Legendary boxer Shane Mosley hears your concerns. But at 53, he’s getting back in the ring. Why?

The first thing Hall of Fame fighter Shane Mosley does is reassure you that he is OK and lucid. He’s 53, a little wrinkled around the edges of his eyes, and is a freshly minted grandfather. Although he last fought professionally eight years ago, his 60-fight, 23-year career of bumps, bruises, and blood has left its residue of an achy body and creaky bones. What can’t be discarded, Mosley declares, is the fighter inside — the innate impulse that is still very much a part of him and surges with the same vitality as in his prime.

It never goes away, he says. He needs it, like food.

So, after landing on a damp runway at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mosley quickly acclimated himself to the city, and headed to Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack. There, on Saturday night, he will put his boxing gloves on again in an exhibition of four two-minute rounds against someone named Bob Kofroth, the owner and trainer at Elite Edge Boxing in Malvern, as part of a celebrity boxing event being promoted by Damon Feldman.

Mosley, whose 49-10-1 record, with 41 knockouts, earned him first-ballot International Boxing Hall of Fame induction in 2020, is just dipping his toe in the exhibition tour waters with this first move. He was among the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters for a decade and is a former three-division world champion (lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight). He defeated Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya twice, he rocked Floyd Mayweather for the first time in his career in their May 2010 duel, and four of his 10 losses have come against Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

So, the question begged to be asked: Why do this?

“Because I’m a fighter, and it is something that is a part of you that never leaves,” said Mosley, who recently moved from his native California to San Juan. “I know people may have concerns about me. I’m OK. Listen, I work in the ring with my son, [Shane Mosley Jr., who just had a big victory over former world champion Danny Jacobs], and I appreciate the fact that people are concerned about my health, but I’m OK. This is the first of many [exhibitions] for me. I’m hoping to get in the ring with Manny Pacquiao pretty soon, and we’re talking to Mayweather, Conor McGregor, all of them.

“I feel great. I feel amazing. I want to show people where I am. This is just an exhibition, with another coming in November” in Temecula, Calif., against someone to be determined.

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Mosley readily acknowledges he’s not the same fighter he once was, but says he’s still in the ring multiple days each week — and that he’s still got something left in his fists.

“I train with the kids in Puerto Rico. I still spar six to eight rounds with all the top prospects Tuesdays, Thursdays, and some Fridays. I want to help the new generation of fighters coming up and improve their boxing shape, and more importantly, their boxing minds. I know I am not as sharp nor as fast as I was. I don’t want to get hurt. I think people may look at my age, but I can still fight. Like I said, fighting is a part of you. It never leaves.”

Mosley is just the latest in a trend of retired all-time greats scrambling to keep their name brand alive with exhibition fights. Mayweather has been doing it for years, with varied success. And on Nov. 15, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys, former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, now 58, will take on 27-year-old Jake Paul, a YouTube sensation-turned-pro boxer with club-level skills, in 10 two-minute rounds streamed globally exclusively on Netflix.

But even at 53, if someone like Shane Mosley or Mike Tyson hits a normal human being, it can seriously hurt him.

That’s why, Mosley stresses, this is an exhibition on Saturday night; nothing real.

Boxing today is a damaged sport in a damaged state in the U.S. The Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua IBF world heavyweight championship fight last Saturday in London drew a record 96,000 fans to Wembley Stadium. What was projected to be a blowout (in favor of Joshua) was actually an exciting fight that featured underdog Dubois upsetting the underachieving Joshua by fifth-round knockout. No one in the U.S. sports media seemed to notice or care. Why would they? Saturday afternoons in the U.S. are reserved for major college football.

What, ironically, has stirred the attention of the mainstream U.S. sports public is Tyson’s upcoming — and sanctioned — fight with Paul.

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Mosley has a unique perspective. He worked with Paul for a time and knows Tyson very well.

“If Mike really hits Jake, Mike can really hurt Jake, and I know what Mike can do and what Jake can do,” said Mosley. “I don’t think Jake really understands how hard Mike can hit. Mike is 58, but these are two-minute rounds and all fighters have pride. I don’t think Mike will be going in there to lose to Jake Paul. Jake thinks he can take a shot. In the first five or six rounds, and what makes this so fun, is that getting hit by Mike Tyson is dangerous, very dangerous. Jake will have to tire Mike out.

“Jake will need to understand how these punches will come at him. People need to understand that a bar fight between two guys is one thing, a professional fighter, especially a former world champion, regardless of age, is still a very dangerous man who can seriously hurt you. I don’t know how long they would be able to hurt you [laughs], but these are punches from people who have been throwing punches all their lives.”

And that’s why Mosley says, despite his age, he’ll be holding back in his fight against Kofroth this weekend.

“My intention is to have fun Saturday night. I want to put on a show. I want to see and greet the fans. But I will be holding back a little. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I would never want to do that.”