RSR Boxing Headlines: Shane Mosley Vs Floyd Mayweather JR on the Horizon & the Manny Pacquiao Steroid Story Continues
By Geno McGahee
Sugar Free
The WBC Welterweight Champion, Andre Berto has pulled out of his January 30th showdown with “Sugar” Shane Mosley, citing the tragedy in Haiti as the reason why he cannot do the fight. He has family there and it is definitely understandable, but this was the bout that was supposed to help the boxing fans forget the collapse of Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, JR. Now the entire card has been scrapped and another attractive bout is gone.
Mosley hasn’t fought since his destruction of Antonio Margarito last year and the more he stays on the shelf, the more ring rust he’ll have to shake. Now with Berto out, Mosley scrambles for another opponent but it will not be on January 30th. The focus now, as expected, is the match up of Floyd Mayweather, JR., and Sugar Shane Mosley. It is a super fight and one that should be attractive to Mayweather, which is why it will most likely be negotiated and signed in the weeks to come.
Mayweather is as sharp as he’s ever been and has gotten a lot of press from the steroid scandal and breakdown with Manny Pacquiao. He was in the news for quite a while and there still is, but he has to strike while the iron is hot and the fans will not accept a Matthew Hatton as an opponent. They want a name and Mosley is a name. What he has left is another story.
When Mayweather and Mosley sign to fight and they will, it will be a pay per view and Money Mayweather is such a hot topic in boxing now, the buys will be high…higher than they would have been pre-Pacquiao breakdown. Although Mosley destroyed “Hands of Plaster” Margarito, it is debatable if he was an elite fighter without the loaded gloves. His punches didn’t put a dent in Mosley in that fight and they probably wouldn’t have had the effect they had on Kermit Cintron or Miguel Cotto either. The win over Margarito could be deceiving, and Mayweather may give Mosley a reality check. If Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Varagas (in their first fight) could give Mosley a run for his money, what could Mayweather do? We’re going to find out. Expect for that fight to begin negotiations soon.
Hopkins – Jones II a go!
When Danny Green sent Roy Jones, JR., to the floor with a crushing overhand right on December 2, 2009, and went on to stop him in the very first round, the truth was revealed. The charade was over and Roy Jones, JR., had to face the fact that he no longer had the reflexes to be an elite fighter. This was the end of his career….but wait. Not so fast.
There is a pay per view with Bernard Hopkins waiting in the wings. Now how do we proceed with the Hopkins PPV after a crushing first round knockout loss? You claim that Danny Green had loaded gloves. With Margarito still fresh on everyone’s minds, it’s not going to be a stretch for the public to believe it and if nothing else, it may create a little doubt. As always, the ego of Jones and the greed of Hopkins are more important than the reputation of a boxer (Green) or the sport as a whole.
On April 17th, this disgrace will try to fleece the public out of 60 bucks per view. Is there any entertainment value at all in this fight? Hopkins way of fighting with his clutching and cagy tactics, bound to go the distance, versus Jones inability to find the mark anymore and lack of reflexes, does not make a pretty fight. Their first fight in 1991 when they were in their primes was not an exciting fight and now we are at this point.
Hopkins last KO was in 2004 when he stopped Oscar De La Hoya. Roy Jones, JR., is 5-5, 2 KO’s, in his last ten fights. This fight is a sham and it’s quite obvious. It’s up to the public to just say no and hold onto their money. The fight in meaningless and is only there to soothe the ego of Jones and line the pockets of Hopkins. Hopkins priced himself out of bouts with Tomasz Adamek and Danny Green because he would rather screw the public with a joke like this PPV coming our way in April.
The Joshua Clottey Surprise
The speculation about the steroid abuse by Manny Pacquiao still goes on, and there are people on both sides of the matter firmly believing one way or the other. Teddy Atlas has come under some scrutiny for reporting that Pacquiao or somebody on his team emailed Team Mayweather and asked the penalty should he come up positive. Atlas was not the only one that reported this, yet the Manny fans and reporters that suck up to the Manny fans to get positive emails, have demanded his head. Atlas reported what he believed to be true, period. If it is, we may never know, but you can’t have honesty in boxing without hearing some things that you might not want to hear.
If Manny is on steroids, he has found a way to beat the system, and he fights on, and up to this point, he should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Many times when an athlete performs above and beyond expectation, those will point to steroids. Larry Holmes accused Evander Holyfield of steroid use prior to their bout, but nothing ever came of it. Boxing has a lot of baseless accusations, but in a sport that could generate millions of dollars for one fight, you can’t discount anything.
Pacquiao focuses on his March showdown with Joshua Clottey, and credit to Team Pacquiao for taking him on. Clottey is a very live dog and a very difficult guy to fight. Antonio Margarito couldn’t put a dent in him and Miguel Cotto barely survived against him. His tight defense and consistency will give Pacquiao troubles and this is going to be a tough night for the Pacman.
With Mosley-Mayweather a near certainty, and Pacquiao – Clottey coming quickly, we could still see the eventual showdown between the Pacman and Money Mayweather. The interest will grow should they both come up big in these encounters and in this sport, money talks, and they will eventually meet in the ring should they both continue to win. There is far too much demand and money involved to avoid it.