April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao said there’s a “big possibility” he’ll fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. should both come through their respective challenges next month. Pacquiao is campaigning for a seat in the Philippine Congress in elections scheduled for May 10, nine days after Mayweather fights Shane Mosley for the World Boxing Association welterweight title in Las Vegas. “There’s that big possibility,” Pacquiao said in an interview yesterday in Manila when asked whether the fight would go ahead if Mayweather beats Mosley and he is elected. “My mother wants me to retire from boxing; it’s 50-50 at this point.” A fight between Pacquiao, holder of the World Boxing Organization welterweight title, and the undefeated American would be among the sport’s biggest draws, pairing two fighters ranked as the top two pound-for-pound boxers by The Ring magazine. Talks for the bout collapsed earlier this year when the two sides couldn’t agree on drug-testing procedures. The Filipino went on to defend his WBO belt against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey on March 14. Pacquiao, 31, said March 22 that he was considering ending his career without fighting Mayweather. He has said he doesn’t need to face the 33-year-old American to cement his legacy in boxing, where he has a 51-3-2 record with 38 knockouts. Pacquiao won his first world title as a flyweight in 1998 and 11 years later defeated Miguel Cotto for the welterweight title he still holds. He lost a bid for the Philippine legislature in 2007 and is running again in this year’s election. A Mayweather fight would be his last before retiring, Pacquiao said yesterday. “I will discuss this with the entire family,” he said. Author: Matthew Brooker and Clarissa Batino Source: Bloomberg.com
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Manny Pacquiao Sees ‘Big Possibility’ He’ll Fight Mayweather
MAYWEATHER FACES MOSLEY BUT TAKES ANOTHER SWIPE AT PACQUIAO
Floyd Mayweather Jr (40-0, 25 KO’s) faces Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO’s) in a welterweight bout that could well be his stiffest test of his career the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sunday (Manila Time) with the showdown being telecast by Solar Sports in the Philippines and ABS-CBN over The Filipino Channel in the middle east.
Rather than concentrate on Mosley, Mayweather couldn’t help but talk about his own legacy and claiming that while such greats as Sugar Ray Robinson was “one hell of a fighter, Floyd Mayweather is the best” at the same time questioning Pacquiao’s selection as the “Fighter of the Decade” by the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of America where the pound-for-pound king routed Mayweather by an overwhelming margin of over 2 to 1 in the boxing writers votes.
Mayweather and his handlers led by Leonard Ellerbe suddenly brought up the issue of random drug tests to be conducted by the US Anti Doping Agency during the negotiations for a Pacquiao fight and demanded that the tests be conducted up to 14 days before the planned May 1 bout. Pacquiao agreed to the random drug tests and offered a 24 day cut-off and a test immediately after the fight in his dressing room which Mayweather rejected, resulting in the fight negotiations being called off.
Mayweather continued his tirade on the random drug tests insinuating that Pacquiao was reluctant to take the tests because he had something to hide. Mayweather insisted “All I'm saying, if you're a clean athlete, take your test. That's all I'm saying. That's all I've got to say. If you're a clean athlete, take the test.”
Mayweather also pushed the line that Pacquiao struggled twice against Juan Manuel Marquez even as he claimed “which we know he (Pacquiao) really lost, right? And we know he's been knocked out twice. He's been out-boxed by Eric Morales, but they still give him ‘Boxer of the Decade.’ So that's something I don't understand. He beat a Miguel Cotto who just got pummeled with a cast. So I mean, tell me what it really is.”
What Mayweather failed to mention was the fact that in the Morales fight Pacquiao suffered a nasty gash over his left eye due to an accidental head-butt which bled profusely and badly hampered his vision and that Pacquiao mauled Morales in the rematch and knocked the Mexican legend out in three rounds to end their trilogy.
In the first Marquez fight one of the judges who confessed to making a mistake by not scoring the first round in their initial encounter 10-7 after Pacquiao dropped Marquez three times helped Marquez salvage a draw while Pacquiao won the rematch by a split decision after he dropped Marquez one more time.
