LAS VEGAS - "Sugar" Shane Mosley will have a lot more to worry about than just the hand speed of Floyd Mayweather Jr. when the two square off tonight in the welterweight main event at MGM Grand.
Mayweather's uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, appropriately pointed that out the other day when a reporter asked him if Mosley might be the fastest fighter his nephew has ever faced.
"People don't even understand about boxing," Roger Mayweather said. "One of the fastest guys in the history of the sport of boxing was a 1976 Olympic gold medalist. It was Howard Davis Jr. He had tremendous speed, but he never won a championship, and he fought guys that were much slower than him.
"It's not about speed that wins fights. Skill wins fights. And he (Floyd Jr.) is the most skilled fighter in the sport of boxing, period, hands down."
Not an easy point to argue. Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) is probably the most difficult fighter on which to land a clean punch and the way he avoids punches even when he's not moving is simply amazing.
Mosley might be the fastest Mayweather has seen. But he is not as clever and if Mosley gets frustrated by not being able to land his array of power shots, it could be a long night for the Pomona native.
Even assuming the speed is the same, Mayweather said they are nevertheless completely different.
"I think he's a fighter who always worries about landing one big shot," Mayweather said. "He's worried about
who is extremely strong and I worry about being smart and winning, so we approach fighting in two totally different ways."
Class was in.
"I mean, Shane may be loading up with wide shots and kind of using not really a fuller jab and I use a fuller jab," said Mayweather, 33. "You know when I shoot my shots, I look at my opponents and I look where I'm punching.
"When Shane punches, a lot of times he closes his eyes, if you go back and look at some of Shane's fights."
The way Mayweather fights, the general thinking is that Mosley will have to cut off the ring. That makes sense, especially if Mosley can get Mayweather in a corner and hit him in the body.
But Naazim Richardson, Mosley's trainer, scoffed when it was suggested Mosley will need to deploy that strategy.
"I haven't read the passage that it's necessary for us to have to cut the ring off," Richardson said. "Nobody's gotten that documentation to me yet, so the game plan I have is that I'm bringing `Sugar' Shane Mosley to the table.
"I'm not bringing those other 40 guys that he (Mayweather) fought. I'm bringing another decorated, documented legend to the table."
Perhaps therein lies the key to victory for Mosley. Yes, Mayweather is undefeated, but Mosley has had a rather terrific career as well. He has won world titles in three weight classes while compiling a record of 46-5 with 39 knockouts.
There are plenty of experts out there who think Mosley has a solid chance to win, that Mosley's combination of talent and mettle makes the perfect recipe for victory.
Mosley certainly thinks so.
"Floyd is a great fighter and there are a lot of different things he can bring to the ring," Mosley said. "But there are a lot of things I bring as well."
Like quickness.
"I think he has good hand speed, but I think my hand speed is good, too," Mosley said. "I don't know if I'm going to be faster or slower, I have to get in the ring and see. I believe I'm faster."
And more vicious, said Mosley, whose title will not be on the line for Mayweather to win because Mayweather said titles don't mean anything to him these days (he probably didn't want to pay the sanctioning fees, either).
"People should be picking me because I have proven that I can knock people out in any round," said Mosley, 38. "I'm experienced and I have the speed, power and agility to win this fight."
He plans on letting it all hang out, too.
"I'm going to do everything," Mosley said. "I'm going to attack, I'm going to box a little. I'm going to do it all."
Apparently, the oddsmakers aren't convinced, Mayweather being a 4-to-1 favorite.
Part of that could be Mosley's age combined with Mayweather's uncanny defensive ability. Mosley also hasn't fought in 16 months.
But Mosley is not just any 38-year-old, and he cautions those who think he can't be the one to hand Mayweather his first loss.
"A victory over Floyd Mayweather would definitely rank in my top victories," said Mosley, like Mayweather, a certain Hall of Famer.
"It would let people know that once again they overlooked Sugar Shane Mosley and that was a mistake."
Here's something to consider. Sugar Ray Leonard, one of the all-time greats, is in town and he had this take on the fight:
"I have yet to see him (Mayweather) hurt, knocked down or whatever," Leonard said. "On the other hand, I see `Sugar' Shane Mosley as a guy who could penetrate his impeccable defense. I had a premonition the other night and I saw a knockout by someone. I am not a guru, I am not a psychic, but I did see a knockout."
Mosley tipped the scales at the 147-pound limit at Friday's weigh-in. Mayweather weighed 146. Not including pay-per-view upside, Mayweather has a guarantee of $22.5 million. Mosley's is $7 million.
Source: sbsun.com
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Will Mayweather Ever Have To Pay The Price For Boxing Immortality?
Whether they like it or not (and who would?) greatness for a prize fighter comes only with the display of a high pain threshold. It is a sad requirement of the sport, a demand put on boxers to define themselves not simply by their most triumphant moments but by overcoming their most difficult ones.
Would the story be the same for Ali if there had never been a Joe Frazier to knock him to the floor and challenge him at every turn? Would Sugar Ray Robinson be so sweet without Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Max Schmeling and even Randy Turpin tormenting him?
Leonard and Hagler needed Thomas Hearns as much to test their mettle as to prove their greatness. It is a truism of boxing going back that goes back to the days of bare knuckle brawling. Even though these days one can gain world rankings and even world titles without facing so much as one true challenge, the price of boxing immortality is higher for it demands a hard night or two when all seems lost and still you triumph.
That is what is missing from Roy Jones’ resume (judging by the poor performance of his chin when finally tested one can understand why he avoided such challenges for so long) and from Mike Tyson’s. Neither got off the floor to win, at least not when deposited there in the kind of crushing way that leaves the sound of wind chimes in their head long after they are again upright.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. seems to have no interest in facing such a moment and one can understand why yet he needs such a night to validate not his boxing talent, which is obvious, but to test him in the hot cauldron of adversity.
Mayweather may finally face such a test Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena when he steps into the ring against four-time world champion Shane Mosley but he wants no part of such a test. In fact, he mocks the very idea of it and why wouldn’t he?
As Mayweather’s trainer and uncle, the former champion Roger Mayweather, said recently when asked about his nephew’s apparent distaste for being hit, “I don’t know anybody that likes to get hit.’’
It’s a good point but the difficult fact when it comes to assessing Mayweather is that we have yet to see him face the kind of adversity Leonard did in his first bout with Hearns or the type of hellish, soul-searching moments Ali encountered when in the ring with Joe Frazier.
In boxing, fair or unfair, that is when we decide who and what a fighter really is. This is not to promise Mosley will be able to take Mayweather to such a dark and difficult place but it is where he needs to go to win over the remaining doubters and skeptics who insist he is still untested even after winning 40 straight fights and world titles from 130 pounds to 154 pounds.
Yet in Mayweather’s opinion that whole concept is borderline insanity. Why must a fighter struggle to prove his greatness? Why isn’t dominance enough?
“I take less punishment, I land the highest percentage and I work the hardest,’’ he said of himself recently not long before insisting he not only compared favorably to Ali and Ray Robinson but was better than both, a position that has been hotly debated ever since.
“My father taught me defense and no one can break through it. I just know if a punch is coming. I can feel it. I know what my opponent is going to do.’’
Perhaps he does for those are the instincts that separate good boxers from great ones. But what happens to him on the night he doesn’t know? What happens on the night he takes more punishment, not less?
Can he still find a way to win then, when he is wounded and vulnerable in the way Leonard appeared to be in his first fight with Hearns or the way Ali was against Frazier? Frankly, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would rather not find out.
“Shane is a solid welterweight with great accomplishments but I have been fighting these kinds of fighters my whole career without much appreciation,’’ Mayweather said. “Shane has talent. I have a God-given gift. No one gives me credit for who I’ve fought during my career because I can make anybody look like a nobody.
“Shane’s done some things in this sport but I’ve done a lot of things in this sport. I’ve done a lot of things that a lot of fighters weren’t able to do and didn’t do.
“I don’t rate myself. I’m a harsh critic of myself so no matter how I go I always say to myself I could have done better. When I fought (Diego) Corrales I said I could have done better. When I fought (Arturo) Gatti I said I could have done better. My main thing is I don’t worry about it.’’
He doesn’t worry about the need for a bloody night of triumph either. If Mayweather leaves the MGM early Sunday morning looking like he’s been there for a night of blackjack rather than as if he’d been hit by a blackjack it’s no bother to him because, the way he sees it, bruises are not the definition of greatness in boxing.
“I don’t get paid to get hit,’’ Mayweather insisted. “I wasn’t taught to get hit. I was taught how to hit and not get hit. That’s what I’m about. I don’t need my nose all over my face to prove I’m a great fighter. When I get in the ring I’m trying to get that boy off my ass.
“I love the fans but I fight for me first because the truth is you’re just an object. Once they’re done with you, it’s over so it doesn’t matter to me what other people say.
“There’s nothing cool about taking punishment. What’s cool is dishing it out so when your career is over you still have all your senses. When my career is over fans will appreciate my skills and my boxing ability. I know who Floyd Mayweather is. I’m a great fighter…a great fighter.’’
Maybe so great that he won’t ever need to overcome great difficulties and difficult nights to prove it but, boxing being boxing, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Would the story be the same for Ali if there had never been a Joe Frazier to knock him to the floor and challenge him at every turn? Would Sugar Ray Robinson be so sweet without Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Max Schmeling and even Randy Turpin tormenting him?
Leonard and Hagler needed Thomas Hearns as much to test their mettle as to prove their greatness. It is a truism of boxing going back that goes back to the days of bare knuckle brawling. Even though these days one can gain world rankings and even world titles without facing so much as one true challenge, the price of boxing immortality is higher for it demands a hard night or two when all seems lost and still you triumph.
That is what is missing from Roy Jones’ resume (judging by the poor performance of his chin when finally tested one can understand why he avoided such challenges for so long) and from Mike Tyson’s. Neither got off the floor to win, at least not when deposited there in the kind of crushing way that leaves the sound of wind chimes in their head long after they are again upright.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. seems to have no interest in facing such a moment and one can understand why yet he needs such a night to validate not his boxing talent, which is obvious, but to test him in the hot cauldron of adversity.
Mayweather may finally face such a test Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena when he steps into the ring against four-time world champion Shane Mosley but he wants no part of such a test. In fact, he mocks the very idea of it and why wouldn’t he?
As Mayweather’s trainer and uncle, the former champion Roger Mayweather, said recently when asked about his nephew’s apparent distaste for being hit, “I don’t know anybody that likes to get hit.’’
It’s a good point but the difficult fact when it comes to assessing Mayweather is that we have yet to see him face the kind of adversity Leonard did in his first bout with Hearns or the type of hellish, soul-searching moments Ali encountered when in the ring with Joe Frazier.
In boxing, fair or unfair, that is when we decide who and what a fighter really is. This is not to promise Mosley will be able to take Mayweather to such a dark and difficult place but it is where he needs to go to win over the remaining doubters and skeptics who insist he is still untested even after winning 40 straight fights and world titles from 130 pounds to 154 pounds.
Yet in Mayweather’s opinion that whole concept is borderline insanity. Why must a fighter struggle to prove his greatness? Why isn’t dominance enough?
“I take less punishment, I land the highest percentage and I work the hardest,’’ he said of himself recently not long before insisting he not only compared favorably to Ali and Ray Robinson but was better than both, a position that has been hotly debated ever since.
“My father taught me defense and no one can break through it. I just know if a punch is coming. I can feel it. I know what my opponent is going to do.’’
Perhaps he does for those are the instincts that separate good boxers from great ones. But what happens to him on the night he doesn’t know? What happens on the night he takes more punishment, not less?
Can he still find a way to win then, when he is wounded and vulnerable in the way Leonard appeared to be in his first fight with Hearns or the way Ali was against Frazier? Frankly, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would rather not find out.
“Shane is a solid welterweight with great accomplishments but I have been fighting these kinds of fighters my whole career without much appreciation,’’ Mayweather said. “Shane has talent. I have a God-given gift. No one gives me credit for who I’ve fought during my career because I can make anybody look like a nobody.
“Shane’s done some things in this sport but I’ve done a lot of things in this sport. I’ve done a lot of things that a lot of fighters weren’t able to do and didn’t do.
“I don’t rate myself. I’m a harsh critic of myself so no matter how I go I always say to myself I could have done better. When I fought (Diego) Corrales I said I could have done better. When I fought (Arturo) Gatti I said I could have done better. My main thing is I don’t worry about it.’’
He doesn’t worry about the need for a bloody night of triumph either. If Mayweather leaves the MGM early Sunday morning looking like he’s been there for a night of blackjack rather than as if he’d been hit by a blackjack it’s no bother to him because, the way he sees it, bruises are not the definition of greatness in boxing.
“I don’t get paid to get hit,’’ Mayweather insisted. “I wasn’t taught to get hit. I was taught how to hit and not get hit. That’s what I’m about. I don’t need my nose all over my face to prove I’m a great fighter. When I get in the ring I’m trying to get that boy off my ass.
“I love the fans but I fight for me first because the truth is you’re just an object. Once they’re done with you, it’s over so it doesn’t matter to me what other people say.
“There’s nothing cool about taking punishment. What’s cool is dishing it out so when your career is over you still have all your senses. When my career is over fans will appreciate my skills and my boxing ability. I know who Floyd Mayweather is. I’m a great fighter…a great fighter.’’
Maybe so great that he won’t ever need to overcome great difficulties and difficult nights to prove it but, boxing being boxing, I wouldn’t bet on it.
Source: thesweetscience.com
Mayweather, Mosley weigh in
From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for tomorrow night’s “Mayweather vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking?” megafight on PPV, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions:
Shane Mosley 147 vs Floyd Mayweather 146
Saul Alvarez 150 vs JM Cotto 149
Daniel Ponce de Leon 125 vs Cornelius Lock 125
Said Ouali 146 vs. Hector Saldivia 147.5
Arturo Morua 141 vs. Jessie Vargas 142
Gilberto Sanchez Leon 130 vs. Eloy Perez 129
Dion Savage 168 vs. Tommie Speller 166
Luis Ramos 136 vs. Allen Litzau 138*
* Contract was 135.
Daniel Reece 136 vs. Angel Soto 137
Source: fightnews.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Mayweather and Mosley's dads speak up
MANILA, Philippines – The fathers of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Shane Mosley stood up for their sons with less than a month until their “Who R U Picking?” main event on May 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mayweather and Mosley used to be trained by their trainers, Floyd Sr. and Jack, respectively.
Floyd Jr. is being trained by his father’s brother, Roger, while Shane’s trainer is Naazim Richardson.
“Shane and I have both been in the sport a long time and have tremendous backgrounds coming from boxing families. When you take the two and put them together you get a very exciting fight,” Floyd Jr. commented in a FightFan.com article by Ace Freeman.
It was natural for the fathers to root for their sons in the upcoming fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
But Floyd Sr. countered Jack’s prediction that Shane would win.
“First off, I heard these crazy things from Jack about what Shane is going to do. Shane is going to get his ass whooped. This is what's going to happen because little Floyd is faster than Shane, much faster, much slicker, more clever, smarter and he has so many things that he can do,” Floyd Sr. said in articles posted on BoxingScene.com and FightHype.com.
Despite writing Shane off, Floyd Sr. said that the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight super champion is a tougher opponent for the undefeated Floyd Jr. than 7-division world champion and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
“On the real, I think Shane would be the tougher fight. Shane would be the tougher fight because of certain reasons, so figure it out. Shane would be a much tougher fight than that ‘whatever’ over there that fights like a machine,” added Floyd Sr.
Pacquiao was supposed to be Mayweather’s opponent last March. Their fight did not push through because of their disagreement on the drug testing protocol.
The Filipino boxing icon even sued Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar de la Hoya and Richard Schaefer for alleging that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Shane's power-boxing
Jack, on the other hand, said that Shane will get the better of the undefeated Floyd Jr. with his immense power and notable speed. He said his son “hits like a heavyweight” and is “fast enough to hit Floyd over and over and over again.” (Click here)
He continued: “Shane is a boxer-puncher. I call it power-boxing. I'm thinking that when you're boxing a guy who may be defensive in all of his other fights, he may not be as defensive against a guy of Shane's talent. In that respect, I think Shane will be too much for Floyd to handle. He's too powerful.”
Shane was slated to face Andre Berto last January but the latter pulled out because his family was affected by the Haiti earthquake.
Moreover, Jack revealed that Team Mosley already had a fight strategy against Floyd Jr. 10 years ago.
“We've had strategies to fight Floyd, since Floyd's been boxing... so if we ever had the chance to fight him - we already knew how to fight Floyd, and beat him. It won't be a surprise to me when Shane beats him. We already studied him over and over and I'm sure Floyd studied Shane over and over,” noted Jack. – With reports from FightHype.com and BoxingScene.com
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
Mayweather and Mosley used to be trained by their trainers, Floyd Sr. and Jack, respectively.
Floyd Jr. is being trained by his father’s brother, Roger, while Shane’s trainer is Naazim Richardson.
