After losing to Mundine, Mosley announced his retirement from boxing for the second time, saying he plans to become a trainer and will concentrate first on training his son Shane Jr and other young aspiring boxers.
Less than two years after his announcement, he was back in the ring to challenge the aging Ricardo Mayorga for the second time to score a sixth round knockout victory in August 2015 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
“All the fans wanted to see me fight,” Mosley said. “I’m glad I was able to put a fight on for them. I have the speed and the power. Look out, I’m coming,” Mosley said after the fight. “I think I was a C-plus, but I can do better.”
“I think this was a good fight for me,” Mosley said. “I knew after the first punch that it was going to be a knockout. Mayorga was tough.”
Five months after knocking out Mayorga for the second time, he scored another knockout victory against Patrick Lopez in Panama.
Earlier in 2015, Mosley said he would consider returning to the sport only with Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez as his opponent.
A third straight win by Mosley could trigger negotiations for a possible showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez, who is also setting up a tune up bout in preparation for his next title fight.
Mosley will have a tough tune up fight against the young Russian challenger, who only lost once in his pro career.
The 27-year-old orthodox fighter has a career record of 21-1-1 with a 50 percent KO rating. He stands an inch shorter than Mosley at 5’8″ Mosley has a superior reach of 74” while Avanesyan has a shorter range of 68½.″
Mosley will be trained by former boxing champion Roberto Duran of Panama for his tune up fight against Avanesyan.