Mayweather who had previously claimed Pacquiao who pummeled Oscar De La Hoya into quitting after seven rounds and separated Ricky Hatton from his senses in a devastating 2nd round knockout got them out after he had battered and softened them up, failed to mention that he only won a decision over Marquez who had been knocked down four times in two fights by Pacquiao and was basically a finished and aging fighter when he faced Mayweather. Mayweather also failed to note that he was two pounds over the stipulated weight limit, refused to shed off the excess weight and instead paid a $600,000 penalty which gave him a huge advantage in size.
In the case of the knockouts, Pacquiao was a raw kid when he got decked by a lucky punch from bull-strong Rustico Torrecampo in only Pacquiao’s eleventh fight and his knockout against Medgoen Singsurat or 3K Battery happened after the Filipino starved for days to reduce weight but still failed to do so and was utterly exhausted and dehydrated when he entered the ring with some suspicion that the Thais had tampered with the scales.
WHAT STATEMENT WILL MAYWEATHER MAKE IN HIS FIGHT AGAINST MOSLEY?
San Francisco, CA—This biggest night in boxing in 2010, takes place May 1, 2010, when Welterweight titlist, Shane Mosley, takes on boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in a Welterweight clash. Momentum has been building since HBO’s 24/7 series began airing early April and the Promoters are expecting a historic night in Las Vegas. Mayweather will fight the biggest and toughest opponent he has ever faced at Welterweight. Mosley, riding off his impressive destruction of Antonio Margarito, will attempt to be the first fighter to ever beat Mayweather.
Mosley needs to prove that the Margarito win was not a fluke and that he can remind the doubter of why he was the best pound for pound fighter in the world back in 2001.
For Mayweather, it’s business as usual as he will generate another monster PPV revenue and live gate at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Although his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez was not a complete sell out, it did generate over 1 million PPV buys, which is an astonishing number for such a mis-match on paper. His fight with Shane Mosley, on the other hand, is a legitimate welterweight bout against two of the top 3 welterweights in the world. That means even bigger PPV numbers and in the end, more money for “Money” Mayweather.
Breaking down the fight, it appears that the style match up favors Mayweather. In all of Shane Mosley’s defeats, he was simply out-boxed. The clearest evidence was his last lost against Miguel Cotto. When the two fighters brawled and went toe-to-toe, Mosley was getting the best out of Cotto. However, from the 7th round on, Cotto got on his bicycle and boxed Mosley from the outside. Mosley had no response to Cotto’s change of style and therefore lost the lead and fight by decision. Now, Shane takes on the best boxer and defensive fighter in the game in Mayweather. If Cotto can outbox Mosley, then there no question that Mayweather has the potential to box circles around Mosley.
However, an “X-Factor” in Mosley’s favor is his new trainer, Nazim Richardson. Richardson was the mastermind who guided Mosley in his upset victory over Margarito. He was also the one who caught Margarito’s trainer adding an illegal padding on Margarito’s handwraps. Richardson was also the trainer who forced Felix Trinidad to re-wrap his hands multiple times back in 2001 when his fighter, Bernard Hopkins, scored an upset victory over Trinidad. The strong-minded and very vocal Richardson has been the star of 24/7 because of his insights on the fight and his fighter.
Mosley promises to make Mayweather uncomfortable all night and force the defensive fighter into a street fight. That will be a tough task because no fighter has ever dictated the pace or tone of the fight against Mayweather. However, one of the biggest mis-conceptions of Floyd Mayweather is that he is solely a defensive fighter. I would argue that Mayweather’s offensive is just as good as his defensive. Mayweather displayed some devastating combinations in his fights against Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti. The problem is that Mayweather chooses stick defensive and not engage. That could be a product of moving up in weight and having a history of hurting his hands; or it could be no fighter has forced Mayweather to be offensive.
It will be Shane Mosley’s job to smartly force Mayweather to open up offensively and thus give Mosley openings to cause some real damage (whether that means he has to chase him or establish a solid jab all night). It would be great if Mayweather can open up and throw more combinations and make a statement by dominating Mosley over 12 rounds.
In any respect, this is another big night in boxing where the entire world will tune in and watch Mayweather and Mosley. The mainstream public will support the fight and all they want in return is simply a great fight, regardless of the outcome. History proves that both fighters can be exciting and provide great fights. But, like all of his fights, it’ll be up to Mayweather to determine if the event is worth the price or not.
