Diogenes, he and his crusty, flickering lamp, trudged from street to street, from byway to back alley to broad avenues in ancient Athens in his perpetual search for the truly honest man.
I don't know, frankly, that Diogenes ever met a truthteller in his quest but my own personal search as to the Sugar Shane Mosley-Manny Pacquiao welterweight title bout May 7 at the MGM Grand Hotel ended on 8 East at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan late Friday afternoon.
There, recovering from a serious pair of spinal and back surgeries but with an unflagging spirit, I encountered the solitary man of boxing, the only fistic figure I know of who actually picks 39 year old underdog Mosley to shock Pacquiao and the world.
His name is Cedric Kushner and, as a former promoter of Mosley's, he has great intimacy with his subject.
"I could say that, yes absolutely, Shane has a chance to win," the head of Gotham Boxing said as he pounded down a Diet Coke sans his usual Rose's Lime Juice.
(Kushner's medical rehab is moving ahead with vigor and he's sniffing the flowers thoughtful old pal and fight promoter Kathy Duva sent up.)
"But I will go further than that. I'm picking Shane to win this fight. He's been one of the great fighters of his generation and he retains his power. I also think that this might be the time, might be the fight where as great as Manny is and has been, he's going to impacted negatively from fighting a bigger man," the mustachioed South African native said.
"On the other hand, you ask me if Pacquiao can stop Shane? I'd say that Manny can stop anybody but Shane takes a helluva rap, he's always had a solid chin. Sure, Manny is more than capable of hurting Shane but the opposite is also true.
"I don't wish to speak in riddles so I'll make it plain. I am picking Shane to win this fight over Pacman." Kushner said.
A young Mosley, along with his trainer father Jack, hooked up with Kushner when the Pomona, Ca., fighter was already a 16-0 lightweight.
The 60 year old Kushner said LA boxing man Tom Loeffler, now running the American side of the K2 promotional group for the Klitschko Brothers, brought him together with Sugar Shane and Captain Jack.
"I promoted Kevin Kelley, who Tom managed, and he was peripherally involved with the Mosleys. Jack and Shane flew to New York, we made a deal and I got Shane three solid tune up type bouts. Then, as I promised them, I got him an IBF title shot against Phillip Holliday of South Africa.
"Shane got his first world title and we were rolling along."
Source: Examiner.com
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