Interview with Sergio Mora

The Boxing Bulletin's Jeff Pryor had a chance to talk to Sergio Mora about Saturday night's PPV showdown against Shane Mosley.  Check out the audio version of the interview here or scroll down to the bottom for the audio player link.

"Out of the blue..." is how Sergio Mora described his bout with Mosley and how it came to him. He tells a tale of impressing the Golden Boy brass with his spirited knockout of unheralded, but hard fighting Calvin Green while serving undercard duty this past spring. He also has an idea that he might be in line to take over the L.A. market for Golden Boy with an impressive win on the 18th.

About ten days ago I had a chance to talk with Mora about that impending showdown with Shane Mosley. The man I spoke with was calm, confident, eager and hungry. While these qualities have always been apparent when speaking with him, he also seemed more focused than at any previous time we'd spoken. While his perceived cocky demeanor has been a prime reason for his unpopularity with boxings hardcore constituency (coupled with his participation in The Contender), I have always found him to be an honest and extremely intelligent fellow who doesn't say things to be cocky or brash, but does so from a well thought out perspective after analyzing them and determining it's how he really feels. He has great self confidence, but honestly appraises himself and is quick to admits his shortcomings.

One such short coming is his penchant for not focusing or training as hard when he isn't motivated by an opponent. Based on what Mora had to say during our conversation, it's clear he knows what this bout means to his career and future with Golden Boy Productions.

"At the end of the day, Top Rank actually offered a little bit more." he told me, of his recent decision making process in signing with a promoter, however with Golden Boys aging flagship fighters there was an opening that "The Latin Snake" believes he has the opportunity to fill. "I thought it made more sense for the future, and it's panning out. Right now it feels like I made the right decision."

Mora lives and fights with a chip on his shoulder, born from having to deal with the ire of boxing fans who feel he was given a free pass to stardom, and there is a certain resignation in his voice when it comes to the respect his career has lacked from most directions.

"I can have the best performance against shane and I'm still going to get hated on... so I just have to go in there and win."

When the conversation turned to his legendary opponent, Mora, effusive as ever, showed the often misunderstood self belief...

"If I'm really 100% ready to go. I feel I can beat anybody. And I think this is one of those camps."

Our conversation touched on what a fighter thinks about as he's hitting the bag, and just how much Shane populates his mind at the moment. He spoke of his current sparring partners and sparring as a youngster with Terry Norris, Fernando Vargas and others that shaped his style. He also had some hardline opinions on the Mayweather and Pacquiao debacle, as well as Bernard Hopkins continued career.

Sergio Mora, as he himself told me, isn't the biggest, the fastest, or most powerful guy... but from my own observations I can tell you he is an intelligent fighter in and out of the ring. I believe he may be on to something when he opined about his unusual style and fighting awkwardness and acumen.

"Shane's never seen anyone like me."

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