Manny Pacquiao & Floyd Mayeather JR Move On, Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey Look to Spoil
By Geno McGahee
Floyd Mayweather – Shane Mosley officially official
The May 1st super fight between undefeated co-pound for pound best in the world, Floyd “Money” Mayweather and “Sugar” Shane Mosley has been signed and sealed and will be delivered. This is not the fight that the people wanted to see, but they will certainly take it. Out of all the opponents out there for Floyd, Shane is the best next to Manny Pacquiao, and there are some things that Mosley can do to be effective.
An early prediction on this bout is easy: Floyd by wide decision. Despite his highlight reel knockout of “Hands of Plaster” Antonio Margarito, Mosley has not been that impressive in his last few outings, struggling badly with the raw yet strong, Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga was beaten down easily by Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad prior to facing Mosley, and it was an even fight until the final round stoppage.
You add the possible ring wear along with being out of the ring nearly a year and a half, and the age of Shane, it’s a tall order here. There is bad blood between the two and Mosley will not roll over and die, but does he still possess the speed to make this fight competitive? The likely answer is no.
The thing going in Mosley’s favor and what makes this so interesting is that he is very smart. He will stick to a game plan. He also has a great chin and tremendous strength. To win though, he would have to be flawless and fight the fight of his life. Past performances against boxers like Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright certainly make a bet on him a risky one, but at least we are not seeing Floyd vs. Matthew Hatton, a fight that was proposed.
March 13th Quickly Approaching
Despite the fallout of the showdown with Floyd Mayweather, JR., Manny Pacquiao carries on and will be facing Joshua Clottey on March 13th, a date once reserved for his showdown with Money Mayweather.
Pacquiao’s recent track record make him the modern day Mike Tyson, a warrior that comes at his opponent relentlessly with power in both hands. He has destroyed some very big names in boxing: Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and most recently, Miguel Cotto. He is the real deal, but Joshua Clottey is a strange choice for an opponent.
Clottey is the sort of guy that would give Manny trouble with his tight defense and consistency. He barely lost in his last outing to Miguel Cotto, and stood tough with Antonio Margarito, winning before injuring his hands, and playing survival for the last half of the fight. Clottey is tough and takes a good shot, but there is a weakness. He is susceptible to straight punches…Manny’s specialty. The plan has to be to launch the straight punches early and often and hope for the best. Manny has every edge in this bout with the possible exception of toughness. Clottey might make this a battle of wills and although Manny has been through battles before, the late aggression from his challenger may be too much for him. We’ll see.
Without question, Manny is the big favorite going in, but Clottey has proven difficult for everyone he has faced. Will this be another spectacular KO win for the Filipino superstar or will we get a shocker on our hands. Most likely, this bout will lead to a showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao. They will eventually iron everything out and get into the ring together. The public demand is far too high for them not to fight.
Super Six Leftovers
One guy that belonged in the Super Six Tournament, IBF Super Middleweight Champ, Lucian Bute, will be featured on HBO’s World Championship boxing when he squares off against Edison Miranda, a fighter that has seen better days.
When Jermain Taylor was rumored to be dropping out of the tournament, the Miranda camp rallied to get him into that spot. It was apparently a race between Allan Green and Edison Miranda to see who would get it should “Bad Intentions” pull out. Well, he did, and thankfully, Green has filled in.
Miranda’s record is impressive at 33-4, 29 KO’s, and he always brings that puncher’s chance to the ring, but his boxing life changed after May 19th, 2007, when Kelly Pavlik dominated and destroyed him in seven rounds. He wasn’t the monster anymore, and his next defeat at the hands of Arthur Abraham was more proof that he wasn’t at the top of his game anymore. Miranda looked for redemption at the expense of Andre Ward in May of 2009, but couldn’t pull the trigger. Now he goes after the IBF crown against Bute.
Bute, 25-0, 20 KO’s, is the best super middleweight not in the Showtime tournament. He is an incredible puncher and is at the top of his game. His last fight, a rematch with Librado Andrade, was brilliant. He stopped him easily in four rounds…a man that had given him a life and death battle just one year prior to the rematch. He will have zero to little problem with Miranda.
Jesse Brinkley, the Contender star that just scored an upset over Curtis Stevens on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, which put him in line for a crack at Bute, but he has to wait in line behind Miranda. A Bute-Brinkley bout was proposed to HBO, but the network did not see it as competitive, according to sources close to the situation, and demanded Miranda as the opponent. HBO is somewhat correct with their assessment. It’s hard to imagine Brinkley being competitive with Bute. Miranda should be easy for Bute as well, but at least he brings the big punch and could win should he land. He only needs one opportunity.
Under the Radar
This weekend has some decent fights, headlined by the Edwin Valero-Antonio DeMarco bout, but a heavyweight collision in New Jersey is going unnoticed. Top rated heavyweight, Tomasz Adamek, 39-1, 27 KO’s, fresh off his stoppage of former title challenger Andrew Golota, is taking on the capable and upset-minded Jason Estrada, 16-2, 4 KO’s.
Adamek has held the light heavyweight and cruiserweight titles and has now followed the path set by David Haye, moving up to the heavyweight division. He packs a big punch and seems to be punching harder with the move up. He could be a true force in the division and is on a collision course with HBO favorite, Chris Arreola, if he can get passed the challenge of Estrada.
What does Estrada bring to the show?
Estrada is a good boxer with a decent jab, and has beaten some recognizable competition. He out-boxed Lance “Mount” Whitaker in 2008, took a wide decision over Derek Bryant later that year, before taking on top rated challenger Alexander Povetkin. Estrada could not keep the aggressive Povetkin off and lost a wide decision, but rebounded with a knockout over Zuri Lawrence. With only 4 knockouts, he is not a huge threat to stop Adamek, but he is a legit heavyweight with skill and should prove difficult in this fight, coming up Saturday night.