. I love to teach the art of boxing because it’s the sport I love. I’ve been [in boxing] for 34 years now, going on 35, so it’s pretty much my life. When I see something going wrong, the fighters I talk to know that I know what I’m talking about.”

Mosley Jr. said he feels blessed to have both his father and his grandfather accessible, and that both bring different aspects to his training.

“I am very, very lucky to have both of them in my corner, to have so much wisdom and great knowledge in my corner.”

And who is tougher on him?

“They’re both tough on me in different ways. My grandfather is tough on me as far as intensity goes, throwing punches and that type of thing. My grandfather expects a lot from me because he’s seen great work before. He demands that same great work. My father is hard on me on the mental aspects, things like technique, believing in myself and things like that.”

Mosley Sr. has high hopes for his son. He says he’s seen glimpses of what the kid can do sparring with the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Luis Carlos Abregu. The kid can hold his own.

“He’s been in the ring with a lot of world champions, so he’s not afraid to be in the ring or be hit. He’s not timid. He’s a fighter that will be a world champion.”

If there’s any constant across the wide spectrum of world champion fighters, it’s the discipline with which they hone their crafts.

Mosley Sr. had it.

The former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight world champion was known for his dedication to the sport both inside the ring and out. If you needed to find Mosley Sr., the first place to look was in the boxing gym.

The same applies to Mosley Jr.

“I love the sport. You’ve probably heard this before, but I feel like I was born to do this. I love every aspect of boxing. It is my life.”

Richard Shotwell/Associated Press

Mosley Jr. doesn't just love the glamorous aspects of boxing he saw his father enjoy at the top of the sport. Junior loves getting up in the morning and hitting the pavement for roadwork. He loves long, grueling sparring sessions. He loves the long nights spent watching film. He loves the blood, sweat and tears spilled every day when no one else is watching.

Mosley Jr. is a fighter.

“I love those things. I love training, bettering myself and challenging myself. All the things that go along with becoming a great fighter. ... I love those things. I’ve been around it my whole life.”

Jack believes in his grandson, and the soon-to-be 70-year-old takes great pride in the Mosley legacy.

“It’s really fun to watch your family participate in something you started. Junior has all the attributes to be a great champion; he just has to stay focused.”

Mosley’s legacy will forever be the “power boxing” technique he developed with his son, the one perfected in Mosley Sr.

“It’s boxing with power.  The power-boxing fighter is busy. He doesn’t throw one or two punches. He throws lots of punches, but they’re powerful.”

Mosley Sr. added: “It’s fighting hard. It’s a high level of intensity, being able to adapt to whatever is in front of you in any round. One round he might be attacking. The next he might be retreating. You have to be able to adapt.”

If Mosley Jr. is to become an adherent to the family boxing style, he’ll need to be busier than he was in his split-decision loss to Marchristopher Adkins last month. To his credit, the kid already knows it and believes the loss taught him an important lesson he couldn’t find anywhere else.  

“I learned that I can’t leave it in the hands of the judges. I need to be more decisive when I fight...like my father did when he fought. He never left it in the hands of the judges when he was coming up. He knocked them out.”

Mosley Sr. didn’t always knock them out, but he certainly threw the kinds of punches he thought would do the job. Jack Mosley said his son was the type to win close fights, like his two wins over De La Hoya, because his aggressive style earned him the judges’ favor.

But there’s another attribute of Mosley Sr. that Junior already seems to possess. Mosley Sr. never encountered a fight he didn’t like, even when he ran up against someone whose style gave him fits.

When Mosley Sr. lost to Vernon Forrest in July 2002, he immediately signed up for the rematch and lost. He did the same thing two years later against Ronald “Winky” Wright. Those guys were just too big. It’s the kind of move that drives managers crazy, but fight fans love it.

ERIC JAMISON/Associated Press

Mosley Jr. is cut from the same cloth.

“I’m looking for the rematch, if possible, and I’m looking to knock him out. I feel like after losing a fight like that, people don’t take me seriously. So I need to show them that I am serious, that I want to knock people out and be the best.”

If this surprises you, it probably shouldn’t. The kid is his father’s son and his grandfather’s grandson. He’s a fighter, a Mosley through and through.

“I want to be great,” said Mosley Jr. with a mix of humility and confidence as his father and grandfather listened intently to his words. They believe in him, not the way parents and grandparents are supposed to, but the way one genuinely believes in someone enough to encourage him to participate in the most dangerous sport in the world.

By the end of the call, I began to believe in him, too.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.