A former rival of Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto believes there was one fighter even better than the legendary duo.
De La Hoya and Cotto both enjoyed considerable success during their respective professional careers, which culminated in them winning a combined 16 major world titles between them and each earning an induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Whilst they were both active during the same era, De La Hoya and Cotto never actually faced each other, although it was reported that a potential match-up between the duo had been in the works back in 2008 but never came to fruition.
One man that did actually share the ring with both ‘The Golden Boy’ and Cotto was retired two-weight world champion and Nicaraguan great Ricardo Mayorga.
In a round of ‘Best I Faced’ with The Ring Magazine, Mayorga surprisingly overlooked De La Hoya and Cotto when asked to reveal the best fighter he ever faced, naming none other than ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley.
“Mosley: In my book it’s Shane Mosley. He’s the most complete fighter I have ever faced.”
Mosley faced Mayorga twice during his professional career, once in 2008 and once in 2015. ‘Sugar Shane’ got the better of the Nicaraguan on both occasions, although their first encounter was very close and could have gone in favour of ‘El Matador’.
Mosley picked up multiple world titles across three divisions during his tenure, defeating the likes of De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas and Antonio Margarito before his career came to an end after he was beaten by David Avanesyan in 2016.
