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2015 has been quite a year for Shane Mosley, an odd career rebirth that has come mostly via Twitter and not so much via a largely ignored rematch in August with Ricardo Mayorga, which Mosley won in dominant fashion after having been out of the ring for nearly two years.
Mosley, now 44, has used the social media platform to talk his way back into the boxing public's minds, and quite capably at that. He's said he's just being himself these days, not holding back, and saying what he wants. This has led him to a trash talking back-and-forth with newly-crowned WBO junior middleweight titleholder Liam Smith, who beat John Thompson for the belt on Saturday in Manchester.
Mosley is not impressed with Smith, nor with a promo photo of Thompson:
I wanna know why this fight poster looks like a bad boy band ad & black guy looks like a temptation @LiamBeefySmith pic.twitter.com/VKbsssoDe6
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) October 11, 2015
@ShaneMosley_ ay silly bollucks, didn't once disrespect you, old man. So don't start.
— Liam Smith (@LiamBeefySmith) October 11, 2015
He don't want these hands. They gonna try and shoot me a low ball offer no one would take to save face watch https://t.co/b9TDOWigg8
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) October 11, 2015
Now that that's been settled. I got to get to the gym downstairs. That I own. In Big Bear. That I bought by KOin dudes like @LiamBeefySmith
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) October 11, 2015
@ShaneMosley_ mate, u let mayorga grab your woman's Arse an done nothing about it, say no more mate. Have fun in the gym
— Liam Smith (@LiamBeefySmith) October 11, 2015
Agh that's cute. Look at @LiamBeefySmith learning how to talk shit to get a big fight.I'm proud of you chap #UrDaddy https://t.co/xpejbBqlYq
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) October 11, 2015
Thankfully, things ended on a slightly brighter note between the two fighters. Relatively speaking, anyway.
@ShaneMosley_ couldn't be arsed with all the shite talk on here. Have a good one mate
— Liam Smith (@LiamBeefySmith) October 11, 2015
You too. Thanks for all the laughs. Congrats on your win my friend. https://t.co/HpoN2viZKJ
— Shane Mosley (@ShaneMosley_) October 11, 2015
Mosley tells World Boxing News that he hadn't even heard of Smith until Sunday on Twitter, but that if potential fights with Ruslan Provodnikov and Chris Algieri fall through, and Frank Warren can put together the right deal, he'd go to the UK and fight "Beefy."
Mosley (48-9-1, 40 KO) is 2-4-1 in his last seven fights dating back to his 2010 loss to Floyd Mayweather, but looked in great shape against Mayorga (who did not look in any sort of shape other than "out of") and says he's injury-free after struggling with nagging issues for a few years. Smith (21-0-1, 11 KO) is 17 years Mosley's junior and in his prime, but there's reason to believe he hasn't fought anyone on Mosley's level, even considering Sugar Shane is well past his best years.
Do you think this is an interesting fight? Could Mosley win another world title if this thing comes together?