“Shane and I have both been in the sport a long time and have tremendous backgrounds coming from boxing families. When you take the two and put them together you get a very exciting fight,” Floyd Jr. commented in a FightFan.com article by Ace Freeman.
It was natural for the fathers to root for their sons in the upcoming fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
But Floyd Sr. countered Jack’s prediction that Shane would win.
“First off, I heard these crazy things from Jack about what Shane is going to do. Shane is going to get his ass whooped. This is what's going to happen because little Floyd is faster than Shane, much faster, much slicker, more clever, smarter and he has so many things that he can do,” Floyd Sr. said in articles posted on BoxingScene.com and FightHype.com.
Despite writing Shane off, Floyd Sr. said that the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight super champion is a tougher opponent for the undefeated Floyd Jr. than 7-division world champion and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
“On the real, I think Shane would be the tougher fight. Shane would be the tougher fight because of certain reasons, so figure it out. Shane would be a much tougher fight than that ‘whatever’ over there that fights like a machine,” added Floyd Sr.
Pacquiao was supposed to be Mayweather’s opponent last March. Their fight did not push through because of their disagreement on the drug testing protocol.
The Filipino boxing icon even sued Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr., Roger Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar de la Hoya and Richard Schaefer for alleging that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Shane's power-boxing
Jack, on the other hand, said that Shane will get the better of the undefeated Floyd Jr. with his immense power and notable speed. He said his son “hits like a heavyweight” and is “fast enough to hit Floyd over and over and over again.” (Click here)
He continued: “Shane is a boxer-puncher. I call it power-boxing. I'm thinking that when you're boxing a guy who may be defensive in all of his other fights, he may not be as defensive against a guy of Shane's talent. In that respect, I think Shane will be too much for Floyd to handle. He's too powerful.”
Shane was slated to face Andre Berto last January but the latter pulled out because his family was affected by the Haiti earthquake.
Moreover, Jack revealed that Team Mosley already had a fight strategy against Floyd Jr. 10 years ago.
“We've had strategies to fight Floyd, since Floyd's been boxing... so if we ever had the chance to fight him - we already knew how to fight Floyd, and beat him. It won't be a surprise to me when Shane beats him. We already studied him over and over and I'm sure Floyd studied Shane over and over,” noted Jack. – With reports from FightHype.com and BoxingScene.com
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
Mayweather vs. Mosley: Is this as good as it gets for Floyd?
By Jason Kim: For Floyd Mayweather Jr. his fight against Shane Mosley next month on May 1st might just well be the pinnacle of his career. It’s sad to say, but I think this could be the final really large mega fight of Mayweather’s career. He’s not likely to face Manny Pacquiao in the near future or every because of Mayweather’s demands that Pacquiao take the Olympic style random blood tests, which Pacquiao is totally against and not likely to give into to satisfy Mayweather.
Without a fight against Pacquiao taking place, there really isn’t anyone else with a big enough name to make a huge fight with Mayweather. Heck, it took Mayweather 14 years of his career before he finally faced Mosley. Mayweather probably won’t be taking on any other dangerous fighter like Mosley for the remainder of his career. There really isn’t any big names in the welterweight other than Mayweather, Mosley and Pacquiao.
Andre Berto, the WBC welterweight champion, isn’t hugely popular and has looked flawed vulnerable since capturing the WBC title. It’s doubtful that Berto will rise up become a mega star in the future, and he’ll likely get beaten in his next bout with Carlos Quintana anyway. It’s too bad that the Mosley fight could be the last huge fight of Mayweather’s career.
At 33, Mayweather is starting to look noticeably older, and you can imagine he’s probably going to start slowing down in the next couple of years. Usually, fighters start to show signs of deterioration of their reflexes by the time they hit 35. Mosley, 38, is kind of a different case in that he wasn’t just blinding fast, but also a very tough fighter who didn’t mind going to war with his opponents.
Mosley has had that part of his game to fall back on as he’s started to lose some of his hand speed in the past few years. Mayweather may not have that advantage when he reaches 35, if he’s still fighting by then. I expect Mayweather’s hand speed and youth to be the deciding factor in his fight with Mosley, but it’s not going to be easy because Mosley is going to take the fight to him and make Mayweather work hard to get the win.
I wish I could say that Mayweather will give in about the drug testing and seek out a fight with Pacquiao in the future, but I don’t see that happening. I expect Mayweather to stick to his demands about the drug testing. The Mosley fight then could be the zenith of Mayweather’s career. From here, I expect everything to go downhill for Floyd with him going back to taking on smaller fighters like he’s been doing the past couple of years.
I hope Mayweather doesn’t back to hand picking opponents from the lower weight classes, but that’s what I see happening. And if Pacquiao retires, there won’t be any pressure put on Mayweather for him to take on the best fighters. We could then be seeing Mayweather extend his career in one mismatch after another in dull fighters.
Source: boxingnews24.com
Without a fight against Pacquiao taking place, there really isn’t anyone else with a big enough name to make a huge fight with Mayweather. Heck, it took Mayweather 14 years of his career before he finally faced Mosley. Mayweather probably won’t be taking on any other dangerous fighter like Mosley for the remainder of his career. There really isn’t any big names in the welterweight other than Mayweather, Mosley and Pacquiao.
Andre Berto, the WBC welterweight champion, isn’t hugely popular and has looked flawed vulnerable since capturing the WBC title. It’s doubtful that Berto will rise up become a mega star in the future, and he’ll likely get beaten in his next bout with Carlos Quintana anyway. It’s too bad that the Mosley fight could be the last huge fight of Mayweather’s career.
At 33, Mayweather is starting to look noticeably older, and you can imagine he’s probably going to start slowing down in the next couple of years. Usually, fighters start to show signs of deterioration of their reflexes by the time they hit 35. Mosley, 38, is kind of a different case in that he wasn’t just blinding fast, but also a very tough fighter who didn’t mind going to war with his opponents.
Mosley has had that part of his game to fall back on as he’s started to lose some of his hand speed in the past few years. Mayweather may not have that advantage when he reaches 35, if he’s still fighting by then. I expect Mayweather’s hand speed and youth to be the deciding factor in his fight with Mosley, but it’s not going to be easy because Mosley is going to take the fight to him and make Mayweather work hard to get the win.
I wish I could say that Mayweather will give in about the drug testing and seek out a fight with Pacquiao in the future, but I don’t see that happening. I expect Mayweather to stick to his demands about the drug testing. The Mosley fight then could be the zenith of Mayweather’s career. From here, I expect everything to go downhill for Floyd with him going back to taking on smaller fighters like he’s been doing the past couple of years.
I hope Mayweather doesn’t back to hand picking opponents from the lower weight classes, but that’s what I see happening. And if Pacquiao retires, there won’t be any pressure put on Mayweather for him to take on the best fighters. We could then be seeing Mayweather extend his career in one mismatch after another in dull fighters.
Source: boxingnews24.com
Pacquiao picks Mosley, Roach chooses Mayweather
MANILA, Philippines – American trainer Freddie Roach and his prized fighter, Filipino 7-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, failed to agree on who they think will win on May 1 when “Sugar” Shane Mosley takes on Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr.
According to Joaquin Henson of The Philippine Star, Roach predicted that Mayweather (40-0, with 25 KOs) will remain undefeated as he will beat Mosley by decision.
“Shane’s my friend and I hope he wins but he has trouble with speed and movement and likes guys to come to him so it’s going to be difficult,” Roach said in a guest column on London’s Boxing News as quoted in The Philippine Star article.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been saying that Mosley would prevail over Mayweather.
“I’m for Shane Mosley,” the pound-for-pound king said in an article by Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star.
“He must do the right preparation. If he does, then he has a very good chance against Mayweather,” he said of the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion who has 46 wins (with 39 KOs), 5 losses and 1 no contest.
FightFan.com earlier reported that Pacquiao said on the Krystal Hart Show that he thinks Mosley will win.
“I think Mayweather vs. Mosley will be a good fight,” he said ahead of his March 13 bout against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.
Pacquiao, who was originally slated to fight the undefeated Mayweather, defeated Clottey via unanimous decision at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt.
Mosley, for his part, vowed to crush Mayweather, adding that their fight will be better than the lopsided Pacquiao-Clottey clash.
'The better Mayweather'
Negotiations for the Pacquiao vs Mayweather blockbuster match crumbled after the former refused to give in to the latter’s demand for Olympic-style blood testing.
Pacquiao even filed a defamation complaint against Mayweather, his father Floyd Sr., uncle Roger, and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar dela Hoya and Richard Schaefer after they alleged that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Roach reacted, “I get upset that some people can’t accept that Manny’s just a great fighter.”
The American trainer, for his part, said that Floyd Jr. has been respectful of him: “I like Floyd as a person ...out of the Mayweathers, he’s one of the better ones.”
But he noted that he will not allow Floyd Jr. to dictate his terms for the fight.
“I let him use my gym when he was doing ‘Dancing With The Stars’ before the Ricky Hatton fight and I’ve known him since he was a little kid. He’s not a bad guy. But the only way the fight with Manny is going to happen is we go by the commission drug-testing rules,” said Roach.
He also wished for “Pretty Boy Floyd” to stop making his own demands because “Floyd doesn’t realize that he’s killing his own sport.”
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
According to Joaquin Henson of The Philippine Star, Roach predicted that Mayweather (40-0, with 25 KOs) will remain undefeated as he will beat Mosley by decision.
“Shane’s my friend and I hope he wins but he has trouble with speed and movement and likes guys to come to him so it’s going to be difficult,” Roach said in a guest column on London’s Boxing News as quoted in The Philippine Star article.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been saying that Mosley would prevail over Mayweather.
“I’m for Shane Mosley,” the pound-for-pound king said in an article by Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star.
“He must do the right preparation. If he does, then he has a very good chance against Mayweather,” he said of the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion who has 46 wins (with 39 KOs), 5 losses and 1 no contest.
FightFan.com earlier reported that Pacquiao said on the Krystal Hart Show that he thinks Mosley will win.
“I think Mayweather vs. Mosley will be a good fight,” he said ahead of his March 13 bout against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey.
Pacquiao, who was originally slated to fight the undefeated Mayweather, defeated Clottey via unanimous decision at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. He retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt.
Mosley, for his part, vowed to crush Mayweather, adding that their fight will be better than the lopsided Pacquiao-Clottey clash.
'The better Mayweather'
Negotiations for the Pacquiao vs Mayweather blockbuster match crumbled after the former refused to give in to the latter’s demand for Olympic-style blood testing.
Pacquiao even filed a defamation complaint against Mayweather, his father Floyd Sr., uncle Roger, and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar dela Hoya and Richard Schaefer after they alleged that he was taking performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Roach reacted, “I get upset that some people can’t accept that Manny’s just a great fighter.”
The American trainer, for his part, said that Floyd Jr. has been respectful of him: “I like Floyd as a person ...out of the Mayweathers, he’s one of the better ones.”
But he noted that he will not allow Floyd Jr. to dictate his terms for the fight.
“I let him use my gym when he was doing ‘Dancing With The Stars’ before the Ricky Hatton fight and I’ve known him since he was a little kid. He’s not a bad guy. But the only way the fight with Manny is going to happen is we go by the commission drug-testing rules,” said Roach.
He also wished for “Pretty Boy Floyd” to stop making his own demands because “Floyd doesn’t realize that he’s killing his own sport.”
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Pacman sees Mosley win vs Mayweather
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao is rooting for the big underdog in May.
“I’m for Shane Mosley,” said Pacquiao, referring to the reigning WBA welterweight champion who will have his 38-year-old hands full when he faces Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 1 in Las Vegas.
Mosley, who happens to be five years older than Mayweather, is the bigger fighter. He enjoys a one-inch advantage in height (5’9”) and a two-inch advantage in reach (74”), and is a true welterweight.
Mosley has fought at 147 lb, and even as high as 154 lb, 20 times over the last 11 years for an overall ring record of 46 wins (39 knockouts) and five losses, the last one against Miguel Cotto in 2007.
Mayweather is of course the undefeated ex-pound-for-pound champion who came off a nearly two-year retirement to beat Juan Manuel Marquez last September, and is now saying he’s still the best out there.
Mayweather, undefeated in 40 fights, has fought as a welterweight no more than half a dozen times, and defeated Oscar dela Hoya in a light-middleweight contest in May of 2007 to set the all-time pay-per-view record.
For their coming fight at the MGM Grand, Mayweather is the favorite. He’s a minus 340 favorite, meaning one needs to put $340 to win a hundred bucks. Mosley, despite his size, is at plus 260 ($100 wins $260).
There’s a lot at stake in the fight. If Mayweather wins, then all questions, and all roads lead to a super-fight with Pacquiao later this year. If Mosley wins, then he suddenly becomes one of the contenders.
Pacquaio’s promoter, Bob Arum, said there are only three fighters looming as Pacquiao’s next best opponent, and they are Antonio Margarito, who lost to Mosley last year, Juan Manuel Marquez and of course, Mayweather.
But that’s assuming that Mayweather would walk past Mosley.
Still, Pacquiao is putting his money on Mosley, and in a recent interview, he said Mayweather should “handle his business” by beating Mosley in order for him to keep his chance of facing the Filipino icon.
“Otherwise, I may end up facing Mosley,” said Pacquiao.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao, who hasn’t lost a fight since March of 2005, said he likes Mosley’s style against Mayweather, who works harder on defense, and is always happy to win on points.
“Mosley is bigger. And he throws more punches. In boxing, it’s always important to throw more punches,” said Pacquiao, now the reigning pound-for-pound champion and a congressional candidate in the Philippines.
But he said the work’s cut out for Mosley.
“He must do the right preparation. If he does, then he has a very good chance against Mayweather,” he said without elaborating.
What’s known is that Pacquiao is putting his money on Mosley, the big underdog.
Source: philstar.com
Take Your Pick!
Barely a month to go before the welterweight clash between compatriots Sugar Shane Mosley (46-5-0, 39 KOs) and Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0-0, 25 KOs), boxing pundits still don’t have a clear consensus about who has the upper hand in this very intriguing bout. Here, we are going to examine closely the possibilities, as well as the positives and negatives of either fighter. Hopefully after reading this piece, you, my beloved readers could come up with an educated guess as to who will come out victorious.
Let’s start our discussion with the tale of the tape. The undefeated Mayweather is listed at 5’8” with a 72-inch reach. Throughout his entire professional boxing career, the man they call “Pretty Boy”, “Money”, and at times “Chickenjoy” or “Gayweather” has enjoyed the effective reach advantage in all but one of his bouts. Six-division champ “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya was his only opponent who had an effective reach advantage over him. (This topic is comprehensively discussed in one of my previous articles. If you want to dig deeper, you may want to go to this article Mayweather: Untried, Unproven, and Untested at Welterweight! before you continue reading.) “Sugar” Shane Mosley, on the other hand, stands 5’9”, with a 2-inch reach advantage over Mayweather. Judging from the tale of the tape alone, not to mention the fact that Mosley is a relatively far more established welterweight than Mayweather is, then common sense dictates that the 38-year-old fighter out of California should have his hands raised at the end of the bout. But before all you anti-Mayweather fans start rejoicing, take note that the key word there is “alone”. There are still several factors to consider, which we will tackle later on in this piece.
Speed is another important parameter to reflect on. Mosley is known for his incredible hand speed, but his opponent is not bad in this area, either. Conversely, Mayweather is known for his vast foot speed, which is however not among Mosley’s strong points, especially at this point of his boxing career. Both pugs are accurate punchers, but Mayweather’s uncanny ability to elude his opponent, together with a knack for creating angles for his counterpunches, the flamboyant Grand Rapids, Michigan native should have an advantage in this department.
Now, let’s move on to what could very well be the determining factors in this bout – power and durability. Mayweather was a beast at lightweight, knocking opponents out and imposing his will over them. The same, though, cannot be said of him north of the 135-lb weight limit. He has employed more caution rather than taking risks for an explosive finish. We can perhaps blame it on his fragile hand, which explains why he prefers to use gloves with more padding. His chin is rather untested, too. Zab Judah stopped him on his tracks when the former welterweight champ connected with clean shots to the jaw, which apparently hurt him. On the flipside, Mosley has carried his power and durability all the way to the heavier weight divisions. He has faced some of the hardest punching individuals in the sport and has taken a few solid punches as well. He toyed and beat Antonio “Loaded Hands” Margarito from pillar to post. Of course, there’s a very huge difference between fighting someone who is tad slow and constantly charging forward (Margarito) and someone who has cat-quick reflexes and likes to run (Mayweather).
The line separating victory and defeat generally depends on Mosley’s ability to cut the ring and impose his will on his very elusive opponent. Mosley’s jab will also prove to be a crucial factor to keep Mayweather at bay and give him problems unloading his own offensive. Mosley has two choices. He can basically rely on his effective reach advantage and wait for Mayweather to come in, hoping that the judges will grant him the benefit of the doubt if exchanges should ensue… or he can bring the fight to Mayweather and perhaps go for a knockout, not leaving any chances for the judges to take the fight away from him, knowing fully well that these people would certainly want the much anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather encounter to push through.
