By Ian S Palmer
Shane Mosley Jr of Ponoma, California will be will be fighting in nearby Ontario, this Saturday, June 10th as he takes on D’Mitrius Ballard of Temple Hills, Maryland. The 10-round super middleweight tilt can be seen live on DAZN in most nations on the undercard of the Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs Jaime Munguia bout. Mosley last boxed in February when he beat Mario Lozano via a 10-round majority decision. Ballard was last in the ring in February, 2022 when he was stopped in the third round by Jaime Munguia in a shot at the WBO Inter-Continental Middleweight Title.
The 32-year-old Mosley Jr isn’t on the same level as his famous father but is still a solid pro in his own right with a record of 19-4 with 10 Ko’s. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 77-inch reach and has boxed 122 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014 after reportedly going 37-10 as an amateur. Mosley isn’t really known as a heavy hitter as he currently owns a knockout ratio of 43.5 per cent and has gone the distance in his last three fights and in five of the past six.
Mosley’s four defeats came at the hands of Marchristopher Adkins by four-round split decision in his third pro fight; by eight-round split decision to David Toussaint in 2017; a 10-round unanimous decision to Brandon Adams in 2018 and a 10-round majority decision to Jason Quigley in 2021 for the vacant WBO NABO middleweight title. As far as pro titles go, Mosley captured the vacant WBO NABO Super Middleweight Title in February, 2021 when he stopped Cristian Olivas after five rounds. His toughest tests to date have been Adams, Quigley and Gabriel Rosado.
The 30-year-old Ballard carries a record of 21-1-1 with 13 Ko’s and is 6-feet tall with a 74-inch reach, which gives him a one-inch height and three-inch reach disadvantage against Mosley. Ballard turned pro back in 2013 and has boxed 107 rounds as a pro following a fine amateur career. He began boxing as an 11-year-old and lost in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials to Jesse Hart.
Ballard was the 2012 National Golden Gloves Champion at 165 lbs, placed fourth at the 2010 USA Senior Nationals, won bronze at the 2010 National Golden Gloves, took silver at the 2009 National Junior Olympics and won the 2009 National Silver Gloves. He’s also a five-time Ringside World Champion and a four-time National PAL Champion. Since turning pro Ballard has captured the WBC United States (USNBC) Super Middleweight Title.
The lone draw on Ballard’s record is a 10-round majority affair with Yamaguchi Falcao in 2019 for the vacant NABF Middleweight Crown. He has decent power with a current 52 per cent knockout ratio but has stopped just one of his last eight opponents. His biggest wins have been against the likes of Zoltan Sera, Ricardo Luna, Alan Campa, Victor Calderas and Jaime Solorio. He also fought to a three-round no-decision with Elias Espadas in 2019 after Espadas was cut by an accidental head butt.
Prediction…
Mosley is basically fighting in his hometown here against an opponent who was stopped in three rounds the last time out and who has fought twice in just over three years. Ballard has a lot of skill though and decent power but he’ll need to work his way inside to be effective. I’m expecting this to be a close fight and it’s a tough call. Mosley is on a bit of a hot streak though with wins over Gabe Rosado and Mario Lozano so I’ll give him a very slight edge here.