I think on paper Mayweather should win the fight by decision. It could possibly be an easy win for Mayweather. Although Mosley is more than capable of pulling off the upset, the long layoff and the lack of success against counter-boxers will work against him. With that said, I’d love to be proven wrong and I won’t shed any tears should Mayweather lose, except for the fact that Manny Pacquiao’s 40 million dollar payday goes to waste.
WHAT STATEMENT WILL MAYWEATHER MAKE IN HIS FIGHT AGAINST MOSLEY?
San Francisco, CA—This biggest night in boxing in 2010, takes place May 1, 2010, when Welterweight titlist, Shane Mosley, takes on boxing superstar, Floyd Mayweather Jr., in a Welterweight clash. Momentum has been building since HBO’s 24/7 series began airing early April and the Promoters are expecting a historic night in Las Vegas. Mayweather will fight the biggest and toughest opponent he has ever faced at Welterweight. Mosley, riding off his impressive destruction of Antonio Margarito, will attempt to be the first fighter to ever beat Mayweather.
Mosley needs to prove that the Margarito win was not a fluke and that he can remind the doubter of why he was the best pound for pound fighter in the world back in 2001.
For Mayweather, it’s business as usual as he will generate another monster PPV revenue and live gate at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. Although his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez was not a complete sell out, it did generate over 1 million PPV buys, which is an astonishing number for such a mis-match on paper. His fight with Shane Mosley, on the other hand, is a legitimate welterweight bout against two of the top 3 welterweights in the world. That means even bigger PPV numbers and in the end, more money for “Money” Mayweather.
Breaking down the fight, it appears that the style match up favors Mayweather. In all of Shane Mosley’s defeats, he was simply out-boxed. The clearest evidence was his last lost against Miguel Cotto. When the two fighters brawled and went toe-to-toe, Mosley was getting the best out of Cotto. However, from the 7th round on, Cotto got on his bicycle and boxed Mosley from the outside. Mosley had no response to Cotto’s change of style and therefore lost the lead and fight by decision. Now, Shane takes on the best boxer and defensive fighter in the game in Mayweather. If Cotto can outbox Mosley, then there no question that Mayweather has the potential to box circles around Mosley.
However, an “X-Factor” in Mosley’s favor is his new trainer, Nazim Richardson. Richardson was the mastermind who guided Mosley in his upset victory over Margarito. He was also the one who caught Margarito’s trainer adding an illegal padding on Margarito’s handwraps. Richardson was also the trainer who forced Felix Trinidad to re-wrap his hands multiple times back in 2001 when his fighter, Bernard Hopkins, scored an upset victory over Trinidad. The strong-minded and very vocal Richardson has been the star of 24/7 because of his insights on the fight and his fighter.
Mosley promises to make Mayweather uncomfortable all night and force the defensive fighter into a street fight. That will be a tough task because no fighter has ever dictated the pace or tone of the fight against Mayweather. However, one of the biggest mis-conceptions of Floyd Mayweather is that he is solely a defensive fighter. I would argue that Mayweather’s offensive is just as good as his defensive. Mayweather displayed some devastating combinations in his fights against Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti. The problem is that Mayweather chooses stick defensive and not engage. That could be a product of moving up in weight and having a history of hurting his hands; or it could be no fighter has forced Mayweather to be offensive.
It will be Shane Mosley’s job to smartly force Mayweather to open up offensively and thus give Mosley openings to cause some real damage (whether that means he has to chase him or establish a solid jab all night). It would be great if Mayweather can open up and throw more combinations and make a statement by dominating Mosley over 12 rounds.
In any respect, this is another big night in boxing where the entire world will tune in and watch Mayweather and Mosley. The mainstream public will support the fight and all they want in return is simply a great fight, regardless of the outcome. History proves that both fighters can be exciting and provide great fights. But, like all of his fights, it’ll be up to Mayweather to determine if the event is worth the price or not.
I think on paper Mayweather should win the fight by decision. It could possibly be an easy win for Mayweather. Although Mosley is more than capable of pulling off the upset, the long layoff and the lack of success against counter-boxers will work against him. With that said, I’d love to be proven wrong and I won’t shed any tears should Mayweather lose, except for the fact that Manny Pacquiao’s 40 million dollar payday goes to waste.