The notion of a fixed fight still floats around boxing circles. Reasons cited include the fact that Mosley also has a stake with Golden Boy Promotions, and that a Mayweather victory could salvage the much anticipated battle for the sport’s top dog featuring the current and former pound for pound kings. Nevertheless, there is so much reason not to believe these rumors. If you were in Mosley’s shoes, would you rather lose and let someone else gather the moolah for you, believing that you have a more than decent chance at becoming the first person to get a 1 on Mayweather’s clean slate on May 1? Your guess is as good as mine.
Now that practically all the essential factors have been laid out, who do you think will earn the chance at challenging the sport’s best fighter pound for pound?
Source: socyberty.com
Let’s start our discussion with the tale of the tape. The undefeated Mayweather is listed at 5’8” with a 72-inch reach. Throughout his entire professional boxing career, the man they call “Pretty Boy”, “Money”, and at times “Chickenjoy” or “Gayweather” has enjoyed the effective reach advantage in all but one of his bouts. Six-division champ “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya was his only opponent who had an effective reach advantage over him. (This topic is comprehensively discussed in one of my previous articles. If you want to dig deeper, you may want to go to this article Mayweather: Untried, Unproven, and Untested at Welterweight! before you continue reading.) “Sugar” Shane Mosley, on the other hand, stands 5’9”, with a 2-inch reach advantage over Mayweather. Judging from the tale of the tape alone, not to mention the fact that Mosley is a relatively far more established welterweight than Mayweather is, then common sense dictates that the 38-year-old fighter out of California should have his hands raised at the end of the bout. But before all you anti-Mayweather fans start rejoicing, take note that the key word there is “alone”. There are still several factors to consider, which we will tackle later on in this piece.
Speed is another important parameter to reflect on. Mosley is known for his incredible hand speed, but his opponent is not bad in this area, either. Conversely, Mayweather is known for his vast foot speed, which is however not among Mosley’s strong points, especially at this point of his boxing career. Both pugs are accurate punchers, but Mayweather’s uncanny ability to elude his opponent, together with a knack for creating angles for his counterpunches, the flamboyant Grand Rapids, Michigan native should have an advantage in this department.
Now, let’s move on to what could very well be the determining factors in this bout – power and durability. Mayweather was a beast at lightweight, knocking opponents out and imposing his will over them. The same, though, cannot be said of him north of the 135-lb weight limit. He has employed more caution rather than taking risks for an explosive finish. We can perhaps blame it on his fragile hand, which explains why he prefers to use gloves with more padding. His chin is rather untested, too. Zab Judah stopped him on his tracks when the former welterweight champ connected with clean shots to the jaw, which apparently hurt him. On the flipside, Mosley has carried his power and durability all the way to the heavier weight divisions. He has faced some of the hardest punching individuals in the sport and has taken a few solid punches as well. He toyed and beat Antonio “Loaded Hands” Margarito from pillar to post. Of course, there’s a very huge difference between fighting someone who is tad slow and constantly charging forward (Margarito) and someone who has cat-quick reflexes and likes to run (Mayweather).
The line separating victory and defeat generally depends on Mosley’s ability to cut the ring and impose his will on his very elusive opponent. Mosley’s jab will also prove to be a crucial factor to keep Mayweather at bay and give him problems unloading his own offensive. Mosley has two choices. He can basically rely on his effective reach advantage and wait for Mayweather to come in, hoping that the judges will grant him the benefit of the doubt if exchanges should ensue… or he can bring the fight to Mayweather and perhaps go for a knockout, not leaving any chances for the judges to take the fight away from him, knowing fully well that these people would certainly want the much anticipated Pacquiao-Mayweather encounter to push through.
The notion of a fixed fight still floats around boxing circles. Reasons cited include the fact that Mosley also has a stake with Golden Boy Promotions, and that a Mayweather victory could salvage the much anticipated battle for the sport’s top dog featuring the current and former pound for pound kings. Nevertheless, there is so much reason not to believe these rumors. If you were in Mosley’s shoes, would you rather lose and let someone else gather the moolah for you, believing that you have a more than decent chance at becoming the first person to get a 1 on Mayweather’s clean slate on May 1? Your guess is as good as mine.
Now that practically all the essential factors have been laid out, who do you think will earn the chance at challenging the sport’s best fighter pound for pound?
Source: socyberty.com
FIGHT PREVIEW AND PREDICTION
Preview: The biggest fight of the year thus far takes place on May 1 in Las Vegas, as Floyd Mayweather fights Shane Mosley. It is a rare match between two fighters who have been at or near the top of the pound-for-pound best list for the past decade. They are both still very viable and in great form. Boxing fans eagerly await this fight.
Floyd Mayweather is the favorite, a perk that comes with being undefeated over a career that spans nearly 14 years. The 33-year-old has bad hands, but is generally well preserved, having not been subjected to beatings and hard fights. Some might say this is due to careful matchmaking or perhaps it is just due to Mayweather’s brilliance. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Putting the questions surrounding the quality of recent Mayweather opponents aside, he is facing a top guy in this fight and deserves credit. Mosley is coming off a destructive knockout of fearsome Antonio Margarito. Shane looked renewed after some had begun to write him off. He battered Margarito at will, looking as good as ever in the process. Sure he is 39, but he has lived a Spartan lifestyle that allows him to still be a top guy.
Floyd doesn’t have the losses Mosley has, but he might if he fought the same level of competition. Mosley’s resume reads like a who’s-who of boxing over the last 2 decades, highlighted by two wins over a prime Oscar De La Hoya. He lost twice each to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright and dropped a close one to a then-undefeated Miguel Cotto. His win over Margarito, however, confirmed his stature at the top of the sport is still solid.
Mayweather could grow old overnight. Fighters don’t continue unabated forever. He will have had only fight in 28 months by the time he climbs into the ring on May 1. Mosley hasn’t been too active himself, as this is his first fight since beating Margarito in January of last year. Old pros like these shouldn’t have too much of a problem. Sometimes layoffs are good for aging fighters.
I think Mosley will be Mayweather’s toughest fight in quite a while. Mosley has great speed and can still hit extremely hard. He is probably the puncher in this fight. Mayweather is just so clever in the ring, knowing how to shade the conditions in his favor. He is a master of distance and a defensive whiz. After over a decade at the world-class level, he has yet to be in deep peril. His chin and fighting pride are also strong suits.
Prediction: I see a fast-paced and even encounter over the first half of the fight. Mayweather will be troubled by Mosley’s speed and combinations, while keeping Mosley honest with snappy counters and a strong jab. As the fight wears on, Mayweather will settle into more of a groove and begin to better time Mosley with combinations that will take a little wind out of his sails. I see Mayweather’s ring IQ playing a major role. Mosley, a clever fighter himself, will not be able to adjust late as the fight gets away from him. Mayweather will outbox Mosley to win a clear unanimous decision.
Source: belmont.com
Floyd Mayweather is the favorite, a perk that comes with being undefeated over a career that spans nearly 14 years. The 33-year-old has bad hands, but is generally well preserved, having not been subjected to beatings and hard fights. Some might say this is due to careful matchmaking or perhaps it is just due to Mayweather’s brilliance. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Putting the questions surrounding the quality of recent Mayweather opponents aside, he is facing a top guy in this fight and deserves credit. Mosley is coming off a destructive knockout of fearsome Antonio Margarito. Shane looked renewed after some had begun to write him off. He battered Margarito at will, looking as good as ever in the process. Sure he is 39, but he has lived a Spartan lifestyle that allows him to still be a top guy.
Floyd doesn’t have the losses Mosley has, but he might if he fought the same level of competition. Mosley’s resume reads like a who’s-who of boxing over the last 2 decades, highlighted by two wins over a prime Oscar De La Hoya. He lost twice each to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright and dropped a close one to a then-undefeated Miguel Cotto. His win over Margarito, however, confirmed his stature at the top of the sport is still solid.
Mayweather could grow old overnight. Fighters don’t continue unabated forever. He will have had only fight in 28 months by the time he climbs into the ring on May 1. Mosley hasn’t been too active himself, as this is his first fight since beating Margarito in January of last year. Old pros like these shouldn’t have too much of a problem. Sometimes layoffs are good for aging fighters.
I think Mosley will be Mayweather’s toughest fight in quite a while. Mosley has great speed and can still hit extremely hard. He is probably the puncher in this fight. Mayweather is just so clever in the ring, knowing how to shade the conditions in his favor. He is a master of distance and a defensive whiz. After over a decade at the world-class level, he has yet to be in deep peril. His chin and fighting pride are also strong suits.
Prediction: I see a fast-paced and even encounter over the first half of the fight. Mayweather will be troubled by Mosley’s speed and combinations, while keeping Mosley honest with snappy counters and a strong jab. As the fight wears on, Mayweather will settle into more of a groove and begin to better time Mosley with combinations that will take a little wind out of his sails. I see Mayweather’s ring IQ playing a major role. Mosley, a clever fighter himself, will not be able to adjust late as the fight gets away from him. Mayweather will outbox Mosley to win a clear unanimous decision.
Source: belmont.com
Thursday, April 1, 2010
HBO 24/7: MAYWEATHER VS. MOSLEY PROMO VIDEOS
The Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. match fell apart, but boxing fans were given an excellent replacement with Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Sugar Shane Mosley, a fight over a decade in the making. The much anticipated match-up between long time rivals, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Sugar Shane Mosley is only a couple weeks away and to stir up some hype for the fight HBO is launching another installment of the Emmy award winning, HBO 24/7 series, with 24/7 Mayweather-Mosley. April 10, will be the first episode of four. Watch the fighters get ready for their May 1 HBO Pay-per-view.
An all new HBO Boxing 24/7, premieres April 10, 2010 on HBO. Follow Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Shane Mosley as they prepare for their May 1 fight only on Pay-Per-View. For more information on HBO Boxing and upcoming fight schedules, log onto HBO.com.
Make sure to order the Pay-per-view “Who R U Picking?” Mayweather vs. Mosley Live from MGM Grand, Las Vegas, May 1.
Source: nowboxing.com
Who visits Pac-Land Next, Money Mayweather or Sugar Shane?
By Ronald C Charles One of the most anticipated bouts of the year so far is fast approaching, One month from today Floyd Mayweather Jr will meet Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is intriguing for a number of different reasons, for one a few in the game who’s opinion I respect have actually tipped Mosley to win, I don’t see it myself but hey there would be less to debate if we all picked the same guy. The other interesting factor is Mosley will be the first true welterweight Mayweather has fought since Carlos Baldomir way back in 2006.
Most pundits and fans alike have been harsh to the Grand Rapids born fighter for his insistence on fighting smaller men like Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricky Hatton, or his fighting an on the slide De La Hoya. The same people fail to recognise Mayweather began his career at 130 pounds (Super Featherweight)
We live in an era where fighters are always on the move, making the transition from one weight to another has become a whole lot easier since the creation of the intermediate divisions. I don’t like it myself but we must stay consistent, to ridicule one you must ridicule all.
I feel the Mosley fight gives the self styled Money Mayweather the perfect platform to display his greatness, however should Mayweather win convincingly I have no doubt some detractors will find an angle to further ridicule his performance. To small, too slow, over the hill, he never had his corn flakes this morning; the truth is the confident outspoken Mayweather will always have his detractors.
When thinking the possible outcome of a fight I don’t put too much stock in either fighter’s last performance, I like to delve a little deeper. Analysing the last 5 fights and searching for the last time either fighter faced someone with a similar style.
Mosley
When looking at Shane two things are blatantly obvious, he is 38-years-old and has been inactive for over a year. As you study his previous performances you will notice he does really well against come forward fighters, the typical Mexican stand and fight style like that of Fernando Vargas (who Mosley stopped twice) or a Ricardo Mayorga who Mosley knocked out when the two met in 2008.
Then you analyse the two fights Mosley lost in 2004 to Ronald Wright, Winkey was a defensive fighter, a ring technician who put head before his fists. A style a younger Mosley could not cope with and lost the first bout by a wide margin, the second by majority decision.
Mayweather is another level altogether whose modus operandi is defensive mastery, so if a younger, fresher and faster Shane could not figure out the Wright riddle, I give him no chance of figuring out the most gifted defensive fighter of this generation in Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Shane has proved in the past he is a versatile fighter who can both box and move and has certainly faced the better opposition, however at 38 he may have bitten off a little more than he can chew in Mayweather.
Mayweather
When Mayweather returned to the sport in 2009 he faced Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez who at the time was ranked no 2 pound for pound, and the number one lightweight champion of the world. The former “lightweight” was the problem for most. Before Floyd’s temporary retirement he was competing in the welterweight division while Marquez had never competed above 135 pounds. A contractual catch weight of 144 pounds was agreed, the day before the fight Mayweather weighed in 2 pounds over and was forced to pay Marquez $600,000, (300,000) per pound.
If we took anything from the fight it was Mayweather came back as good as he left, the speed, reflexes and movement where better than ever as Mayweather boxed his way to a 12 round unanimous decision.
Mayweather usually dominates his opponent and as yet no-one has come close to scripting the blue-print on how to beat the five weight champion. Mexican Jose Luis Castillo came closest when the two met in 2002. Other have said Mayweather’s most troublesome rounds have come against southpaws DeMarcus Corley and Zab Judah, however in both fights Mayweather managed to overcome both en-route to a convincing unanimous decision win.
Most are of the opinion a Mosley vs. Pacquaio fight will be more fan friendly than that of a Mayweather Boxing clinic; and they may be right. But in my opinion the outcome will be more predictable than a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight where I can see a scenario playing out for either man being victorious. Boxing needs a Pacquiao – Mayweather fight, both are atop the pound for pound summit with the boxing world is split down the middle as to who they think will win.
Source: theboxinghistorian.com
Most pundits and fans alike have been harsh to the Grand Rapids born fighter for his insistence on fighting smaller men like Juan Manuel Marquez and Ricky Hatton, or his fighting an on the slide De La Hoya. The same people fail to recognise Mayweather began his career at 130 pounds (Super Featherweight)
We live in an era where fighters are always on the move, making the transition from one weight to another has become a whole lot easier since the creation of the intermediate divisions. I don’t like it myself but we must stay consistent, to ridicule one you must ridicule all.
I feel the Mosley fight gives the self styled Money Mayweather the perfect platform to display his greatness, however should Mayweather win convincingly I have no doubt some detractors will find an angle to further ridicule his performance. To small, too slow, over the hill, he never had his corn flakes this morning; the truth is the confident outspoken Mayweather will always have his detractors.
When thinking the possible outcome of a fight I don’t put too much stock in either fighter’s last performance, I like to delve a little deeper. Analysing the last 5 fights and searching for the last time either fighter faced someone with a similar style.
Mosley
When looking at Shane two things are blatantly obvious, he is 38-years-old and has been inactive for over a year. As you study his previous performances you will notice he does really well against come forward fighters, the typical Mexican stand and fight style like that of Fernando Vargas (who Mosley stopped twice) or a Ricardo Mayorga who Mosley knocked out when the two met in 2008.
Then you analyse the two fights Mosley lost in 2004 to Ronald Wright, Winkey was a defensive fighter, a ring technician who put head before his fists. A style a younger Mosley could not cope with and lost the first bout by a wide margin, the second by majority decision.
Mayweather is another level altogether whose modus operandi is defensive mastery, so if a younger, fresher and faster Shane could not figure out the Wright riddle, I give him no chance of figuring out the most gifted defensive fighter of this generation in Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Shane has proved in the past he is a versatile fighter who can both box and move and has certainly faced the better opposition, however at 38 he may have bitten off a little more than he can chew in Mayweather.
Mayweather
When Mayweather returned to the sport in 2009 he faced Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez who at the time was ranked no 2 pound for pound, and the number one lightweight champion of the world. The former “lightweight” was the problem for most. Before Floyd’s temporary retirement he was competing in the welterweight division while Marquez had never competed above 135 pounds. A contractual catch weight of 144 pounds was agreed, the day before the fight Mayweather weighed in 2 pounds over and was forced to pay Marquez $600,000, (300,000) per pound.
If we took anything from the fight it was Mayweather came back as good as he left, the speed, reflexes and movement where better than ever as Mayweather boxed his way to a 12 round unanimous decision.
Mayweather usually dominates his opponent and as yet no-one has come close to scripting the blue-print on how to beat the five weight champion. Mexican Jose Luis Castillo came closest when the two met in 2002. Other have said Mayweather’s most troublesome rounds have come against southpaws DeMarcus Corley and Zab Judah, however in both fights Mayweather managed to overcome both en-route to a convincing unanimous decision win.
Most are of the opinion a Mosley vs. Pacquaio fight will be more fan friendly than that of a Mayweather Boxing clinic; and they may be right. But in my opinion the outcome will be more predictable than a Mayweather - Pacquiao fight where I can see a scenario playing out for either man being victorious. Boxing needs a Pacquiao – Mayweather fight, both are atop the pound for pound summit with the boxing world is split down the middle as to who they think will win.
