All Sport Report

Wait a minute, what? Sergio Mora was actually given a title shot… and he refused it? Now I think I’ve heard everything.

Allow me to explain - this is Sergio Mora aka the Latin Snake:

He got whatever little fame he currently has by winning The Contender, the reality show put on by Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. Don’t get me wrong, the guy has talent but come on - he’s not even ranked in the top ten among middleweights.

So what happened? Every boxer’s dream is to be able to get his shot, overcome the odds and strap the gold of their respective weight class around their waist (not to mention the substantial stack of money that usually goes hand in hand with a title shot), so why would a guy not even among the cream of the crop refuse his big chance? According to reports, Mora refused the fight based on location.

The fight was scheduled for May 19th, that’s just too close to the blockbuster between De LaHoya and Mayweather, so Vegas was out, and a vast majority of other major venues were booked up for hockey and hoops playoffs. The fight was booked in Memphis’ Fed-Ex Forum, home of the Grizzlies and venue for quite a few pretty big fights, Mora refuses to fight in Memphis. Mora’s camp has stated that they already felt like an underdog, they didn’t want to fight in Jermain’s backyard.

I don’t know if Mora’s camp has access to a map or not, and it has been a while since I studied geography, but I’m pretty sure Memphis is in Tennessee and according to Jermain Taylor’s biography, he’s from Little Rock Arkansas. Since when is Memphis Little Rock’s backyard?

“For a big championship fight like Taylor-Mora we don’t want to fight in a place like Memphis. We would rather do something more interesting,” Mora’s promoter said. So what’s more interesting than a middleweight title shot?

Jermain Taylor’s promoter Lou Dibella didn’t seem very concerned, commenting that “Mora can go pound sand” if he didn’t want to fight in Memphis.

It didn’t take long for a new, and potentially much better fight to be set up. On the same day, May 19th, in the same venue Jermain Taylor will take on Cory Spinks. Spinks is the son of former champion Leon Spinks, and considered by many to be the best 154 lb fighter in the world. Cory will move up six pounds to compete at middleweight, but his camp said it wouldn’t be a problem since the fight is still two months away.

Sergio Mora may very well have made the biggest mistake of his boxing career here. If Taylor beats Spinks in May, there will be a lot of pressure for him to take on some strong competition from someone who regularly makes their home in the middleweight division like Edison Miranda or Kelly Pavlik. Mora will have to fight to stay fresh while awaiting another title shot in a venue better than Memphis, if he only fights weak fighters to keep his record intact his stock will drop and he may not get another shot. If he fights stiff competition and loses he won’t get another shot either, sorry Sergio, it looks like a lose-lose, but maybe there will be another reality show sometime in your future.

More info is available on the cancelled fight with Mora and the fight that will actually take place with Cory Spinks on Jermain Taylor’s website here.

Jermain Taylor, bad intentions, Sergio Mora, Latin Snake, Cory Spinks, middleweight boxing title fight, contender