Trainer as tenacious as Mosley

As Shane Mosley enters the twilight of a presumed Hall of Fame boxing career, he appears to have finally found one thing that has eluded him the last 10 years -- stability in his corner.

Mosley's revolving door of trainers has included two stints with his father Jack, along with Joe Goosen and John David Jackson. But that door has stopped spinning. Mosley has connected with Naazim Richardson, who knows all about overcoming seemingly unbeatable obstacles.

Only days from his welterweight showdown against one such obstacle -- unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- Mosley believes he has found someone he can trust to have him ready.

"I needed someone who's into it -- and he's 100 percent into the game," Mosley said of Richardson, 45, whose stable includes light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins and cruiserweight Steve Cunningham. "He's in the fight as much as I am, only he's using his mind and I'm using my fists."

The two teamed up for Mosley's last fight, with astonishing results. With Richardson devising a game plan, Mosley (46-5, 39 knockouts) executed it flawlessly and convincingly stopped Antonio Margarito in the ninth round on Jan. 24, 2009.

Now Mosley has entrusted Richardson to plan a strategy to hand Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) his first loss Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

"It's a great opportunity," Richardson said. "(Mosley's) work ethic, his demeanor ... very few people sit as high at his profession and still carry that down-to-earth demeanor as he does. He's a great listener. He's still a student of the game and that's what's so fascinating about training him."

That Richardson is training anyone, much less Mosley, is amazing. He suffered a stroke in 2007 that left him paralyzed on his left side and required brain surgery. But he has made a remarkable recovery. His mind is as sharp as ever. His speech is not slurred. Physically, he's able to do his job in the ring, working with Mosley and getting him ready at the training camp in Big Bear Lake, Calif.

"In my case, it reconfirmed what I already knew -- that God's greatness works and He is almighty," Richardson said. "I had great doctors at Temple University Hospital and they said it wouldn't be easy to recover. It was scary. But my family members and my team were unbelievable, and God helped me get through it."

Richardson, who grew up in North Philadelphia and fell in love with boxing as a kid, never fought professionally. Instead, he became a student of the sport, learning from famed trainer Bouie Fisher.

"To be a good leader, at one point of your life, you had to be a good follower," Richardson said. "I tell my athletes the minute I stop being a student, you need a new teacher."

Richardson never stops trying to learn. He'll stay up until daybreak by himself, watching tape of his fighter's opponent, trying to find something he can exploit.

Having watched how Richardson trained Hopkins over the years, Mosley sought out Richardson for the Margarito bout after parting with his father for the second time.

Richardson doesn't tolerate foolishness from his fighters. Mosley agreed to train under his rules, which meant no distractions, no outside interference and total dedication to the game plan.

"He's hard on me," Mosley said. "But I trust him completely. I can't ask for a better person to be in my camp."

Or a more attentive person. Prior to Mosley's fight against Margarito, it was Richardson who noticed something wasn't right with the hand wraps of Margarito. He pointed out to California State Athletic Commission inspectors that the wraps were concealing something.

Sure enough, a plaster-like substance had been used to harden the cloth wraps. Margarito ultimately would be suspended for a year and fined for the attempt to circumvent the rules. It's that kind of attention to detail that endears Richardson to his fighters.

Richardson says he's merely doing his job. He doesn't like to bring attention to himself, preferring to let his fighters bask in the limelight. He might know his place, but it's an important place.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.