Source: theboxinghistorian.com
FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS SHANE MOSLEY LATEST ODDS AND FREE TIPS
The Floyd Mayweather vs Shane Mosley fight is just over a month away and the betting action is already starting to get fairly heavy on this fight. Many are predicting another Mayweather roll-over as he seeks to keep his undefeated streak alive. Many of us were bracing ourselves for the Manny Pacuiqo vs Floyd Mayweather superfight before doping allegations and drug-testing controversy derailed the fight. For now.
Unsurprisingly, the odds are heavily-skewed in favour of a Mayweather victory by decision. He is priced extremely short to win the fight outright, with a 1.2 listing, and his odds to win via decision or technical decision are available at a slim 1.44.
If you’re looking for any form of value in this one, you’ve either got to bet on Mosley to win or Mayweather to win via a KO or TKO. There is betting available on the draw or technical draw, but that never really happens at this level and is basically a waste of money.
If you are backing Mayweather to win in a specific round, your shortest odds are coming in rounds 8-10 where you’ll find them priced at 26.0. Mayweather is paying 34.0 to win in any other round but the first round, where he is listed at his highest price with odds of 41.0.
Sugar Shane Mosley is listed at 67.0 to win the fight in any round and a solid 6.0 to beat Mayweather via decision or technical decision.
Blue Square will also be offering up a stellar free bet offer on this bout so be sure to cash that in if you’re looking to have a big bet here.
If you have the utmost confidence in Mayweather, you’ll do well to back him via the decision even though there really isn’t much value there. I think that Mosley’s best chance to cause a massive upset would be a late round KO. I think Mayweather is a strong contender to go the distance, but may have a few kicks at the can with the round betting as the prices are quite solid.
Source: bettingchoice.co.uk
Unsurprisingly, the odds are heavily-skewed in favour of a Mayweather victory by decision. He is priced extremely short to win the fight outright, with a 1.2 listing, and his odds to win via decision or technical decision are available at a slim 1.44.
If you’re looking for any form of value in this one, you’ve either got to bet on Mosley to win or Mayweather to win via a KO or TKO. There is betting available on the draw or technical draw, but that never really happens at this level and is basically a waste of money.
If you are backing Mayweather to win in a specific round, your shortest odds are coming in rounds 8-10 where you’ll find them priced at 26.0. Mayweather is paying 34.0 to win in any other round but the first round, where he is listed at his highest price with odds of 41.0.
Sugar Shane Mosley is listed at 67.0 to win the fight in any round and a solid 6.0 to beat Mayweather via decision or technical decision.
Blue Square will also be offering up a stellar free bet offer on this bout so be sure to cash that in if you’re looking to have a big bet here.
If you have the utmost confidence in Mayweather, you’ll do well to back him via the decision even though there really isn’t much value there. I think that Mosley’s best chance to cause a massive upset would be a late round KO. I think Mayweather is a strong contender to go the distance, but may have a few kicks at the can with the round betting as the prices are quite solid.
Source: bettingchoice.co.uk
Who do boxing fans want to win?
Boxing fans are divided on who is going to win in the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley scheduled for May 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most of them though are rooting for the undefeated Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
One month before the Mayweather-Mosley fight scheduled on May 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, sportswriters are getting mixed signals from boxing fans around the world on who they prefer to win in the highly talked-about boxing event this year.
Feedback or comments from various sports articles show that boxing fans prefer a win by Floyd Mayweather, jr over Shane Mosley. The reason seems to be the boxing fans great anticipation for the resumption of the scuttled fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
It may be recalled that the failed match between Mayweather and Pacquiao has generated so much publicity for both boxers and boxing fans want the fight to happen within the year or early next year.
Boxing fans' preference for a Mayweather win over Mosley, seems to point to a number of unfinished issues which they believe should be dealt with sooner than later. These issues range from Mayweather's accusation that Pacquiao was taking steroids or performance enhancing drugs during his previous fights, to the question of who is the real current pound-for-pound king in boxing,
These two major issues remain unresolved to this day and boxing fans say that they should be resolved not in court of law or in questionable popularity ratings but they should be dealt with inside the ring.
On the other hand, a good number of boxing fans and analysts predict that Mosley will defeat Mayweather on May 1. They think that Mosley, being the aggressor on account of his natural offensive stance, will dictate the tempo when they collide inside the ring. Mayweather is known for his mastery of the art of defensive boxing.
Boxing fans want to see a good fight. Many believe that a Pacquiao-Mayweather match is a crowd-drawer. That is why they want to see a Pacquiao-Mayweather match.
At the same time it could also be a boring fight as Freddie Roach has opined. He said that Mayweather, just like Clottey is a defensive fighter and he will be busy inside the ring defending Pacquiao's flurry of punches as the pound-for pound king is known for his speed and punching power.
Source: digitaljournal.com
One month before the Mayweather-Mosley fight scheduled on May 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, sportswriters are getting mixed signals from boxing fans around the world on who they prefer to win in the highly talked-about boxing event this year.
Feedback or comments from various sports articles show that boxing fans prefer a win by Floyd Mayweather, jr over Shane Mosley. The reason seems to be the boxing fans great anticipation for the resumption of the scuttled fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
It may be recalled that the failed match between Mayweather and Pacquiao has generated so much publicity for both boxers and boxing fans want the fight to happen within the year or early next year.
Boxing fans' preference for a Mayweather win over Mosley, seems to point to a number of unfinished issues which they believe should be dealt with sooner than later. These issues range from Mayweather's accusation that Pacquiao was taking steroids or performance enhancing drugs during his previous fights, to the question of who is the real current pound-for-pound king in boxing,
These two major issues remain unresolved to this day and boxing fans say that they should be resolved not in court of law or in questionable popularity ratings but they should be dealt with inside the ring.
On the other hand, a good number of boxing fans and analysts predict that Mosley will defeat Mayweather on May 1. They think that Mosley, being the aggressor on account of his natural offensive stance, will dictate the tempo when they collide inside the ring. Mayweather is known for his mastery of the art of defensive boxing.
Boxing fans want to see a good fight. Many believe that a Pacquiao-Mayweather match is a crowd-drawer. That is why they want to see a Pacquiao-Mayweather match.
At the same time it could also be a boring fight as Freddie Roach has opined. He said that Mayweather, just like Clottey is a defensive fighter and he will be busy inside the ring defending Pacquiao's flurry of punches as the pound-for pound king is known for his speed and punching power.
Source: digitaljournal.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Gearing Up For HBO's Mayweather/Mosley 24/7
We are a little over a week away from HBO's Mayweather/Mosley 24/7. I'm a huge fan of the show, and it deserves all of its accolades and Emmy awards. I was thinking of ways to make the series better, whether it be changing the narrator or altering the length. But I couldn't come up with any necessary changes based on those factors. The lengths of the episodes and series duration are all fine. Narrator, Liev Schreiber, is smooth, and really, just perfect. I haven't seen Schreiber in a film since the totally unnecessary Manchurian Candidate remake, so I don't know how his acting career is going, but he's doing great work with HBO. The show is excellent, but I'm not as stoked as I should be for this next installment. It's Mayweather. I need a new angle on him.
This is Floyd's fourth go around, and I feel like we've covered just about all of the areas. We know about his wealth and love for money. The relationship between he, his father, and his uncle have been beaten to death. Although, if they want to add something new to this topic area, subtitles for Floyd Sr. and Roger would help viewers immensely.
They've shown Floyd's children. Oh yes, the children. Um, where did these children come from? Who did he sire them with? This is the one angle in Mayweather's life that's completely lacking. Who is he banging?
I'm sorry, I know many of you may think I need to Wikipedia him, or look up old issues of US or People, but why should I, when HBO's 24/7 should be touching on this for me. I remember seeing the "significant others" for De La Hoya, Hatton, Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Cotto, but never Mayweather. Sex and intimacy are a part of a person's life, and I would like to get a look at who the fighter is sharing his time with. Why is this aspect so absent from Floyd's life?
It would be awesome if he was gay.
I'm not making an allegation, so I hope Floyd doesn't find out about this column, and I wind up getting shot at next time I go skating in Vegas. Nor am I making an insult. Those who know me, understand that I'm the most pro-gay/lesbian person you'll find. I'm in favor of homosexual marriage, adoption, right to serve openly in the military–the whole nine. Also, I think it's juvenile and insulting when others try to slur Floyd with terms like "Gayweather" and the such.
I actually think that an openly gay Floyd Mayweather Jr. could do enormous good for the gay cause-more than Ricky Martin for instance. Imagine one of the greatest boxers of the past 20 years, and a first ballot Hall-of-Fame legend, as an openly gay fighter. It would be huge. I know the great Emile Griffith was rumored and understood by many to be gay in the 60's and 70's, but that's not the same at out and proud.
It would be one of the most talked about moments in television history, if one of the 24/7 episodes ended with Mayweather Jr jumping into the arms of some muscle-head for a full on hardcore make-session. People would be dropping their drinks in slow motion, with their mouths agape, all across the world.
Don't start berating me with the "evidence" that Mayweather's children are proof of his heterosexuality. We've all heard of "down-low". Plus, plenty of gay men have had intercourse with women, and have sired children-it means nothing. Again, I have no idea if Pretty Boy Floyd is gay, but if he is, 24/7 would be a great opportunity to kick the closet doors open.
If Floyd is straight, can I at least see a segment or two showing who he's dating, or having "relations" with? Does Floyd date outside of his race? Is he into skinny super models, or full-figured "more to love" types? Does he spend his time with ghetto "chickenheads", or do preppie sophisticated types appeal to Floyd?
Look, every part of Mayweather's life has been turned inside out on 24/7, and it's getting a tad tired. I simply want this one last, unknown, angle placed on display. Any man or woman who shares a special intimate place in Floyd's life is a compelling figure. Floyd has a fascinating personality. Who puts up with him on an intimate basis? I want to know. And so do you.
Mosley on 24/7
I'm so glad that Shane Mosley is going to be featured on 24/7. His career has fascinated me. He's been an elite fighter for almost 15 years in three different weight classes. Mosley has been compared to Sugar Ray Robinson because of his flashy, fighting spirit and hand-speed. Mosley has good looks, and is extremely well spoken-long thought of as one of the nice guys in the sport.
Why hasn't this guy ever become a crossover star?
I've never understood it. I guess the easy answer is that Oscar De La Hoya took on that role during the same era. However, Foreman was a talk-show and commercial staple during the Holyfield era. Mayweather and Pacquiao are both big stars right now. Why didn't Mosley make it big; particularly after his first victory over Oscar?
I hope the 24/7 series delves into this. Sure, Mosley headlined some high grossing pay-per-views, but only with Oscar as the marquee draw. Mosley has never been a humongous draw on his own. I'd like to know his thoughts about this. Mosley's career has had a lot of professional and personal ups and downs, and I'm very anxious to see it all on display-including his partnership with Golden Boy Promotions.
Of course one issue that 24/7 will have to focus on is Mosley's performance-enhancing drug (PED) use. You got to figure that PEDs will be a major aspect of the show because of the unprecedented Olympic-style blood-test program both fighters will be on. Also, the PED issue killed the proposed Pacquio/Mayweather showdown. Mosley is the poster-boy for PED usage in boxing. He doped up prior to his last victory over De La Hoya in 2003.
Mosley–who closely worked with PED manufacturer, BALCO–claims that he didn't know he was taking any banned substances. His claims are dubious and refuted by BALCO representatives. This needs to be touched on, but shouldn't be the focus. To Mosley's credit, he's agreed to Olympic-style blood-testing this time around, to prove that he's not cheating anymore.
Another major issue from Shane's past that needs to be featured, is his relationship with his father. By all accounts they're still close, but Shane Mosley's father was fired from being his son's trainer on two separate occasions. Mosley is currently trained by Nazim Richardson, who not only led Mosley to one of the best performances of his career last January versus Antonio Margarito, but also helped bring about the revelation that Antonio was a cheating glove loader prior to that bout. Nazim Richardson, who is also Bernard Hopkins' trainer, needs to be introduced to the broader sports public on the HBO 24/7 showcase. He deserves the notoriety, and he's a damn good trainer to boot.
It should be quite an interesting series this go around. Mosley v. Mayweather has been a decade in the making. Both have called each other out at various points in the past 10 years, but for some reason or another, the two have never gotten a chance to "get it on". After Pacquiao/Mayweather, this is the "biggest" bout that can be made. HBO always does these episodes well, but I hope that they touch on a few of the issues I've focused on in this column.
In a couple of weeks, I'll breakdown who will win and why. Honestly, I haven't decided yet. Initially, I favored Mosley by knockout, and then due to Mosley's layoff, I tended to favor Mayweather by decision. Now after spending lots of time watching some of both fighters' previous bouts on Youtube, I'm favoring Mosley again. I'll be breaking it all down soon enough. Till next time, enjoy this weekend's fights.
Source: 411mania.com
Mayweather vs Mosley 2010 Fight, Predictions, Tickets and Pacquiao Lawsuit Update
Mayweather vs Mosley 2010 Fight, Predictions, Tickets and Pacquiao Lawsuit Update. Last December, we were all hoping for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. That didn’t transpire, and Pacquiao recently took on Joshua Clottey and Floyd Mayweather, Jr is set to take on Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.
The fight between the formerly retired fighter and Mosley is highly anticipated, and if Mayweather does defeat his opponent everyone will be crying that much harder for a fight against Mayweather and Pacquiao.
The Filipino fighter isn’t backing down from his lawsuit threats. There are some rumors floating around saying that if Mayweather drops his blood testing requirements, the Pac Man will drop his lawsuit and fight him. These rumors have been denied by representatives of the fighter, who claim that he has lost millions of dollars in potential endorsements and that his reputation has been irreparably tarnished.
Pro Boxing Fan predicts that Mayweather will win the fight, although Mosley will put on a strong offensive. They predict that the fight will end via unanimous decision instead of a knockout.
Mayweather has a lot on the line – a lot more than Mosley. If Mayweather defeats Mosley, he’s just adding himself to a laundry list of top-knotch fighters that have fallen to Floyd’s tactics. Mayweather has scored wins against some of the biggest names in boxing, such as Oscar de la Hoya.
If Mayweather loses, then a fight with Pacquiao loses its luster. Despite their strong rivalry, the Pac Man wants to be the one to de-throne Mayweather from his undefeated status.
What do you think the odds are that Mosley will beat Mayweather or vice versa? Do you think we will still get to see a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight?
Source: cnmnewsnetwork.com
The fight between the formerly retired fighter and Mosley is highly anticipated, and if Mayweather does defeat his opponent everyone will be crying that much harder for a fight against Mayweather and Pacquiao.
The Filipino fighter isn’t backing down from his lawsuit threats. There are some rumors floating around saying that if Mayweather drops his blood testing requirements, the Pac Man will drop his lawsuit and fight him. These rumors have been denied by representatives of the fighter, who claim that he has lost millions of dollars in potential endorsements and that his reputation has been irreparably tarnished.
Pro Boxing Fan predicts that Mayweather will win the fight, although Mosley will put on a strong offensive. They predict that the fight will end via unanimous decision instead of a knockout.
Mayweather has a lot on the line – a lot more than Mosley. If Mayweather defeats Mosley, he’s just adding himself to a laundry list of top-knotch fighters that have fallen to Floyd’s tactics. Mayweather has scored wins against some of the biggest names in boxing, such as Oscar de la Hoya.
If Mayweather loses, then a fight with Pacquiao loses its luster. Despite their strong rivalry, the Pac Man wants to be the one to de-throne Mayweather from his undefeated status.
What do you think the odds are that Mosley will beat Mayweather or vice versa? Do you think we will still get to see a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight?
Source: cnmnewsnetwork.com
Monday, March 29, 2010
Preliminary Perspective
Back in 2006, I wrote that Sugar Shane Mosley's savage KO of Fernando Vargas II was evidence that like a perfect storm, everything was coming together......just the right things in the mix and with just the right timing for him to fight Floyd Mayweather. Team Mosley was running on all cylinders and it seemed unlikely for anyone to slow it down. But that was then and this is now.
Since then, Floyd (now 40-0) has vanquished Carlos Manuel Baldomir, decisioned Oscar De La Hoya, waxed Ricky Hatton, and dominated Juan Manuel Marquez. Mosley has beaten Luis Collazo in a fight where Collazo suffered a fractured left thumb during the second round. He then lost to Miguel Cotto, but came back to beat clownish Ricardo Mayorga in a fight that was extremely close on the score cards until Mosley's spectacular left hook knock out at the very end which sent Mayorga to Matador Dreamland.
Sure, against Collazo, Sugar Shane (46-5) showed a display of effective jabs and great hand speed, once again using feints, quickness, and crafty head and body movement that served him so well in his wins against Oscar De La Hoya and especially Fernando Vargas. But Collazo is not Mayweather, and Vargas had taken brutal beatings at the hands of De La Hoya and Trinidad by the time he met Mosley.