'Talking Boxing with Billy C' Staff Predictions for Mosley vs. Mayweather
This Saturday night, The MGM Grand in Las Vegas will host the highly anticipated “Sugar” Shane Mosley vs. Floyd “Money” Mayweather welterweight showdown. This clash of future hall of famers has been ten years in the making. Mosley hasn’t been in the ring since his stunning upset over Antonio Margarito over a year ago to snatch Plasterito’s welterweight strap. Mayweather came back from his short retirement a few months back to man handle the smaller and older Juan Manual Marquez.
When the mega fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fell apart, Mayweather took the next best thing when he signed the dotted line to take on “Sugar” Shane.
I would love to see Mosley be crafty enough to get around Mayweather’s defense, however I believe Mayweather’s speed and youth will get the best of Mosley.... So I have to say Mayweather by decision (even though he deserve an ass kicking for standing up "Chile" from TLC on her reality show Sunday night on VH1! LOL)
Amy Green- The Woman’s Boxing Report:
Mayweather by decision. Mosley will make it challenging for Floyd through the first part of the fight, then Floyd will pull out ALL the stops of his skills- speed, angles, defense and more defense to win. That being said, let me go FURTHER out on a limb here and say when Floyd does defeat Mosley, the talk with all the "Big Boy" sportswriters will be "Mosley was too old; the Margarito fight was his last good fight and that took it out of him...etc." Not that Floyd did indeed beat the tough opponent he finally needed to.
John Robbins-Canadian Correspondent:
Mosley Vs Mayweather is by far the greatest Super Fight Boxing Match-Up in a very long time; so good a match-up in fact that I'm really torn between both fighters, two of my all time favorites in the ring, and it's very tough to pick a winner. The difference in this fight very well may be Nazeem Richardson, Mosley's trainer, as Sugar Shane looked incredible, and his body attack ruthless, in disposing of Antonio Margarito with Richardson now watching his back from the corner. But Floyd Mayweather is possibly the purest boxer of the modern era, and is defensively sound enough to put him alongside the sport's all time greats. No Doubt! In such a close match-up, I gotta go with the tried and true pure boxing skills of Mayweather, presuming he survives Mosley's attack, and I am picking Floyd "Money" Mayweather to win by decision over "Sugar" Shane Mosley!
Joe Santoliquito-Managing Editor for Ring Magazine:
Shane Mosley W 12 Floyd Mayweather: Shane will be fighting for his life. He knows a loss like this will restrict him to gatekeeper status, back to where he was not that long ago. I also believe Mosley can hurt Floyd. We'll see what Floyd is made of. I'm not ready to give up on Shane Mosley just yet.
Dave Wilcox-West Coast Correspondent:
I pray to the Boxing gods that Mosley pulls this out, but alas, I have to shoot straight and admit that Mayweather will win. Mosley will come out fast and this will be close for about seven or eight rounds. In the championship rounds, Mayweather will have figured out Shane and pull away late for a close, but unanimous decision win.
Martin Mulcahey-Maxboxing.com:
In terms of combined boxing I.Q, there isn't a better fight that can be made without Bernard Hopkins. Mosley has two disadvantages that are hard to ignore. He enters the ring off a year-and-three-month layoff. At 38 Mosley is five years older, and has more hard miles on his boxing odometer. However, Mosley is the more fluid offensive force and Vegas tends to reward offense over ring generalship. This fight comes down to legs, and that is where Mayweather positions himself for victory. Timing issues will limit Mosley, allowing Mayweather to create the distance needed to counter and land between Mosley's combinations. Mayweather is an exceedingly accurate puncher and slower foes like Cotto and Margarito showed Mosley's defensive reflexes are dissipating. Early rounds set the pace, and can shape judge’s opinions. I like Mayweather to win the opening rounds and a close unanimous decision.
Our fearless leader, Billy C. has his opinion as well:
The big question is, how good IS Floyd Mayweather Jr.? I think that despite his age, Shane Mosley will represent a legitimate test for Floyd Mayweather Jr., the self-proclaimed "Best Fighter of All Time".
Mosley will be the biggest, strongest and fastest opponent Mayweather has ever faced. Floyd will be the best defensive fighter that Sugar Shane Mosley has ever faced. Both fighters are smart and both know how to control the ring during a high profile fight.
