Pacquiao-Mosley

Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley square off in less than two weeks in Vegas.  This one's an enigma.

Should we care?

The match up has been criticized left and right.  Shane's looked less than impressive in his last two fights.  Pacquiao's been on fire.  This fight's been plagued with mismatch headlines.

And yet I believe Mosley may do better than people think.  First, Mosley is absolutely determined to win this fight, no doubt.  He is mentally prepared.  Secondly, age may not be what has held him up lately.  In his fight with Margarito, only two years ago now, he dominated.  His previous two fights could have just been flukes.  And, still, he had his moments in each.  Third, styles make fights.  Mosley, like Pacquiao, likes a brawl.  Sergio Mora and Floyd Mayweather are not aggressors, whereas Pacquiao most definitely is.  Mosley generally does better in offensive fights.  If he's able to work through Pacquiao's barrages of punches to land a few of his own, we may have a great fight.  Mosley packs a hard punch and could probably stun Pacquiao.  That said, very few have been able to consistently withstand Pacquiao's flurries, and Mosley tends to try to tie up with guys prematurely (often just getting hit some more).  Mosley's key to victory: take Pacquiao's punches to land a few of his own and don't tie up.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao, according to trainer Freddie Roach, is in his best training camp ever.  He and Roach both have explicitly stated how foolish it would be to discount Shane Mosley.  That said, Roach intends for Pacquiao to be the first person to ever knock him out.  That's certainly not out of the question, and who doesn't love a good knockout?

If both guys follow their game plans and both have a good night (and that's a big "if") this could be a great fight.  Mosley could give a shockingly good performance, whichever way it goes.  So does JD predict the upset?  Great question.  This fight is very hard to predict.  I'll have to get back to you on that after I watch some more of Mosley's old fights.

Three years ago people would have laughed at this match up.  Mosley was a Super Welterweight and Pacquiao a Super Featherweight.  Mosley would be too much for Pacquiao.  Three years and four weight classes later, well, people are still laughing at the match up, but with the opposite reasoning.  Fancy that.

-JD

First Post: My Take on Mayweather vs. Pacquiao

After watching a good deal of Mayweather's fights, it's not too surprising that he's holding out on signing the Pacquiao contract. He's just doing what he does best--NOT FIGHTING!!!

[Cue late night rant]

I'm serious, put this kid back into the 80s. Marvin Hagler would have beaten him the way Zab Judah was beating him before he ran out of gas. Tommy Hearns would have knocked him out in five rounds with a broken right hand. Julio Cesar Chavez, a personal favorite of mine, would have eaten each of his punches and asked for more before literally killing him in the ring. Sugar Ray Leonard would have had a unanimous decision win after one of the most boring, one-sided fights of all time. This guy wouldn't have been sufficient competition for these people.

Mayweather can move and counter-punch--incredibly well, mind you--but when it comes to these all-time greats he's a nobody. How is it that a technique such as "land a few punches and run away the rest of the fight" has survived for this long? Good luck to anybody trying that on Joe Frazier, or for that matter Sugar Ray Robinson, or Leonard, or Big George, or Ali. It's absurd that Mayweather is probably going to be considered among these guys. For what? A pretty record in one of boxing's lowest eras?

Now Pacquiao's got a real opportunity on his hands.

This guy has a heart. This guy gets hit and comes back stronger. He's a brawler. Kind of like the aforementioned great Julio Cesar Chavez, only faster with more punches in each combination...almost reminiscent of Meldrick Taylor. If Chavez vs. Taylor was billed as "Thunder meets Lightning", then Pacquiao should be billed "one hell of a storm." And he's a southpaw. He's not going to let Mayweather run. He's going to pull a Jose Luis Castillo and pin him to the ropes and fire away, except more often and with more fury than in Castillo-Mayweather I (which would have been a loss on Mayweather's record had it not been for some of the WORST JUDGING EVER). 

Pacquiao's got a chance to step into the ring with a vengeance, a mission to beat down on Mayweather and win back the sport of boxing. He can show the world that heart still has its place in boxing, that landing 20 punches in a fight and running away for the rest of it is not worthy of a respectable title.

That's only if Mayweather signs the contract, though. And, alas, if he doesn't, which may very well be the case, then not fighting wins the day yet again.


-JD