Curiously, Mosley lost two to the "Viper" getting beat up in one, while Mayorga beat Forrest twice. But then Mayorga, an "old" 34, got starched convincingly by De La Hoya who Mosley "beat" twice. Of course, that was then and this is now and a lot has changed.
Shane's demolition of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 raised everyone's eyebrows. However, one theory that has not been given much traction (and one to which I partially subscribe) is that Tony may have been so discombobulated by pre-fight events, that he simply was there for the taking. Whatever the case, Mosley made the most of it and destroyed the disgraced "Tijuana Tornado." Interestingly. Mosley likely did not even get hit flush in that fight, but then, neither did Mayweather against Marquez.
The Age Factor
However, Sugar Shane is getting a bit long in the tooth and his considerable skills are in jeopardy of eroding. Age has a way of impacting speed, quickness, hand-eye coordination, movement, and putting punches together. Moreover, the fact he has fought tougher opponents than Mayweather (Vargas twice, Winky Wright twice, De La Hoya twice, Vernon Forrest twice, Jesse James Leija, John John Molina, Philip Holiday, Collazo, Mayorga, Margarito, among others), is not necessarily an advantage at this point. The reputation for never having ducked an opponent can back fire and render a boxer's body old overnight. That said and notwithstanding the Margorito beat down, I no longer believe Mosley is at the top of his game and I'm betting the ingredients for the perfect storm that once existed have now dissipated to the point where the momentum is clearly in favor of the man with the heavyweight ego.
Fighters like "Pretty Boy," don't come around very often. He uses old school stuff, but he does it so subtly, he is seldom given proper credit for it. As I have said before, he just might be too good for his own good. His use of shoulder rolls, feints, parrying, upward jabbing, giving angles, counter punching, crossover defense, strategic lateral movement, and deflecting punches is all part of the old school mix. So is his mastery of the basics...the three levels of defense, slipping punches, and fighting off the jab. If a purist is one who appreciates the technical aspects of the Sweet Science, Floyd Mayweather Junior is a purist's delight. His fights with Phillip N'dou and Juan Manuel Marquez showcased these attributes to a tee.
However, if one definition of "Old School" is that it combines the aforementioned with a violent dimension (one that reflects a boxer's propensity to engage in a pier six street brawl), then Floyd may be somewhat lacking. Aside from his give and take with Emanuel Augustus, we have not yet seen Floyd be required to demonstrate this dimension. However, his blow-outs of the late Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti suggest he may be capable of the same kind of mayhem Mosley showed against Margorito, but I doubt he can do that to Mosley.
While I intend to break down this fight far more definitively as we get closer to May 1, my tentative feeling at this point is that a well-rested Floyd Mayweather Junior will dominate Sugar Shane Mosley over 12 rounds and cop a unanimous decision.
Source: badlefthook.com
Since then, Floyd (now 40-0) has vanquished Carlos Manuel Baldomir, decisioned Oscar De La Hoya, waxed Ricky Hatton, and dominated Juan Manuel Marquez. Mosley has beaten Luis Collazo in a fight where Collazo suffered a fractured left thumb during the second round. He then lost to Miguel Cotto, but came back to beat clownish Ricardo Mayorga in a fight that was extremely close on the score cards until Mosley's spectacular left hook knock out at the very end which sent Mayorga to Matador Dreamland.
Sure, against Collazo, Sugar Shane (46-5) showed a display of effective jabs and great hand speed, once again using feints, quickness, and crafty head and body movement that served him so well in his wins against Oscar De La Hoya and especially Fernando Vargas. But Collazo is not Mayweather, and Vargas had taken brutal beatings at the hands of De La Hoya and Trinidad by the time he met Mosley.
Curiously, Mosley lost two to the "Viper" getting beat up in one, while Mayorga beat Forrest twice. But then Mayorga, an "old" 34, got starched convincingly by De La Hoya who Mosley "beat" twice. Of course, that was then and this is now and a lot has changed.
Shane's demolition of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 raised everyone's eyebrows. However, one theory that has not been given much traction (and one to which I partially subscribe) is that Tony may have been so discombobulated by pre-fight events, that he simply was there for the taking. Whatever the case, Mosley made the most of it and destroyed the disgraced "Tijuana Tornado." Interestingly. Mosley likely did not even get hit flush in that fight, but then, neither did Mayweather against Marquez.
The Age Factor
However, Sugar Shane is getting a bit long in the tooth and his considerable skills are in jeopardy of eroding. Age has a way of impacting speed, quickness, hand-eye coordination, movement, and putting punches together. Moreover, the fact he has fought tougher opponents than Mayweather (Vargas twice, Winky Wright twice, De La Hoya twice, Vernon Forrest twice, Jesse James Leija, John John Molina, Philip Holiday, Collazo, Mayorga, Margarito, among others), is not necessarily an advantage at this point. The reputation for never having ducked an opponent can back fire and render a boxer's body old overnight. That said and notwithstanding the Margorito beat down, I no longer believe Mosley is at the top of his game and I'm betting the ingredients for the perfect storm that once existed have now dissipated to the point where the momentum is clearly in favor of the man with the heavyweight ego.
Fighters like "Pretty Boy," don't come around very often. He uses old school stuff, but he does it so subtly, he is seldom given proper credit for it. As I have said before, he just might be too good for his own good. His use of shoulder rolls, feints, parrying, upward jabbing, giving angles, counter punching, crossover defense, strategic lateral movement, and deflecting punches is all part of the old school mix. So is his mastery of the basics...the three levels of defense, slipping punches, and fighting off the jab. If a purist is one who appreciates the technical aspects of the Sweet Science, Floyd Mayweather Junior is a purist's delight. His fights with Phillip N'dou and Juan Manuel Marquez showcased these attributes to a tee.
However, if one definition of "Old School" is that it combines the aforementioned with a violent dimension (one that reflects a boxer's propensity to engage in a pier six street brawl), then Floyd may be somewhat lacking. Aside from his give and take with Emanuel Augustus, we have not yet seen Floyd be required to demonstrate this dimension. However, his blow-outs of the late Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti suggest he may be capable of the same kind of mayhem Mosley showed against Margorito, but I doubt he can do that to Mosley.
While I intend to break down this fight far more definitively as we get closer to May 1, my tentative feeling at this point is that a well-rested Floyd Mayweather Junior will dominate Sugar Shane Mosley over 12 rounds and cop a unanimous decision.
Source: badlefthook.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Running around in circles: can we just get on with the fights?
One man WADA Floyd Mayweather and his opponent Shane Mosley will begin the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) anti-doping program on Monday, ahead of Mayweather vs Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Great fight, but such a lot of kerfuffle.
Fine. It is the first time in history that athletes from any U.S. professional sport have reached out and demanded World Anti-Doing Code compliant drug testing, setting a new precedent.
The program will involve no-advance-notice sample collection of the athletes’ blood and urine prior to and after the fight so that all banned substances, some of which do not show up in urine alone, are tested for thoroughly, and with both athletes subjected to the testing program leading up to as well as after the fight.
But it is unlikely to herald a complete change in the sport.
Yet Mayweather thinks so. “I am excited that Shane Mosley and I are willing to take these tests to ensure a fair fight on May 1. I just want to show the world that boxing is a clean sport and it is my hope that all fighters will take a similar stance and responsibility which reflects sportsmanship at the highest level and sets a new standard for safety in boxing.”
Mosley, of course, agrees. “I think the testing program is a great idea and I did not hesitate for a minute about agreeing to it. Let’s hope that the rest of the boxing world follows Floyd’s and my example.” I doubt it.
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions said, “Floyd is leading the way for changing the sport and I commend him for that. Some people have asked why he has not asked for it in the past but it is never too late to take a stand on an issue that is prevalent in all sports today and ask for something that can only have positive results on the future of boxing.”
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said, “Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport. I commend both of these fighters for setting a new precedent in the sport and giving others an opportunity to reflect on its current state and how, as a collective group, we can continue to make the sport better, safer and fairer for anyone who steps in to the ring.”
We continue in circles. Paulie Malignaggi says Amir Khan is a stronger opponent than Hatton. Khan says Malignaggi is ‘stupid’. Malignaggi continues to assert that there are drugs cheats in boxing…the pair clash in New York on May 15. Khan is likely to slice through the Brooklynite with a flair for hairstyles.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Fine. It is the first time in history that athletes from any U.S. professional sport have reached out and demanded World Anti-Doing Code compliant drug testing, setting a new precedent.
The program will involve no-advance-notice sample collection of the athletes’ blood and urine prior to and after the fight so that all banned substances, some of which do not show up in urine alone, are tested for thoroughly, and with both athletes subjected to the testing program leading up to as well as after the fight.
But it is unlikely to herald a complete change in the sport.
Yet Mayweather thinks so. “I am excited that Shane Mosley and I are willing to take these tests to ensure a fair fight on May 1. I just want to show the world that boxing is a clean sport and it is my hope that all fighters will take a similar stance and responsibility which reflects sportsmanship at the highest level and sets a new standard for safety in boxing.”
Mosley, of course, agrees. “I think the testing program is a great idea and I did not hesitate for a minute about agreeing to it. Let’s hope that the rest of the boxing world follows Floyd’s and my example.” I doubt it.
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions said, “Floyd is leading the way for changing the sport and I commend him for that. Some people have asked why he has not asked for it in the past but it is never too late to take a stand on an issue that is prevalent in all sports today and ask for something that can only have positive results on the future of boxing.”
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said, “Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport. I commend both of these fighters for setting a new precedent in the sport and giving others an opportunity to reflect on its current state and how, as a collective group, we can continue to make the sport better, safer and fairer for anyone who steps in to the ring.”
We continue in circles. Paulie Malignaggi says Amir Khan is a stronger opponent than Hatton. Khan says Malignaggi is ‘stupid’. Malignaggi continues to assert that there are drugs cheats in boxing…the pair clash in New York on May 15. Khan is likely to slice through the Brooklynite with a flair for hairstyles.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Drug testing detailed for Mayweather-Mosley fight
Representatives of boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley and Golden Boy Promotions on Thursday revealed their anti-doping procedures for their May 1 welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, said Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to random urine and/or blood tests from now "until and after the fight." In addition to urine tests for steroids, blood tests will be implemented to search for such performance-enhancers as human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin and blood transfusions, Tygart said.
A positive test, Tygart said, would leave the boxer suspended from the sport for two years, a condition he said both fighters have agreed to.
Mayweather's desire for a more stringent testing program than what Nevada offers — random urine testing before and immediately after the bout — contributed to the failed negotiations to stage a fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year.
-- Lance Pugmire
Source: latimes.com
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, said Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to random urine and/or blood tests from now "until and after the fight." In addition to urine tests for steroids, blood tests will be implemented to search for such performance-enhancers as human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin and blood transfusions, Tygart said.
A positive test, Tygart said, would leave the boxer suspended from the sport for two years, a condition he said both fighters have agreed to.
Mayweather's desire for a more stringent testing program than what Nevada offers — random urine testing before and immediately after the bout — contributed to the failed negotiations to stage a fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year.
-- Lance Pugmire
Source: latimes.com
Mayweather, Mosley OK tests
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and welterweight champion Shane Mosley will undergo Olympic-style drug testing for their May 1 fight in Las Vegas.
Representatives of the two fighters joined Travis Tygart of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on a conference call yesterday to discuss the program, which is more extensive than the testing that now falls under the jurisdiction of state athletic commissions.
Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to an unlimited number of unannounced blood and urine tests before and after the fight, and the results will be stored so the USADA can test them in the future.
Most state athletic commissions test only urine samples, which Tygart said cannot detect several performance-enhancing substances, including HGH.
Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style testing is the main reason negotiations fell through in January for a fight against pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Mosley has acknowledged using steroids before a victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, claiming he did so inadvertently.
Source: philly.com
Representatives of the two fighters joined Travis Tygart of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on a conference call yesterday to discuss the program, which is more extensive than the testing that now falls under the jurisdiction of state athletic commissions.
Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to an unlimited number of unannounced blood and urine tests before and after the fight, and the results will be stored so the USADA can test them in the future.
Most state athletic commissions test only urine samples, which Tygart said cannot detect several performance-enhancing substances, including HGH.
Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style testing is the main reason negotiations fell through in January for a fight against pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Mosley has acknowledged using steroids before a victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, claiming he did so inadvertently.
Source: philly.com
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency outlines drug-testing regimen for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_spo
There will be blood.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Thursday outlined parts of the Olympic-style drug-testing program it has put in place for the blockbuster May 1 fight between boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and former BALCO customer Shane Mosley.
USADA's regimen, which includes random blood sampling and other strict measures, outpaces any other anti-doping effort in professional boxing. Both fighters volunteered for the USADA program. Prospects for a previous bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao foundered over disputes over drug-testing procedures.
In a conference call Thursday, representatives for both boxers were joined by USADA CEO Travis Tygart, who said Mosley and Mayweather will notify USADA of their whereabouts at all moments between now and the fight in Vegas. USADA may keep the fighters' samples in storage for testing in the distant future, when anti-doping science may have evolved to detect now-invisible substances and methods.
"These athletes are courageous in their position and their desire to be held to the most stringent anti-doping program to protect their right to compete clean," Tygart said. "At this point, both athletes have agreed to USADA's testing protocols, including both blood and urine testing, which is unannounced, which is anywhere, anytime."
Blood testing is customary in Olympic sports, but professional sports leagues in the U.S. have resisted implementing it. Such tests are the only way laboratories can detect the use of human growth hormone and several other doping methods thought to boost strength and stamina.
The new agreement also brings USADA into an awkward sort of partnership with Mosley, who testified before the BALCO grand jury that he injected himself with drugs supplied by BALCO founder Victor Conte, but escaped the kind of punishments other BALCO athletes faced. Mosley has claimed he didn't know the drugs he took were the endurance-boosting EPO and steroids, and has spent two years suing Conte for defamation for saying he told Mosley what the drugs were.
"We thought long and hard about it and its impact on us, whether we could be a part of this effort," Tygart said when asked if there was an investigation into Mosley's BALCO links. "At the end of the day we asked ourselves, what would clean athletes want us to do. From that perspective, clean athletes in this sport and in this event have asked us to be involved."
Tygart said that if USADA had had jurisdiction over boxing in 2003, it would have aggressively pursued evidence implicating Mosley, but that any hypothetical suspension would have been complete by this point.
"If he did cheat, and he does again, he will be caught and exposed in our program," Tygart said.
Source: nydailynews.com
THE OTHER MADNESS: MAYWEATHER VS. MOSLEY
BY ARON PHILLIPS
Just as millions of people have filled out their brackets for March Madness, boxing fans have already begun to debate the winner of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley fight set for Saturday, May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. And while the NCAA Tournament lasts only a few weeks, it has taken six-time World Champion Mayweather and five-time World Champion Mosley a lifetime of dedication to finally reach what will be the biggest fight of their respective careers.
The path to Mayweather vs. Mosley has been a long and hard fought one. They have both paved Hall Of Fame roads by fighting the biggest and best in boxing. Check out the bracket below which shows the paths that they both have taken to get to this mega-fight. If you have brackets on the brain, you can alos vote for who you believe will be victorious HERE.
Source: dimemag.com
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Mosley vows better bout vs Mayweather
MANILA, Philippines – Shane Mosley, the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight super champion, said his May 1 fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. will surely be a showdown unlike the one-sided fight of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey last Saturday.
“I would like to congratulate Manny on his victory Saturday night even though I think it put most of the fans watching to sleep,” Mosley said in a 411mania article posted by Ramon Aranda.
Pacquiao successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt against Clottey via unanimous decision last Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mosley, who will face Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, even declared that he will score a knockout against his opponent.
“Now it's time for the world to focus on May 1 when I promise you nobody will be sleeping except for Floyd after I knock him out and send him back into retirement,” added Mosley.
Pacquiao was supposed to fight Mayweather but negotiations collapsed after they disagreed on the Olympic-style drug testing protocol which Mayweather called for.
Mosley, meanwhile, was slated to face Andre Berto last January. Berto, however, pulled out of the fight because his family members in Haiti were affected by the massive January 12 earthquake.
No comment from Mayweather
Talks of the much-awaited yet botched Pacquiao-Mayweather bout gained ground again after the Filipino boxing icon’s latest victory.
“‘Yun naman ang gusto ko (That’s what I want),” Pacquiao told Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star. “It’s up to him. I have no problem fighting him. But I don’t think he’s ready now.”
Pacquiao’s adviser, Wakee Salud, for his part, said: “I think the fight will happen. It has to happen… “I think it (Pacquiao-Mayweather) will happen this year.”
The undefeated Mayweather, however, has not yet commented on the Pacquiao-Clottey bout.
According to BoxingScene, a Team Mayweather member said: “Floyd did not do any interviews. Floyd has not watched the fight yet.”
This was in response to an alleged interview wherein Mayweather purportedly said that Pacquiao was a one-dimensional fighter. Such interview was deemed “100% fabricated.”
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, meantime, told BoxingScene that he does not believe Mayweather did not watch the Pacquiao-Clottey “The Event” clash.
