Manny Pacquiao Vs Shane Mosley: The Early Breakdown
By Geno McGahee
On May 7th, Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao, 52-3-2, 38 KO’s, steps back into the ring against former multi-divisional champion, Sugar Shane Mosley, 46-6-1, 39 KO’s, in a Showtime/CBS Pay Per View event, courtesy of Bob Arum. Mosley was an unlikely choice for an opponent for Pacquiao at this time, but at the same time, he really wasn’t.
Mosley’s recent record is 2-2-1 and he is 39 years old. In the Bernard Hopkins – Jean Pascal fight, we saw father time catch up with the Executioner. Although he rebounded, he was dropped twice, indicating slowing reflexes. Evander Holyfield, the 48 year old heavyweight that just can’t hang them up, was beaten for two rounds before quitting against Sherman Tank Williams. Father Time is not on the side of Sugar Shane.
Pacquiao, in his last fight, punished Antonio Margarito en route to a wide decision win, but many would contend that Margarito didn’t belong in there to begin with. With verified plastered hand wraps previously in his career, he should have been banned permanently, but they let him fight, and without his “edge” going into the ring, he was a mediocrity that was easily exposed by Pacquiao. It was an easy payday against a slow plodder without a big punch.
Although Arum knew it was a mismatch, the fight was misleading, with HBO’s 24/7 series focusing less on the crime and more on the “redemption” of the fighter and really overlooking the obvious. On top of that, the WBC put the vacant Light Middleweight Title on the line! Pacquiao never fought at light middleweight and Margarito was a welterweight coming off a loss to Mosley and a sloppy victory over a journeyman. Some writers felt the wrath of the “PacNuts,” a group so dedicated to Pacquiao that no writer can say a negative word without getting negativity back.
When it was written that Manny is a paper champion, the nuts came out against it, and like it or not, it was a true statement. He was a paper champion at light middleweight. The WBC manufactured the title and put it up to sell the PPV that much more. What fun is a fight without a title being on the line somewhere? That’s why the “Ring Belt” is always brought up. A title…a reward for winning helps the sale and when you can say that Pacquiao is conquering yet another division, it helps the sale as well. Of course, they didn’t say that “Pacquiao is facing a welterweight unranked at 154 for the light middleweight title in a division where he has never fought before.” When the facts are out, it’s obvious that it was about turning a buck and not really putting ranked fighters against each other for a legitimate title.
Shane Mosley has been slowing down for years. He was a terrific lightweight, but as he moved up and got older, he has slowed down and hasn’t been as good or powerful. He struggled with Ricardo Mayorga in 2008, barely winning when he caught the powerful and tired slugger in the final round. He struggled with a shot Fernando Vargas in 2006. He has been labeled “over the hill” for sometime and he is.
In 2009, his career was reborn when he beat up Antonio Margarito, but it was a Margarito without his “secret weapon” and it showed just how much of a mediocrity he was when Mosley hammered him to the floor in nine rounds. People forgot the plaster and focused on the amazing win and Mosley was once again a big player in boxing.
In 2010, Mosley landed a shot at the co-pound for pound best, Floyd Mayweather, JR., and outside of landing one right hand that everyone likes to talk about, he didn’t do much. He was jittery and couldn’t find the mark. He is an old fighter. Mayweather, the businessman, selected Mosley because of his diminished reflexes and name value. Money Mayweather knows when to hold them and he knows when to fold them and he picked Shane and so did Arum, because Arum is a businessman and sees the story for what it is: high reward and low risk.
In late 2010, Mosley returned to the ring to face off with Contender star, Sergio Mora, in what many contended would be an easy fight. It became a boring draw, where Mosley once again showed his inability to pull the trigger or find the mark. Mora, a good fighter, would not have lasted five rounds with a prime Mosley. He wouldn’t have won a round with a 2005 version of Sugar Shane, but in 2010, the show is over, but not before one final payday is cashed in.
Pacquiao has been consistently fighting and had a great track record of fighting the best available opponents, but the last two have people scratching their heads. Why Margarito? Why Shane?
The obvious answer is money. Pacquiao also sees the little risk for the big payday and is jumping at it. To his credit, he has seemed willing to take on Floyd Mayweather, JR., but the hope was that there would be a better replacement then Mosley, a guy that will get beat and beaten terribly.
Pacquiao is at the tail end of his career, but he is still very sharp and hits very hard. What happens when a sharp and power-punching near prime champion faces off against an over the hill, shot, unable to pull the trigger, ex-champion? I would back up the ambulance to the ring for this one.
Look for the battering from round to round of Mosley, who will be totally unable to mount any offense or find the mark. Pacquiao has defensive tricks, making him hard to hit and they work with sharp fighters … they will work with shot ones too, and anyone that says that this bout will be “the toughest in the career” for Manny is merely trying to promote the fight or can’t get beyond the name of Shane. He was a great fighter at one time.
On May 7th, rent at your own risk people. This one is a mismatch and it will be obvious in round one.