Mosley/Clottey a Done Deal for Dec. 26

↵A day after I wrote the words, "Can Shane Mosley get a lapdance over here or what?", Shane Mosley finally got himself a lapdance. Scheduled one, anyway. From a meanass Ghanaian bruiser with an iron chin and a chip on his shoulder. Shane might want to start frequenting a different strip club.
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↵The Shane Mosley/Josh Clottey bout long had been rumored for December 5, but then HBO asked Shane to step aside from that date to make room for the rescheduling of Kelly Pavlik/Paul Williams (which, due to Pavlik's lingering injury and Dan Goossen's hurt feelings, seems like it's still up in the air). Then there were all sorts of rumors, the latest one that blew up being the Mosley vs. Zab Judah fiasco that simply resulted in an opportunity for Zab to once again prove to the world that he is boxing's answer to Stephon Marbury (they even sort of look alike, although I suspect that if Starbury reads that he definitely will not be sending me a muffin basket).
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↵And so Shane, after hunting big game for most of 2009 (while remaining inactive, let us not forget, since his stunning mastery of Margarito in January), is forced to settle for what promises to be anything but a stroll in the meadow with Clottey on the day after Christmas. I've said it before, and I'll say it again – it's hard out there for a pimp.
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↵I credit Shane, as I credited Cotto before him, for agreeing to fight a monster like Clottey, because on paper he is a fighter to be avoided – not much of a following, not much of a mandate outside the small, passionate boxing cult, and yet, despite those shortcomings, a very tough out guaranteed to send you home with a helping of hurt for your troubles.
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↵It's quite a risk for Mosley to lay his WBA welterweight title on the line in such a difficult test, especially given that he still seems to believe that he will score a mega-fight or two down the line somewhere. He loses to Clottey, those plans immediately go up in smoke. Shane turns 38 this Monday (the same day my son turns one… sorry, had to throw that in there) and I tend to think that news of this fight comes as anything but a birthday present. With a warrior like Shane, you never count him out of anything, but at the same time you have to recognize that as he gets older and older, it seems like his road just gets harder and harder.
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↵One final note: In a year where the FOY candidates have been few and far between, it would not surprise me at all if Mosley and Clottey deliver the best fight of 2009 with just five days left on the calendar. I thought Cotto/Clottey was shaping up to have FOY potential before Cotto got cut. Mosley/Clottey should pick up right where that early action left off. These are quite possibly the two physically strongest 147's on the planet, and when they clash, well, the proverbial rock and a hard place will settle their differences once and for all.↵

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