Mayweather, Clottey worlds apart
It was Mayweather’s uncle, Jeff, who gave remarks on the Pacquiao-Clottey bout.
He told Percy Crawford of FightHype that Pacquiao gave a decent performance but the fight was “very boring and very one-sided.”
“You can't really look spectacular if a guy isn't taking chances or taking any risk to try to win the fight. You had one man working and one man working to survive. With that being the case, it didn't even give Manny the chance to actually look good because there were very few exchanges where both guys were trying to hit each other simultaneously,” he continued.
Jeff then addressed the comparisons being made between Clottey and Mayweather, who are known to be defensive fighters.
He even said the comparisons are “asinine.”
“You're talking about one guy who is a pure boxer, and the purest boxer in the history of the sport, that can actually hit you and not be hit and be right in your face at the same time. And then you got one guy that lies on the ropes and allows you to beat on him. That's the difference is that one is a boxer and one is a sitting duck,” he noted.
Jeff elaborated on his nephew’s boxing style, pointing out that Floyd is not just all about defense because he is a mobile fighter.
“Floyd's defense is why he's moving and while he's actually throwing punches. He will make you miss while he's in the heat of the battle. Floyd makes you miss and makes you pay. Clottey doesn't make you miss. He allows you to hit him on the elbows and hit him on the arms and that's not really defense.” – With reports from 411mania.com, BoxingScene.com, FightHype.com and The Philippine Star
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
“I would like to congratulate Manny on his victory Saturday night even though I think it put most of the fans watching to sleep,” Mosley said in a 411mania article posted by Ramon Aranda.
Pacquiao successfully defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight belt against Clottey via unanimous decision last Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Mosley, who will face Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, even declared that he will score a knockout against his opponent.
“Now it's time for the world to focus on May 1 when I promise you nobody will be sleeping except for Floyd after I knock him out and send him back into retirement,” added Mosley.
Pacquiao was supposed to fight Mayweather but negotiations collapsed after they disagreed on the Olympic-style drug testing protocol which Mayweather called for.
Mosley, meanwhile, was slated to face Andre Berto last January. Berto, however, pulled out of the fight because his family members in Haiti were affected by the massive January 12 earthquake.
No comment from Mayweather
Talks of the much-awaited yet botched Pacquiao-Mayweather bout gained ground again after the Filipino boxing icon’s latest victory.
“‘Yun naman ang gusto ko (That’s what I want),” Pacquiao told Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star. “It’s up to him. I have no problem fighting him. But I don’t think he’s ready now.”
Pacquiao’s adviser, Wakee Salud, for his part, said: “I think the fight will happen. It has to happen… “I think it (Pacquiao-Mayweather) will happen this year.”
The undefeated Mayweather, however, has not yet commented on the Pacquiao-Clottey bout.
According to BoxingScene, a Team Mayweather member said: “Floyd did not do any interviews. Floyd has not watched the fight yet.”
This was in response to an alleged interview wherein Mayweather purportedly said that Pacquiao was a one-dimensional fighter. Such interview was deemed “100% fabricated.”
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, meantime, told BoxingScene that he does not believe Mayweather did not watch the Pacquiao-Clottey “The Event” clash.
Mayweather, Clottey worlds apart
It was Mayweather’s uncle, Jeff, who gave remarks on the Pacquiao-Clottey bout.
He told Percy Crawford of FightHype that Pacquiao gave a decent performance but the fight was “very boring and very one-sided.”
“You can't really look spectacular if a guy isn't taking chances or taking any risk to try to win the fight. You had one man working and one man working to survive. With that being the case, it didn't even give Manny the chance to actually look good because there were very few exchanges where both guys were trying to hit each other simultaneously,” he continued.
Jeff then addressed the comparisons being made between Clottey and Mayweather, who are known to be defensive fighters.
He even said the comparisons are “asinine.”
“You're talking about one guy who is a pure boxer, and the purest boxer in the history of the sport, that can actually hit you and not be hit and be right in your face at the same time. And then you got one guy that lies on the ropes and allows you to beat on him. That's the difference is that one is a boxer and one is a sitting duck,” he noted.
Jeff elaborated on his nephew’s boxing style, pointing out that Floyd is not just all about defense because he is a mobile fighter.
“Floyd's defense is why he's moving and while he's actually throwing punches. He will make you miss while he's in the heat of the battle. Floyd makes you miss and makes you pay. Clottey doesn't make you miss. He allows you to hit him on the elbows and hit him on the arms and that's not really defense.” – With reports from 411mania.com, BoxingScene.com, FightHype.com and The Philippine Star
Source: abs-cbnnews.com
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Mayweather and Mosley Give Fans a Choice
Just a little more than a week away from an event in Texas, welterweight great Sugar Shane Mosley and the volcanic defensive dynamo that is the superstar boxer known as Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. came to downtown Los Angeles’ L.A. Live complex to finish off of a three-city hype parade to announce the most significant welterweight fight since Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad squared off in 1999.
"These kinds of fights come along once in a lifetime and this is going to be one of the most promoted fights in the history of the sport,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “We are here to set new records and set new standards. We have NASCAR-like sponsors. This is going to be the most promoted fight in the history of the sport."
If the press conference was any indication, I have no doubt that this fight can give the record 2.4 million pay-per-view buys that Mayweather and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya set in their May 5, 2007 junior middleweight boredown known as “The World Awaits.”
While that fight was billed as the fight to save boxing and did extraordinary numbers, the combat itself left a lot to be desired and was not close, no matter what the cards said.
It’s been three years since that fight. Three years of waiting for what that fight promised. And now the fans wait no more. Make no mistake; Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in the fight of his life.
Not only is he facing Shane Mosley (who, despite the fact that on fight night, will have spent nearly a year-and-a-half out of the ring), who is coming off a career-best win over Antonio Margarito in January of 2009, Mayweather faces one of boxing’s best strategists in Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson.
In the L.A. Live courtyard, a large proscenium stage was set up with bleachers at stage right, with a gate bordering the crowd gathered in the plaza. Two platforms bookmarked the stage and following a brief clip of each fight on the large video screen above the action, each fighter emerged one at a time amidst a geyser of steam. Two Tecate girls, one ill-fated (she would later faint from standing in the sun), the other a “blonde”, stood on either side of an attached runway where Mosley and Mayweather faced off, jawed at each other in a face-off before strutting down to strike a pose.
Mosley, 39, an aging-but-competitive and dangerous fighter, dreams of returning to the top of the mythical pound-for-pound list via a win over Mayweather, 33, who despite a brief retirement, resides atop that list. This fight is nearly ten years in the making and one that will be hard to wait another two months for. It really is that good.
“May 1, MGM Grand or live on HBO Pay-Per-View,” Schaefer said to the crowd of fans and assembled media. “Floyd Mayweather vs. Sugar Shane Mosley. Two of the best fighters, pound-for-pound. Two of the best fighters, period.”
The bout is being called “Who R U Picking?” (A sort of text message from the boxing gods) and is the kind of fight that already has both casual and hardcore fans choosing sides, which is a great thing for boxing.
“I tell you what; I’m going with the undefeated guy,” Mayweather’s right hand man Leonard Ellerbe told the crowd. “The guy who has never been defeated, faced the top competition throughout all his career. I take nothing away from Shane Mosley. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer, a great fighter. He’s been one of the best fighters of this past decade. And we know, come the night of May 1st, he’s going to bring his best. But his best won’t be good enough. Because when you’re facing Floyd Mayweather, you’re facing simply the best. 40 have come and 40 have gone.”
For Golden Boy Promotions founder and President Oscar De La Hoya, the choice seems easy as he teased the audience with a playfully vague play on words pick.
“I fought both guys. I know both guys. They both beat me,” he explained with his trademark smile, “But I already know what’s going to happen. I already know what’s going to happen and you know what? It ain’t going to be pretty. Because this fight is going to be not only [about] who wants it more. Not only [about] who has the more skills. The determination. No, it’s going to be about who has that whole package. And both of them have proved that they have everything and anything to win fights.”
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again,” began the always eloquent and often funny Brother Naazim Richardson. “I’m not one to that’s going to stand here and belittle the opponent about what can’t be done and what he’s not capable of doing. I’ve had the privilege of watching [Mayweather] since he was a young kid fighting in the amateurs. Fighting a young man from your area called Carlos Navarro. Like I said, he’s always been an outstanding athlete so I respect him on that level. And I respect the support team around him. Come the first, you have guys that are champions and then you have guys that are elite. Like the Ricky Hattons and the Margaritos. Then you have guys that are special. You’re privileged on May 1 to see two guys that are special. These are not champions. They are bigger than championships. They’re bigger than belts. These guys are special athletes. And that makes for a spectacular performance. Shane Mosley is an outstanding athlete. I feel he is elite at the 147-pound weight class. I feel its premier for him. They say ‘Can he knock the guy out?’ I say Shane Mosley can knock anything out that weighs 147 pounds. Anything he hits solid that weighs 147 pounds, even a farm animal, he’ll knock it dead.
“But we also know that Floyd Mayweather has the kind of defense [where] it’s hard to hit him in the ass with a handful of rice,” continued Richardson. “So we can’t take nothing from him. Just what I tell you. You’re dealing with special. People ask me ‘What do you bring to the table?’ Jack Mosley trained [Mosley] since he was baby and he did a spectacular job. My job is to dissect Floyd Mayweather, find the flaws, and then implement an attack that can exploit those flaws. That’s what’s in front of us. You’re going to see May 1. You’re going to want to be there. They say ‘The guy’s undefeated.’ I say, ‘I wasn’t there for any 40 of those fights. And in those 40 fights, he never fought Shane Mosley.’ I appreciate any man that does what he does as long as he does. It’s going to take hard work to convince him to do something else. I don’t eat pork. You can’t convince me to eat pork. But here’s the thing. We’re going to have no choice but to convince this man that he is going to have to find something new and that’s how to lose. Now he can drop the habit right after us but, on May 1, we’re going to have to convince this man that now he’s going to have to take a shortcoming.”
Before this fight ever became a possibility, Shane Mosley was set to fight WBC titleholder Andre Berto in a showdown on January 30 of this year. But when Haiti was devastated by their earthquake, the Haitian-American Berto, who lost family members in the disaster, pulled out for obvious reasons.
Meanwhile, Mayweather and fellow pound-for-pound headliner Manny Pacquiao were unable to come to terms for a March 13 showdown, due to Pacquiao refusing Mayweather’s demand for more stringent pre-fight drug testing. Mayweather had asked that Pacquiao undergo Olympic-style, random blood tests, which is above and beyond the regular urine screening the Nevada State Athletic Commission requires for all participants in combat sports, but a much-needed change in the ever-evolving world of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
The two sides went back and forth, negotiating over the blood tests, agreeing to do them, but ultimately they were unable to agree when the testing cutoff date should be. Mayweather asked for a 14-day cutoff. Team Pacquiao wanted it to be 24 days. This writer was told by a source close to the Pacquiao camp that the final offer was 20 days. Despite the efforts of a mediator brought in to help matters along, the fight died on the vine. Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather and went off to fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and Mosley vs. Mayweather came to fruition.
“When the Berto fight fell through and the Pacquiao fell through, there was no other choice,” Mosley would say later that day. “That was the best choice to make the most money in the sport and for the fans to get their money’s worth. This is the best fight right now in boxing.”
According to Richardson, the fight also serves another purpose.
“I’m more comfortable [with the Mayweather fight] than the Margarito fight and the Berto fight,” Richardson would say after the main presser’s initial proceedings were finished. “There’s champions, elite level guys and then there’s special. When one of these special guys goes back and fights a champion, they can say what they want, do the job but it’s still hard for them to zero in.”
Before he was ever a star boxer and future Hall-of-Famer, Shane Mosley was a badass kid from Pomona who had an explosive stand-up style full of aggression and combinations that boxing hadn’t seen in years. Both the style and willingness to fight champions in the gym, as early as age 16, combined to form a throwback package that earned Mosley the storied nickname “Sugar.” Richardson feels that this fight can only solidify Mosley’s claim to the nickname.
“I want him to stay at the level where he can solidify his status as the third “Sugar” in the history of this sport,” explained Richardson. “There’s Robinson, Leonard and now there’s Shane Mosley. Because they’ll be another young fighter coming up behind him. They’ll be some young kid who will earn the name of ‘Sugar’. So raise the bar high for him like Robinson and Leonard did for you. So you should be fighting the Mayweathers, the Pacquiaos, the guys who are deemed special.”
“Hello L.A. How you doing out there? P-Town’s in the house, baby,” Mosley said to his L.A. fans with a sheepish, mild manner that did nothing to hide his fighter’s confidence. “You know, first of all, I just want to thank all you great fans. [Mayweather] took the fight and I’m happy because, before, he was fighting everybody else, but he wasn’t fighting me. So I’m happy. I’m happy for this. I want to thank my team for being so inspirational in my boxing camp. I want to thank everybody. Everybody. The media for coming out to Staples. There is one thing I’d like to say. The fight is going to be on May 1. But you know May 1st is going to be May’s first [loss]. I’ll make sure of that.”
Since Mayweather burst on the scene and made his mark at 130 pounds with stellar performances over Genaro Hernandez and Angel Manfredy, a fight with Mosley- who was making his mark at lightweight, at the time- seemed a natural. But despite callouts from both sides at various times in their careers, the timing was always off. Mosley first moved from lightweight to welter to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Years later, Mosley would cite the need for a vacation with his family and there was an infamous “toothache” excuse that few fans and Mayweather have let Mosley forget ever since.
When Mayweather returned to the sport last year, a Mosley fight was dismissed as either too tough for a comeback fight or, according to Mayweather, it didn’t have any heat because Mosley had five losses.
But that was then and now Mosley has the fight of all fights in front of him against an undefeated, defensive genius trained from the day his eyes first looked upon the world by his father/ex-fighter/trainer, Floyd Sr. and then later taken to championship heights few have known by his uncle/ex-fighter/trainer, Uncle Roger. Not only that, but Mosley has a fighter in front of him who desperately wants to silence all his critics with an emphatic win over an elite fighter his own size and skill level. Because of this, Mosley understands that he isn’t the only starving-to-win fighter in this match.
“The guy’s been chasing me all his life,” claimed Mosley in a roundtable interview with the print media. “So I have to be able to box, move side-to-side, give him angles. I have to do a lot of different things. I have to give all of myself. I have to be ‘Sugar Shane’ to the fullest.”
For Mosley to win, he has to not allow Mayweather to get comfortable by changing up both his style and the tempo, round to round.
“[Tempo] could be a factor in the fight,” conceded Mosley. “There’s a lot of different things that I can do to make Mayweather to feel uncomfortable. Maybe I’m going to do body shots; I’m going to do head shots. I’m going to go forward. I may even go backwards a little. I might box a little bit. I might do a lot of everything. I’m not going to just do one thing. You can’t say ‘Ok, Shane’s coming right at me and I’m prepared for that.’ He has to prepare for everything just like I am.”
What makes Mosley dangerous in this fight is not just his experience against the best boxers and fighters of the post and current modern eras. It is his retention of the majority of his formidable attributes as a fighter. Comparable speed, agility, endurance, and a powerful right hand remain, as well as one of the best chins in the game. While the speed of his combinations may have dwindled a shade, power is the last thing to go in a fighter and if his ninth-round destruction of Antonio Margarito is any indication, Shane hasn’t lost his one bit.
“They may doubt but it’s not up to the people how I‘m going to attack this fight,” said Mosley. “My job is to win the fight. I’ll definitely win by knockout if I catch him on the chin and he wobbles a little bit. That’s a knockout. If not, then I have to be prepared to fight 12 hard rounds. This is going to be a tough fight.”
Mosley is right for a few reasons. Not the least of which is an extended layoff that can’t be good for a fighter his age. But tell him that and he’d disagree.
“It doesn’t concern me because when I fought Margarito I had a long layoff,” explained Mosley. “And I jumped in the ring and looked even better. The way I stay in the gym all the time and train, it just doesn’t make a difference. I’m always ready to go.”
For the record, Mosley had roughly a four-month layoff coming into his bout with Margarito. This layoff eclipses that one by over a year.
In Mayweather, Mosley also faces the second defensive wizard of his career. The first was in two consecutive fights with former junior middleweight champion Winky Wright. Even in losing efforts, fighting an elite fighter yields experience but Mosley said that from a style standpoint, this new puzzle doesn’t resemble Wright in the least.
“Mayweather’s a different guy because Winky was bigger than me. A southpaw. Just different altogether. Mayweather is going to be a little smaller than me and he’s defensively pretty good at swiveling and moving, but I am too. When I fought Winky, I was more flat-footed than anything. Now I have more movement. It’s going to be a different fight, even for Mayweather.”
