State Of The Game: A Message To Jin Mosley, Of Sorts

By Jeff Young

04/10/2004

State Of The Game: A Message To Jin Mosley, Of Sorts


It seems like as of late everyone is quickly becoming obsessed with a Mosley, and it is not Shane but his wife Jin. I have been hearing for a long time about Jin, but never really paid that much attention to the going back and forth between different writers and the wife of the former pound for pound champion. It seems to me that something is getting lost in all of this and things are being over looked. I personally do not know Mrs. Mosley, I have never spoken with Shane (have never attempted to talk with Shane), nor do I have an interest in what goes on between their family and the rest of boxing public, but there are things to remember out of all this.

When it comes to Shane Mosley not wanting to speak with certain writers, these writers must remember that it is his choice, and if he is influenced by his wife to make these decisions then that is also between him and Jin, not between the press and them. As Jin has stated, Shane does not have the time to read or look at all the sites that are writing about him and what people are saying. He should not have to, if Shane spent all his time doing this he would have never accomplished the things that he has done. In steps his partner, Jin. This is one of the things that a wife does for her husband and Jin Mosley is not the only boxing wife that does this so it is not something new that Jin is doing, a lot of wives take this job.

I know several writers that have turned against fighters that they have praised for most of their careers until they lose and then these guys find out who really supports them. At the same time, most fighters do not look at everything that is printed, but their wives will and they will do what Jin is doing now. There was one fighter that after losing his first professional fight would not go on the internet to see what was being said about him, however his wife took that position telling her husband that he did not have to worry about that she would remember the writers that flip flopped on her husband and that when the time came when he was world champion, those would not be allowed to speak to her husband.

Jin is basically doing the same thing. She is taking the role of looking out for her husbands interests. She should not be blamed for anything that has gone on in the career of Shane Mosley. I remember it was not that long ago that the overwhelming majority of writers and fans were saying that Shane should find a new trainer and that he should get rid of Jack. Now that the change has been made, I see now that many are saying that it was Jin that caused the split. Is this just hatred for the wife of Sugar Shane because she has an interest in her husbands career, because these are some of the same people that called for the replacement of Jack Mosley shortly after Shane lost to Vernon Forrest. 

Now we do have to remember that Shane is entering a very dangerous point in his career. In his last four fights he has went 1-3-1, and was even counted out in his rematch with Oscar Delahoya, yet he got the decision that many thought he should not have. Shane then went out and did what no one else was willing to do and that was fight Winky Wright, and now Wright is returning the favor. Even Team Mosley knows just how important this fight is in the career of Shane Mosley. A loss drops him not only out of the race, but will more than likely lose some major pay days, and not only that but it could send Shane out of boxing, or especially out of the talented 154 pound division. So it is only obvious that the person closest to Shane will do everything in her power to take some stress off of him and if that is dealing with the media in the only way she knows how then that is what she is doing.

I do not have a problem with Jin Mosley expressing her feelings about writers, it is her right and it is her true feelings. She should do everything in her power to give her husband help in situations as it seems that no one thinks Shane has a chance to beat Winky in the rematch. That is a lot of pressure on a fighter at this stage of his career. At this stage that is all it takes to bring things to an end.

Look at it this way, all fighters have a list of writers that they do not want to talk to. This comes from a variety of different issues. Certain times it is that the writer has written false accusations about him. Sometimes it is that the writer gets the interview and asks the stupidest questions that they can come up with. You will see this trend continue in the future, if certain writers do not stop asking the Klitschko brothers if they will fight each other or who would win in a fight between the two you will see writers go on their "Banned" list as well. This is not a boxing trend, it is a trend through out all sports. I know one press writer that was covering a college basketball game. The team had won something like seven games in a row, but it so happened that this particular writer went the one night that the streak was snapped. After waiting around to talk to the coach, the first question this writer asked was "So can you tell me how you feel about this losing streak you are on?" Needless to say the coach turned around and walk away.  There are a lot of reasons why professional athletes refuse interviews to certain writers. It could be that the writer does not listen. I have known several writers to ask a dumb question to the fighter and then after the answer they turn around and ask the same question in a different manner.

We have to remember that these guys are under a lot of pressure, and that they have the right to refuse whoever they want. It is not just Jin Mosley that does this for Shane. His whole management team is also in control of this. As with any fighter, their representatives will refuse certain writers interviews. I'd say 95 percent of the time this causes the writers to feel rejected and this in turns causes them to write negative pieces regarding that fighter and his handlers. It is the nature of the business.

This is not some attempt to side with Jin Mosley and get on the good side, or the "Non-banned" list. As far as I know neither Jin nor Shane even know my name or that I have ever written anything about Shane. I could not tell you if they have ever read anything that I have ever written. It is not my concern. I am not in their family, I do not know what is best for Shane Mosley. I do know that in the boxing community that Jin Mosley has stirred up a hornets nest with some of her comments regarding her feelings about different writers. Maybe she went about this the wrong way, or maybe she has stood back long enough and has allowed this to go on too long before she felt that things needed to be said.

For Jin, certain people feel that she has stooped to a new low by using Boxing Talk as her forum, some feel that Boxing Talk has stooped to a new low by allowing her to print her opinions. Boxing Talk has always been a forum where the fighters and their Team have been allowed to speak out. It will always remain that way. Jin's war with the writers is no different than a fighter coming on the site and running their mouth about other fighters. Can it be handle differently, yes it can, but she is the one that has decided to go this route, and despite the negativity that many feel she is expressing she is getting her point across as these writers are taking notice and are responding. She is getting something across whether it is positive for Shane or negative.

My advice to Jin is this, think about your actions. Sometimes the best thing to do is to keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself. You see like a intelligent person, so I feel that you do think about the consequences of your actions. I also see your point on certain issues that you are taking. Privacy is a big issue to major stars of the sport. These guys trust the writers to keep certain things to themselves. Not everyone has their phone numbers, not everyone has their private e-mail addresses, and no point should a writer release this information without the consent of the fighter. This is wrong and it is unethical. That is another reason you can find yourself on a "Banned" list. When things like this happens, the fighter or their representative has every right to get nasty right back. You have invaded their privacy and broken their trust. Just imagine if you have a person that has made threats against you to the point that you have to get an unlisted number and your friend gives it out to people because he feels it is OK, next thing you know you are back to where you started dealing with the same idiot. This is the same thing.

The message of this is that Jin has to do what she thinks is right to protect her husband so he can do what he does that allows him to support his family. The trainers and Shane will take care of the business of what goes on in the ring. If Shane has his wife take care of the rest he has every reason to do so. Sure fans and writers see the big pay checks that these guys get in the ring, but they do not start out that way, unless they come from a family with money. They work their way to the top, most know what it like to be poor, most have been in and out of jail, and most can gain riches beyond their dreams just to see everything come crashing down and that is when they realize what they have. If they have a family that will stand by them they will make it. If they do not have that stability not only is the last loss of their career a tragic ending, but it leads to other things such as staying around too long, drug abuse, domestic violence, and sometimes a tragic ending to life itself.

I may not agree with the way Jin handles things, but I applaud her for standing by her husband


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