Top Rank Declines Option, Shane Mosley a Free Agent

"Sugar" Shane Mosley is now officially a promotional free agent after Top Rank declined to pick up the option on his next fight, according to Dan Rafael. Here's what Bob Arum had to say:

"We like Shane, but we told him the reason was that we didn't want to leave him hanging around waiting, because right now we have nothing for him, so it would be wrong to keep the option and then just do nothing with him. We said if something comes up and he was still available, then I would hope we would be able to make a deal, but right now I don't see anything on the horizon."

Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KO) put in a hugely criticized performance -- or non-performance -- on May 7 against Manny Pacquiao, a major event fight that Top Rank went out of their way to make, and that Shane Mosley went out of his way to grab. Prior to that fight, Mosley was not only a fighter at Golden Boy Promotions, but a shareholder and part of the core of the company in some ways. He parted ways with longtime business partner Oscar de la Hoya in order to make the fight with Pacquiao, and now at 39 years old, is at a career low with, perhaps, very few options open for him. He's winless in his last three and all of the fights drew criticism for his inability to either compete or provide compelling action.

I don't think there's anyone out there who doesn't see Mosley as a shot fighter at this point. He's trigger shy, doesn't move the way he used to, and doesn't engage and trade punches the way he used to, either. His hand speed is largely gone, and all that remains is possibly overrated power -- possibly overrated today, simply because he hasn't really hit anyone in his last three, except for one knee-buckling right hand against Floyd Mayweather Jr in May 2010.

It's absolutely no surprise that Top Rank isn't looking to stay in the Shane Mosley business. Yes, they could probably find fights for him, but Mosley is going to want big money fights from here on out, and I just don't think there's any more public demand to see him fight. Speaking as a big Shane Mosley fan, I have zero desire to see him fight again, no matter the opponent. If you were a promoter, would you really want to give him good guaranteed money, which is what he'll demand?