“Sugar” Shane Mosley’s unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez not only impacted his professional record but his wallet as well, the Hall of Fame fighter has revealed.
“They were gonna pay me $600,000 [for the Alvarez fight], but I made a bet for a million dollars that I was gonna beat Canelo, and if I would’ve won I’d have $6 million,” Mosley told Mario Lopez on “OK Bet.”
“I was thinking this snot nose kid is not gonna beat me at 154 [pounds]. I had to pay $400,000 for getting my butt kicked. Canelo got me.”
Mosley was 40-years-old and Alvarez was 21 at the time when the fight took place on May 5, 2012 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Alvarez cruised to a win with scores of 110-118 and 109-119 twice and outlanded Mosley 348 to 183 in the fight.
Mosley retired in 2016 with a record of 49 wins (41 KOs), 10 losses and 1 draw.
The three-division champion was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.
In an interview with BoxingScene.com last year, Mosley dished high praise toward Alvarez.
“The fighter of the decade [from 2010 to 2019] for me was Canelo Alvarez,” said Mosley. “He moved up in weight from 154 to 160, 168, 175, and he dominated. He fights all of the best fighters out there.
“Canelo is a man now. When I fought him he was 22 years old. He was really good and I was impressed by him when I was in the ring with him. I really was trying to use my experience and walk him down because he didn’t know as much as I did. He has a great corner and a great team. The coaching is spectacular. They make him throw punches the right way. He has great reaction, punching power, speed. The guy is a total package. He’s pound-for-pound the best right now. He knows old school and new school. I was surprised by the knowledge that he had. He beat me, and it’s obvious that he’s a great.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com