I think Floyd will try to feel out Mosley in the early rounds and rely on his defensive skill to put him in a position to score big with counter-punches consisting of multi-punch combinations during the late-middle and later rounds and squeak out a close decision.
Mosley has been in the business for a long time. He has fought the best. He is a thorough fighter. He knows what Mayweather wants to do. He also knows that his best shot at beating Floyd Mayweather will be early in the fight.
He will need to be aggressive, let his hands go and hope to catch Floyd early.
I see Sugar Shane Mosley come out strong from the first bell. I believe that his speed and punching power combined with an aggressive approach will pay off. I think he will overwhelmed the over-confident Mayweather and not only catch him with several hard shots, Sugar Shane Mosley will STOP Floyd Mayweather Jr. before this fight can go to the scorecards
Some friends of the show also wanted to chime in:
Bobby Czyz-Former World Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight Champion of the World:
Even though I felt Castillo, in their 1st fight, made Mayweather look bad (there could have been a reasonable argument that Castillo won in a very boring fight ), I don't think Mayweather has ever looked bad in any other fight. I think Mosley is just too old now & cannot match the speed of Mayweather, which has been the key to most of Mosley's victories. I think the fight should go deep in rounds & probably even a decision, with Mayweather getting the nod. I am a big fan of Sugar Shane & want to see him do well but, once again the speed and accuracy of Mayweather is almost machine-like.
I haven't been watching the fights, like I used to, after my bad car accident but, that is the way I see this one.
Take care,
Bobby
Elmo Adolph-Well respected retired Boxing referee:
I like Shane! I have a lot of respect for Mayweather but Mosley has been in the ring with a lot of very good fighters and has been victorious. He is excellent with his defense and counters better than any one Mayweather has faced.
Barbara Pinnella-Editor of Mop Squad Sports Boxing:
Hmm, well, I'd like to say that it will go the distance, but I don't really believe that. I do think that Mosley will be a tougher opponent than many might think. Do I think he can beat Mayweather? No, I don't. At 39 years old and one fight almost a year-and-a-half ago, it's tough. Yes, he did beat Margarito in that fight, but I don't feel that's enough to be the first one to defeat Mayweather the Mouth. And while I would like him to get the victory, if it is at all possible, the fight that most still want to see is Floyd/Manny, not Manny/Shane. I'd have to say Floyd by, unfortunately, KO.
Mike Hanson-Loyal listener and Boxing Writer:
I expect Mosley to win the first 3 or 4 rounds and then Mayweather will figure him out and dominate the last half of the fight. It will probably be a split decision win like the De La Hoya fight with Mayweather actually winning around 8 rounds like he did in the De La Hoya fight.
Mosley needs a huge start to win this fight ... I'll be rooting for him.
Brett McCauley-Loyal listener and Contributor:
My prediction is Mosley UD 12. Just from watching 24/7 series so far, it looks like Nazim has a game plan for Mayweather and is working overtime on it. I would love to see a KO but that is unlikely.
Rusty Rubin-Managing Editor and Founder of Ringsports Magazine:
Mosley hangs tough and makes a fight of it till the later rounds, where mayweather dominates and wins by decision...RUSTY
Dave Murphy-Boxing Historian:
Mayweather by comfortable decision, 8-4. What appeared to be Shane bathing in the Fountain of Youth 16 months ago was a mirage.
Armando Cabrera- www.boxingletstalk.com:
I am picking Mosley to win.
Darryl Macias- Host of “Talkin Boxing with the West Coast M.O.B.:
The fight is Mayweather's to win or lose. If Mayweather is disciplined it will be an easy fight for him. The only thing that will change the course of fight is if Mayweather gets cut, then he will have to fight a warrior’s fight. This would give Mosley the opportunity to win. The only other way Mayweather can lose is if he tries to fight mano a mano like Sugar Ray Leonard did against Roberto Duran in Montreal in 1980. The results will be same as they were for Leonard.
There are our picks, what’s yours? Send your picks and comments to Billy C. himself at billy@talkinboxing.com
Don’t forget to tune in to the “Talkin Boxing with Billy C” Radio Show. It runs LIVE five days a week and for two hours a day. If you don’t have a local radio affiliate, go to www.talkinboxing.com and catch the podcast anytime and get all info on the show.
Thanks and keep punching.
