Quickness at center of bout

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