Beyond making history by being the first to defeat Mayweather, this bout also has a different kind of significance for Mosley. According to leaked grand jury testimony and later sworn statements by the now-defunct BALCO Labs founder, Victor Conte and former Mosley strength and conditioning coach Derryl Hudson, Mosley knowingly used the substances known as Tetrahydrogestrinone (or “The Clear”) and a testosterone cream mixed with epitestosterone (or “The Cream”) as well as Erythropoietin (or EPO) in preparation for his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. In the fallout from these allegations, some in the sport have called for the bout to be called a “no-contest” (though the Nevada State Athletic Commission has yet to do so) and defamation suits and counter suits were filed by Mosley, Conte and Hudson.
While Pacquiao, who has never tested positive in any commission, pre or post-fight test for PEDs, refused to agree to Mayweather’s demand, Mosley had no problem at all submitting to the tests. At the same time, he feels this fight isn’t about redemption of any kind.
“Well I’ve been clean,” insisted Mosley. “I’ve been clean my whole career. It’s just in 2003, which is seven years ago, they talk about it. I haven’t tested positive for anything. I didn’t even test positive in 2003. And this wasn’t even considered an enhancement drug back then. It was considered after the fact. And what they had on TV and all that different stuff. I mean, whatever, I think that the sport should be clean. People should know what they are taking. And they should know they are taking the right stuff, the clean stuff. They don’t know that it can be a problem for their health later in life.”
For the record, it is true that Mosley has never tested positive for PEDs.
No matter how Mosley feels or doesn’t feel about redemption in the eyes of the public, beating Mayweather while undergoing extensive blood testing will go a long way to restoring the public’s faith in his greatness at his advanced age.
To Mosley, however, the victory would simply be icing on a future Hall of Fame cake.
“Each victory has its value,” explained Mosley. “When I beat Oscar the first time, that gave me a lot of respect and credibility. And then, me and Margarito, at that time and at my age, that also gave me a lot of notoriety just to make this fight. If I beat Mayweather, I’m already in the history books, but that would be icing on the cake. This is a chance for me to shine; a chance for me to show the people that I am truly the best welterweight right now on this Earth.”
When asked about testing and how and if it would be happening, Schaefer had this to say, “It’s going to be up to the USADA. Whenever they decide to start it. But thing is of random. Random, you don’t know. If I could tell you, then it wouldn’t be random anymore so I really don’t know when. It could happen right now.”
According to one source, the random testing period began the day after the final press conference.
If there is a figure as polarizing as Mayweather, it’s his uncle/trainer Roger. A man known for dismissing both boxing writers as knowing nothing about the sport and Mayweather Jr.’s opponents as not being up to the task, no matter how prepared they are. In the case of Mosley, Uncle Roger was more respectful than ever while explaining why Shane Mosley, though great, would be a tough fight for his nephew.
“Shane has the biggest amateur background,” Roger explained. “I had a guy Shane beat four times.”
When reminded that Mosley’s first loss came against the taller, rangier Vernon Forrest, who fought nothing like Mayweather, Roger said, “Even if Forrest was tall, Floyd is still the most skilled fighter Shane has ever faced. It doesn’t matter how tall he is. It’s about skills. Skill wins fights.”
Uncle Roger understands that as much as Floyd has accomplished, there is always more; that there is always a fighter who can push you to the limit and take you to greatness. In short, he understands who Shane is and how he can lift his nephew to heights he has yet to know.
“There is only one Sugar Ray Robinson,” explained Roger. “Everything is up there but there is only one Sugar Ray Robinson. That’s why he’s called the best ever. So if this is going to be the defining fight about what Floyd will be in history, we’ll see.”
The best is generally saved for last and on this day, no exception was made.
“I’ve been here before so I know what it takes,” Floyd Mayweather Jr. said to the crowd. “I want to test my skills against the best guys they got out there. And me and Shane were supposed to fight back in 1998-99. It didn’t happen, so we moved on. Things happen in life, you know? We’re fighting in 2010. I want Shane to believe in his skills. I want him to believe in himself because I’m a fighter who believes in myself and I believe in my skills, just like Shane. He has a great family; he has great backing, people that love him. I have the same thing on my side. We know that I have a great trainer, Roger Mayweather. He has a great trainer. We must understand our trainers can’t fight for us. Come May 1, I want to get out there and display my skills. Display my talent. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer. I’m a future Hall-of-Famer. It’s going to be a tremendous fight. It’s going to be a great fight. And that’s what I want to do. I want to test my skills against the best guys they’ve got out there. Like I said before, I just want to change the way the sport of boxing is. I just want to clean up the sport and say that my sport is clean. That’s why me and Shane is taking [random urine and random blood]. I’m pretty sure Shane’s going to have a tremendous camp. I’m going to have a tremendous camp.”
There is no fighter today, in boxing in or out of the ring, like Floyd Mayweather Jr. He’s more polarizing than politics or religion rolled into a giant-sized talk show burrito. He could read the phonebook in a crowd of boxing fans and half would be angered by the way he did it while claiming he left a few names out and the other would stay until he got to the Zs, while claiming no one had ever read so well.
Early on in his career, when he infamously turned down a multi-million-dollar HBO contract and referred to it as “slave wages,” it cost him fans and cast him in a negative light. In 2010, three years after the De La Hoya fight and the first episodes of the Emmy award-winning HBO boxing “reality” show “24/7,” it’s clear Mayweather has mastered the art of self-promotion. Appearances on “Dancing with the Stars,” a WWE wrestling pay-per-view event against “The Big Show” and commercials have proven his crossover appeal. A million PPV buys for his return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez has proven he doesn’t need a crossover name on the marquee with him to sell fights. Mercurial, arrogant, funny, and combative, Mayweather seemed in his element, surrounded by fans and boxing press in a question-and-answer session following his speech to the crowd.
“I’m just me. And you know I just like to go out there and be me,” he was telling members of the press as I approached the tight circle enclosing him. “There are those who say Floyd is too much of a defensive fighter. And because I make an extraordinary fighter look ordinary, then they say I’m boring. It’s not my fault that God blessed [me] with that good of an ability to be that much better than my opponents. Marquez was the number-two pound-for-pound guy and once I faced him, it’s no disrespect to the Mexican heritage or the Mexican background. There are those who say he was too small but, once again, I came from a small weight class and moved my way up through the ranks. When I did it, there were no excuses. Like I said before, no matter who I face, I’m always in a no-win situation. ‘He was too old’, ‘He was too slow’, ‘He was flat-footed’. I just want my just due. One day, I will get my just due. Ten or 20 years from now, I will get my just due.”
Mayweather was referring to his fight with Marquez, a career featherweight (with a handful of outings at junior featherweight) who had recently made a move to lightweight and, upon beating Juan Diaz in one of the best fights of 2009, called out Mayweather. Floyd took the challenge and returned to the sport to face Marquez in a 144-pound welterweight catchweight (a weight Mayweather ultimately did not make, missing it by two pounds and paying $600,000 in penalties to Marquez). It’s a fight many criticized as being a physical mismatch and added to the perception that Mayweather has picked and chosen his opponents carefully since he left the lightweight division.
“I don’t pick and choose my opponents,” said Mayweather of that perception. “The thing is this: Marquez was one of the best guys when I came back and went right at him. Once again, Marquez called Mayweather out after his fight. He called me out. He had just knocked out a hungry young pup but they didn’t say nothing about that. But then, I had taken two years off boxing. The thing is this: I think if I was boxing toe-to-toe and banging head-to-head with these guys, you guys wouldn’t be here right now giving me an interview. It’s just I haven’t taken no abuse. If you don’t believe, I’m being honest; just look at Shane’s face, he’s slurring. He’s taken a lot of abuse in the sport of boxing and there’s nothing about that that’s cool. I’m still smart, still sharp, still intelligent and that’s the main thing that counts. Making a lot of money and not taking abuse in the sport of boxing.”
When asked about if he is bothered by the possibility that the L.A. fans, who are largely Hispanic, may feel some sort of animosity for that win, Mayweather answered “I love the Mexicans. I love the Latinos. I’m not fighting against nobody but Shane. It’s not my fault. To be the best, you have to beat the best. And in my era, Mexican fighters were some of the best fighters and they got some of the best fighters. Right now, in the sport of boxing, when you see somebody from another race in the sport do something that just makes a little bit of noise, that’s abnormal; but when you see a Mexican or a black American dominating the sport of boxing, that’s normal.”
There has also been talk that when the Pacquiao fight fell through, Mayweather was stuck having to take the Shane Mosley fight. With it being a tough fight and with the previous perception out there, some fans and writers felt he was forced to take a tough fight he never wanted. Floyd would disagree with that.
“I’m not ducking no one,” he said. “There’s just options in the sport of boxing. Shane was one of our options, so that’s what we went for. When you look out there in the sport of boxing, you got heavyweights that want to fight Floyd. Light heavyweights. Middleweights. Flyweights. Super flyweights and, like I said, all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather. I think that I’m in a position where I should be able to pick and choose who I want to fight because to get to pound-for-pound before in the ranks, that means you have to have fought everybody and that has what I have done in my career.”
“You earned that,” chimed in a nearby Leonard Ellerbe.
“I earned the right to pick and choose,” agreed Floyd.
When the subject turned to blood testing and why Mayweather decided why now would be the best time to make that change in the sport (a full Q&A of this portion of the interview is available here: http://www.maxboxing.com/news/promo-lead/montoyas-saturday-mailbag-), he answered “Because I’m the face of boxing. I just want to show the world that my sport, that I’m in, is a clean sport. That’s all I’m saying. And you’ve got to realize this, I don’t read negative articles, but you know I hear the fans say ‘Floyd, don’t listen to the media; don’t listen to the writers because of this.’ The thing is this: I’m fighting against the media; I’m fighting against all the writers, all the photographers; I’m fighting against everybody. I’m fighting against all the internet blogs AND I’m fighting against the opponent. You have to be mentally strong to be able to do that and to be able to hold up 15 years as a professional and dominate in the professional ranks.”
When pressed further to provide the moment of inspiration for this stand on PEDs and better drug testing, Mayweather explained that change happens all the time and that for every change, there is a moment it begins.
“It’s out with the old and in with the new. At one particular time, fighters didn’t have to take a urine test at all. At one particular time, fighters didn’t have to take HIV tests. But they do because somebody had to make a stand. So I’m making a stand. That’s all I’m saying.
“The thing is this about boxing,” he continued when pressed for further clarity, “a guy don’t come from- and understand I am saying any guy in the sport- he’s not going to be ordinary and then get to the age of 25 or over-25 and then become extraordinary. So you should ask yourself that question. As a reporter, you should know that.”
As a reporter, I know one thing about this fight: it’s going to be a great one. Two fighters, neither in their prime, but at a place where their skills and experience are enough that they will be a problem for the other, all night long, when they meet on May 1st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be a historic night because, for the first time in a long time, Floyd Mayweather will face a fighter every fan can agree they want him to. Additionally, it will be the first time ever that any two fighters subjected themselves to stringent blood testing to prove to the world they are on an even playing field.
“May 1. Don’t miss this,” said Mayweather. “It’s going to be a blockbuster. Two of the best welterweights of this era meet toe-to-toe in a blockbuster fight.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Source: maxboxing.com
"These kinds of fights come along once in a lifetime and this is going to be one of the most promoted fights in the history of the sport,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “We are here to set new records and set new standards. We have NASCAR-like sponsors. This is going to be the most promoted fight in the history of the sport."
If the press conference was any indication, I have no doubt that this fight can give the record 2.4 million pay-per-view buys that Mayweather and Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya set in their May 5, 2007 junior middleweight boredown known as “The World Awaits.”
While that fight was billed as the fight to save boxing and did extraordinary numbers, the combat itself left a lot to be desired and was not close, no matter what the cards said.
It’s been three years since that fight. Three years of waiting for what that fight promised. And now the fans wait no more. Make no mistake; Floyd Mayweather Jr. is in the fight of his life.
Not only is he facing Shane Mosley (who, despite the fact that on fight night, will have spent nearly a year-and-a-half out of the ring), who is coming off a career-best win over Antonio Margarito in January of 2009, Mayweather faces one of boxing’s best strategists in Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson.
In the L.A. Live courtyard, a large proscenium stage was set up with bleachers at stage right, with a gate bordering the crowd gathered in the plaza. Two platforms bookmarked the stage and following a brief clip of each fight on the large video screen above the action, each fighter emerged one at a time amidst a geyser of steam. Two Tecate girls, one ill-fated (she would later faint from standing in the sun), the other a “blonde”, stood on either side of an attached runway where Mosley and Mayweather faced off, jawed at each other in a face-off before strutting down to strike a pose.
Mosley, 39, an aging-but-competitive and dangerous fighter, dreams of returning to the top of the mythical pound-for-pound list via a win over Mayweather, 33, who despite a brief retirement, resides atop that list. This fight is nearly ten years in the making and one that will be hard to wait another two months for. It really is that good.
“May 1, MGM Grand or live on HBO Pay-Per-View,” Schaefer said to the crowd of fans and assembled media. “Floyd Mayweather vs. Sugar Shane Mosley. Two of the best fighters, pound-for-pound. Two of the best fighters, period.”
The bout is being called “Who R U Picking?” (A sort of text message from the boxing gods) and is the kind of fight that already has both casual and hardcore fans choosing sides, which is a great thing for boxing.
“I tell you what; I’m going with the undefeated guy,” Mayweather’s right hand man Leonard Ellerbe told the crowd. “The guy who has never been defeated, faced the top competition throughout all his career. I take nothing away from Shane Mosley. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer, a great fighter. He’s been one of the best fighters of this past decade. And we know, come the night of May 1st, he’s going to bring his best. But his best won’t be good enough. Because when you’re facing Floyd Mayweather, you’re facing simply the best. 40 have come and 40 have gone.”
For Golden Boy Promotions founder and President Oscar De La Hoya, the choice seems easy as he teased the audience with a playfully vague play on words pick.
“I fought both guys. I know both guys. They both beat me,” he explained with his trademark smile, “But I already know what’s going to happen. I already know what’s going to happen and you know what? It ain’t going to be pretty. Because this fight is going to be not only [about] who wants it more. Not only [about] who has the more skills. The determination. No, it’s going to be about who has that whole package. And both of them have proved that they have everything and anything to win fights.”
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again,” began the always eloquent and often funny Brother Naazim Richardson. “I’m not one to that’s going to stand here and belittle the opponent about what can’t be done and what he’s not capable of doing. I’ve had the privilege of watching [Mayweather] since he was a young kid fighting in the amateurs. Fighting a young man from your area called Carlos Navarro. Like I said, he’s always been an outstanding athlete so I respect him on that level. And I respect the support team around him. Come the first, you have guys that are champions and then you have guys that are elite. Like the Ricky Hattons and the Margaritos. Then you have guys that are special. You’re privileged on May 1 to see two guys that are special. These are not champions. They are bigger than championships. They’re bigger than belts. These guys are special athletes. And that makes for a spectacular performance. Shane Mosley is an outstanding athlete. I feel he is elite at the 147-pound weight class. I feel its premier for him. They say ‘Can he knock the guy out?’ I say Shane Mosley can knock anything out that weighs 147 pounds. Anything he hits solid that weighs 147 pounds, even a farm animal, he’ll knock it dead.
“But we also know that Floyd Mayweather has the kind of defense [where] it’s hard to hit him in the ass with a handful of rice,” continued Richardson. “So we can’t take nothing from him. Just what I tell you. You’re dealing with special. People ask me ‘What do you bring to the table?’ Jack Mosley trained [Mosley] since he was baby and he did a spectacular job. My job is to dissect Floyd Mayweather, find the flaws, and then implement an attack that can exploit those flaws. That’s what’s in front of us. You’re going to see May 1. You’re going to want to be there. They say ‘The guy’s undefeated.’ I say, ‘I wasn’t there for any 40 of those fights. And in those 40 fights, he never fought Shane Mosley.’ I appreciate any man that does what he does as long as he does. It’s going to take hard work to convince him to do something else. I don’t eat pork. You can’t convince me to eat pork. But here’s the thing. We’re going to have no choice but to convince this man that he is going to have to find something new and that’s how to lose. Now he can drop the habit right after us but, on May 1, we’re going to have to convince this man that now he’s going to have to take a shortcoming.”
Before this fight ever became a possibility, Shane Mosley was set to fight WBC titleholder Andre Berto in a showdown on January 30 of this year. But when Haiti was devastated by their earthquake, the Haitian-American Berto, who lost family members in the disaster, pulled out for obvious reasons.
Meanwhile, Mayweather and fellow pound-for-pound headliner Manny Pacquiao were unable to come to terms for a March 13 showdown, due to Pacquiao refusing Mayweather’s demand for more stringent pre-fight drug testing. Mayweather had asked that Pacquiao undergo Olympic-style, random blood tests, which is above and beyond the regular urine screening the Nevada State Athletic Commission requires for all participants in combat sports, but a much-needed change in the ever-evolving world of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
The two sides went back and forth, negotiating over the blood tests, agreeing to do them, but ultimately they were unable to agree when the testing cutoff date should be. Mayweather asked for a 14-day cutoff. Team Pacquiao wanted it to be 24 days. This writer was told by a source close to the Pacquiao camp that the final offer was 20 days. Despite the efforts of a mediator brought in to help matters along, the fight died on the vine. Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather and went off to fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and Mosley vs. Mayweather came to fruition.
“When the Berto fight fell through and the Pacquiao fell through, there was no other choice,” Mosley would say later that day. “That was the best choice to make the most money in the sport and for the fans to get their money’s worth. This is the best fight right now in boxing.”
According to Richardson, the fight also serves another purpose.
“I’m more comfortable [with the Mayweather fight] than the Margarito fight and the Berto fight,” Richardson would say after the main presser’s initial proceedings were finished. “There’s champions, elite level guys and then there’s special. When one of these special guys goes back and fights a champion, they can say what they want, do the job but it’s still hard for them to zero in.”
Before he was ever a star boxer and future Hall-of-Famer, Shane Mosley was a badass kid from Pomona who had an explosive stand-up style full of aggression and combinations that boxing hadn’t seen in years. Both the style and willingness to fight champions in the gym, as early as age 16, combined to form a throwback package that earned Mosley the storied nickname “Sugar.” Richardson feels that this fight can only solidify Mosley’s claim to the nickname.
“I want him to stay at the level where he can solidify his status as the third “Sugar” in the history of this sport,” explained Richardson. “There’s Robinson, Leonard and now there’s Shane Mosley. Because they’ll be another young fighter coming up behind him. They’ll be some young kid who will earn the name of ‘Sugar’. So raise the bar high for him like Robinson and Leonard did for you. So you should be fighting the Mayweathers, the Pacquiaos, the guys who are deemed special.”
“Hello L.A. How you doing out there? P-Town’s in the house, baby,” Mosley said to his L.A. fans with a sheepish, mild manner that did nothing to hide his fighter’s confidence. “You know, first of all, I just want to thank all you great fans. [Mayweather] took the fight and I’m happy because, before, he was fighting everybody else, but he wasn’t fighting me. So I’m happy. I’m happy for this. I want to thank my team for being so inspirational in my boxing camp. I want to thank everybody. Everybody. The media for coming out to Staples. There is one thing I’d like to say. The fight is going to be on May 1. But you know May 1st is going to be May’s first [loss]. I’ll make sure of that.”
Since Mayweather burst on the scene and made his mark at 130 pounds with stellar performances over Genaro Hernandez and Angel Manfredy, a fight with Mosley- who was making his mark at lightweight, at the time- seemed a natural. But despite callouts from both sides at various times in their careers, the timing was always off. Mosley first moved from lightweight to welter to fight Oscar De La Hoya. Years later, Mosley would cite the need for a vacation with his family and there was an infamous “toothache” excuse that few fans and Mayweather have let Mosley forget ever since.
When Mayweather returned to the sport last year, a Mosley fight was dismissed as either too tough for a comeback fight or, according to Mayweather, it didn’t have any heat because Mosley had five losses.
But that was then and now Mosley has the fight of all fights in front of him against an undefeated, defensive genius trained from the day his eyes first looked upon the world by his father/ex-fighter/trainer, Floyd Sr. and then later taken to championship heights few have known by his uncle/ex-fighter/trainer, Uncle Roger. Not only that, but Mosley has a fighter in front of him who desperately wants to silence all his critics with an emphatic win over an elite fighter his own size and skill level. Because of this, Mosley understands that he isn’t the only starving-to-win fighter in this match.
“The guy’s been chasing me all his life,” claimed Mosley in a roundtable interview with the print media. “So I have to be able to box, move side-to-side, give him angles. I have to do a lot of different things. I have to give all of myself. I have to be ‘Sugar Shane’ to the fullest.”
For Mosley to win, he has to not allow Mayweather to get comfortable by changing up both his style and the tempo, round to round.
“[Tempo] could be a factor in the fight,” conceded Mosley. “There’s a lot of different things that I can do to make Mayweather to feel uncomfortable. Maybe I’m going to do body shots; I’m going to do head shots. I’m going to go forward. I may even go backwards a little. I might box a little bit. I might do a lot of everything. I’m not going to just do one thing. You can’t say ‘Ok, Shane’s coming right at me and I’m prepared for that.’ He has to prepare for everything just like I am.”
What makes Mosley dangerous in this fight is not just his experience against the best boxers and fighters of the post and current modern eras. It is his retention of the majority of his formidable attributes as a fighter. Comparable speed, agility, endurance, and a powerful right hand remain, as well as one of the best chins in the game. While the speed of his combinations may have dwindled a shade, power is the last thing to go in a fighter and if his ninth-round destruction of Antonio Margarito is any indication, Shane hasn’t lost his one bit.
“They may doubt but it’s not up to the people how I‘m going to attack this fight,” said Mosley. “My job is to win the fight. I’ll definitely win by knockout if I catch him on the chin and he wobbles a little bit. That’s a knockout. If not, then I have to be prepared to fight 12 hard rounds. This is going to be a tough fight.”
Mosley is right for a few reasons. Not the least of which is an extended layoff that can’t be good for a fighter his age. But tell him that and he’d disagree.
“It doesn’t concern me because when I fought Margarito I had a long layoff,” explained Mosley. “And I jumped in the ring and looked even better. The way I stay in the gym all the time and train, it just doesn’t make a difference. I’m always ready to go.”
For the record, Mosley had roughly a four-month layoff coming into his bout with Margarito. This layoff eclipses that one by over a year.
In Mayweather, Mosley also faces the second defensive wizard of his career. The first was in two consecutive fights with former junior middleweight champion Winky Wright. Even in losing efforts, fighting an elite fighter yields experience but Mosley said that from a style standpoint, this new puzzle doesn’t resemble Wright in the least.
“Mayweather’s a different guy because Winky was bigger than me. A southpaw. Just different altogether. Mayweather is going to be a little smaller than me and he’s defensively pretty good at swiveling and moving, but I am too. When I fought Winky, I was more flat-footed than anything. Now I have more movement. It’s going to be a different fight, even for Mayweather.”
Beyond making history by being the first to defeat Mayweather, this bout also has a different kind of significance for Mosley. According to leaked grand jury testimony and later sworn statements by the now-defunct BALCO Labs founder, Victor Conte and former Mosley strength and conditioning coach Derryl Hudson, Mosley knowingly used the substances known as Tetrahydrogestrinone (or “The Clear”) and a testosterone cream mixed with epitestosterone (or “The Cream”) as well as Erythropoietin (or EPO) in preparation for his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. In the fallout from these allegations, some in the sport have called for the bout to be called a “no-contest” (though the Nevada State Athletic Commission has yet to do so) and defamation suits and counter suits were filed by Mosley, Conte and Hudson.
While Pacquiao, who has never tested positive in any commission, pre or post-fight test for PEDs, refused to agree to Mayweather’s demand, Mosley had no problem at all submitting to the tests. At the same time, he feels this fight isn’t about redemption of any kind.
“Well I’ve been clean,” insisted Mosley. “I’ve been clean my whole career. It’s just in 2003, which is seven years ago, they talk about it. I haven’t tested positive for anything. I didn’t even test positive in 2003. And this wasn’t even considered an enhancement drug back then. It was considered after the fact. And what they had on TV and all that different stuff. I mean, whatever, I think that the sport should be clean. People should know what they are taking. And they should know they are taking the right stuff, the clean stuff. They don’t know that it can be a problem for their health later in life.”
For the record, it is true that Mosley has never tested positive for PEDs.
No matter how Mosley feels or doesn’t feel about redemption in the eyes of the public, beating Mayweather while undergoing extensive blood testing will go a long way to restoring the public’s faith in his greatness at his advanced age.
To Mosley, however, the victory would simply be icing on a future Hall of Fame cake.
“Each victory has its value,” explained Mosley. “When I beat Oscar the first time, that gave me a lot of respect and credibility. And then, me and Margarito, at that time and at my age, that also gave me a lot of notoriety just to make this fight. If I beat Mayweather, I’m already in the history books, but that would be icing on the cake. This is a chance for me to shine; a chance for me to show the people that I am truly the best welterweight right now on this Earth.”
When asked about testing and how and if it would be happening, Schaefer had this to say, “It’s going to be up to the USADA. Whenever they decide to start it. But thing is of random. Random, you don’t know. If I could tell you, then it wouldn’t be random anymore so I really don’t know when. It could happen right now.”
According to one source, the random testing period began the day after the final press conference.
If there is a figure as polarizing as Mayweather, it’s his uncle/trainer Roger. A man known for dismissing both boxing writers as knowing nothing about the sport and Mayweather Jr.’s opponents as not being up to the task, no matter how prepared they are. In the case of Mosley, Uncle Roger was more respectful than ever while explaining why Shane Mosley, though great, would be a tough fight for his nephew.
“Shane has the biggest amateur background,” Roger explained. “I had a guy Shane beat four times.”
When reminded that Mosley’s first loss came against the taller, rangier Vernon Forrest, who fought nothing like Mayweather, Roger said, “Even if Forrest was tall, Floyd is still the most skilled fighter Shane has ever faced. It doesn’t matter how tall he is. It’s about skills. Skill wins fights.”
Uncle Roger understands that as much as Floyd has accomplished, there is always more; that there is always a fighter who can push you to the limit and take you to greatness. In short, he understands who Shane is and how he can lift his nephew to heights he has yet to know.
“There is only one Sugar Ray Robinson,” explained Roger. “Everything is up there but there is only one Sugar Ray Robinson. That’s why he’s called the best ever. So if this is going to be the defining fight about what Floyd will be in history, we’ll see.”
The best is generally saved for last and on this day, no exception was made.
“I’ve been here before so I know what it takes,” Floyd Mayweather Jr. said to the crowd. “I want to test my skills against the best guys they got out there. And me and Shane were supposed to fight back in 1998-99. It didn’t happen, so we moved on. Things happen in life, you know? We’re fighting in 2010. I want Shane to believe in his skills. I want him to believe in himself because I’m a fighter who believes in myself and I believe in my skills, just like Shane. He has a great family; he has great backing, people that love him. I have the same thing on my side. We know that I have a great trainer, Roger Mayweather. He has a great trainer. We must understand our trainers can’t fight for us. Come May 1, I want to get out there and display my skills. Display my talent. He’s a future Hall-of-Famer. I’m a future Hall-of-Famer. It’s going to be a tremendous fight. It’s going to be a great fight. And that’s what I want to do. I want to test my skills against the best guys they’ve got out there. Like I said before, I just want to change the way the sport of boxing is. I just want to clean up the sport and say that my sport is clean. That’s why me and Shane is taking [random urine and random blood]. I’m pretty sure Shane’s going to have a tremendous camp. I’m going to have a tremendous camp.”
There is no fighter today, in boxing in or out of the ring, like Floyd Mayweather Jr. He’s more polarizing than politics or religion rolled into a giant-sized talk show burrito. He could read the phonebook in a crowd of boxing fans and half would be angered by the way he did it while claiming he left a few names out and the other would stay until he got to the Zs, while claiming no one had ever read so well.
Early on in his career, when he infamously turned down a multi-million-dollar HBO contract and referred to it as “slave wages,” it cost him fans and cast him in a negative light. In 2010, three years after the De La Hoya fight and the first episodes of the Emmy award-winning HBO boxing “reality” show “24/7,” it’s clear Mayweather has mastered the art of self-promotion. Appearances on “Dancing with the Stars,” a WWE wrestling pay-per-view event against “The Big Show” and commercials have proven his crossover appeal. A million PPV buys for his return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez has proven he doesn’t need a crossover name on the marquee with him to sell fights. Mercurial, arrogant, funny, and combative, Mayweather seemed in his element, surrounded by fans and boxing press in a question-and-answer session following his speech to the crowd.
“I’m just me. And you know I just like to go out there and be me,” he was telling members of the press as I approached the tight circle enclosing him. “There are those who say Floyd is too much of a defensive fighter. And because I make an extraordinary fighter look ordinary, then they say I’m boring. It’s not my fault that God blessed [me] with that good of an ability to be that much better than my opponents. Marquez was the number-two pound-for-pound guy and once I faced him, it’s no disrespect to the Mexican heritage or the Mexican background. There are those who say he was too small but, once again, I came from a small weight class and moved my way up through the ranks. When I did it, there were no excuses. Like I said before, no matter who I face, I’m always in a no-win situation. ‘He was too old’, ‘He was too slow’, ‘He was flat-footed’. I just want my just due. One day, I will get my just due. Ten or 20 years from now, I will get my just due.”
Mayweather was referring to his fight with Marquez, a career featherweight (with a handful of outings at junior featherweight) who had recently made a move to lightweight and, upon beating Juan Diaz in one of the best fights of 2009, called out Mayweather. Floyd took the challenge and returned to the sport to face Marquez in a 144-pound welterweight catchweight (a weight Mayweather ultimately did not make, missing it by two pounds and paying $600,000 in penalties to Marquez). It’s a fight many criticized as being a physical mismatch and added to the perception that Mayweather has picked and chosen his opponents carefully since he left the lightweight division.
“I don’t pick and choose my opponents,” said Mayweather of that perception. “The thing is this: Marquez was one of the best guys when I came back and went right at him. Once again, Marquez called Mayweather out after his fight. He called me out. He had just knocked out a hungry young pup but they didn’t say nothing about that. But then, I had taken two years off boxing. The thing is this: I think if I was boxing toe-to-toe and banging head-to-head with these guys, you guys wouldn’t be here right now giving me an interview. It’s just I haven’t taken no abuse. If you don’t believe, I’m being honest; just look at Shane’s face, he’s slurring. He’s taken a lot of abuse in the sport of boxing and there’s nothing about that that’s cool. I’m still smart, still sharp, still intelligent and that’s the main thing that counts. Making a lot of money and not taking abuse in the sport of boxing.”
When asked about if he is bothered by the possibility that the L.A. fans, who are largely Hispanic, may feel some sort of animosity for that win, Mayweather answered “I love the Mexicans. I love the Latinos. I’m not fighting against nobody but Shane. It’s not my fault. To be the best, you have to beat the best. And in my era, Mexican fighters were some of the best fighters and they got some of the best fighters. Right now, in the sport of boxing, when you see somebody from another race in the sport do something that just makes a little bit of noise, that’s abnormal; but when you see a Mexican or a black American dominating the sport of boxing, that’s normal.”
There has also been talk that when the Pacquiao fight fell through, Mayweather was stuck having to take the Shane Mosley fight. With it being a tough fight and with the previous perception out there, some fans and writers felt he was forced to take a tough fight he never wanted. Floyd would disagree with that.
“I’m not ducking no one,” he said. “There’s just options in the sport of boxing. Shane was one of our options, so that’s what we went for. When you look out there in the sport of boxing, you got heavyweights that want to fight Floyd. Light heavyweights. Middleweights. Flyweights. Super flyweights and, like I said, all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather. I think that I’m in a position where I should be able to pick and choose who I want to fight because to get to pound-for-pound before in the ranks, that means you have to have fought everybody and that has what I have done in my career.”
“You earned that,” chimed in a nearby Leonard Ellerbe.
“I earned the right to pick and choose,” agreed Floyd.
When the subject turned to blood testing and why Mayweather decided why now would be the best time to make that change in the sport (a full Q&A of this portion of the interview is available here: http://www.maxboxing.com/news/promo-lead/montoyas-saturday-mailbag-), he answered “Because I’m the face of boxing. I just want to show the world that my sport, that I’m in, is a clean sport. That’s all I’m saying. And you’ve got to realize this, I don’t read negative articles, but you know I hear the fans say ‘Floyd, don’t listen to the media; don’t listen to the writers because of this.’ The thing is this: I’m fighting against the media; I’m fighting against all the writers, all the photographers; I’m fighting against everybody. I’m fighting against all the internet blogs AND I’m fighting against the opponent. You have to be mentally strong to be able to do that and to be able to hold up 15 years as a professional and dominate in the professional ranks.”
When pressed further to provide the moment of inspiration for this stand on PEDs and better drug testing, Mayweather explained that change happens all the time and that for every change, there is a moment it begins.
“It’s out with the old and in with the new. At one particular time, fighters didn’t have to take a urine test at all. At one particular time, fighters didn’t have to take HIV tests. But they do because somebody had to make a stand. So I’m making a stand. That’s all I’m saying.
“The thing is this about boxing,” he continued when pressed for further clarity, “a guy don’t come from- and understand I am saying any guy in the sport- he’s not going to be ordinary and then get to the age of 25 or over-25 and then become extraordinary. So you should ask yourself that question. As a reporter, you should know that.”
As a reporter, I know one thing about this fight: it’s going to be a great one. Two fighters, neither in their prime, but at a place where their skills and experience are enough that they will be a problem for the other, all night long, when they meet on May 1st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be a historic night because, for the first time in a long time, Floyd Mayweather will face a fighter every fan can agree they want him to. Additionally, it will be the first time ever that any two fighters subjected themselves to stringent blood testing to prove to the world they are on an even playing field.
“May 1. Don’t miss this,” said Mayweather. “It’s going to be a blockbuster. Two of the best welterweights of this era meet toe-to-toe in a blockbuster fight.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Source: maxboxing.com
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