Floyd Mayweather Vs. Shane Mosley Is Boxing At Its Finest, BUT...
So begins our marathon coverage of one of the biggest fights of 2010, Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley. Now: the meaning of Mayweather-Mosley. Next: Mosley's pivotal weapon. Floyd Mayweather has never fought anyone as good as Shane Mosley in his whole life. Shane Mosley has never fought anyone as good as Floyd Mayweather in his whole life. They comprise two of the world's three best fighters and two of the world's three best welterweights, and are two of the 10 best boxers of the last decade, with Mayweather arguably the sport's biggest star and Mosley one of the few boxing names recognizable outside the hardcore boxing fan base. Who could ask for anything more than what we'll get Saturday, May 1, when those two men fight? We've been waiting for it for more than a decade, and now it's mere days away. As it happens, everything good about Mayweather-Mosley has a significant "but" attached to it. Some of those "buts" are lesser than others, and all in all I could hardly be more thrilled by this fight. I'm even flying to Vegas to watch it in person. Yet it's worth sorting through what makes Mayweather-Mosley special, and what makes it something less than the sum of its parts. Mayweather-Mosley is a tremendously meaningful match-up. The knock on Mayweather's astounding career, justifiably, is that he hasn't always fought the best opponents he could. He's only fought two men who were in the pound-for-pound top-10, but one of them was two weight classes smaller (Juan Manuel Marquez) and the other was one weight class smaller (Ricky Hatton). From 2002 and before, he repeatedly fought either the #1 or #2 man in his division, including the likes of Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. He hasn't done it once since. Mosley's always sought out the top challenges, repeatedly taking on pound-for-pound types, ranging from Oscar De La Hoya in 2001 to Antonio Margarito in 2009. It's why he's ranked so highly on pound-for-pound lists right now -- he's #3 behind Mayweather at #2 and Manny Pacquiao at #1. Mayweather's current high ranking is based more on his otherworldly talent. It hardly gets better than the #2 man taking on the #3 man, which applies both to the world of boxing as a whole and the welterweight division where Mosley is #2 and Mayweather is #3. We're talking about world-class fighter vs. world-class fighter to the nth degree here, because it's not just about what they're ranked now -- Mayweather and Mosley built up a decade of achievement from 2000 to 2009 that ranks them among the best of the last 10 years. BUT: It is no Mayweather-Pacquiao. Maybe it seems like nitpicking, but I don't think it is. Mosley against Mayweather or Pacquiao is only the second-best match-up in the sport. The best is Mayweather-Pacquiao, and lest you've forgotten, we were right on the verge of getting it around the beginning of the new year before negotiations fell apart over drug testing regimens. Mayweather-Mosley is probably the biggest fight since 2007, when Mayweather fought De La Hoya. Mayweather-Pacquiao is the biggest fight in 20+ years, a once in a lifetime kind of bout. It's still hard not to be let down by being robbed of that, and I know I'm not alone. It's a shame that it diminishes what is otherwise an exceptional event, but it isn't happening in a void. It's a consolation prize, albeit an excellent one. Mayweather-Mosley has been more than a decade in the making. For what feels like forever, Mayweather and Mosley crossed paths, never meeting. Sometimes, it was Mayweather who chased Mosley. Other times, it was Mosley who chased Mayweather. It usually depended on who was the bigger star at the time, and sometimes it had to do with the two men inhabiting different weight classes. There hardly would have been a bad time to do it, though, with everyone pretty much agreeing that Mayweather-Mosley was a good fight from the moment the idea was first discussed until the moment it was made. It took Mayweather-Pacquiao falling through, as well as Mayweather-Andre Berto falling through, for us to finally get our wish. BUT: It is coming later than it should have. Mosley is 38, and has been out of the ring since January of 2009. Mayweather is still in his prime, while Mosley is past it. There's not much argument that the fight is somewhat diminished by that. My feeling, though, is that it's not diminished much. If we've learned nothing from Mosley's ageless performance against Margarito or any number of performances by light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins on the other side of 40, it's that age isn't the disqualifier it used to be. Certainly, you can point to the favorable match-up Margarito presented Mosley, but let's not forget that Mosley was a 3-1 underdog in that fight and while Mosley was a popular upset pick in some quarters, nobody envisioned him destroying Margarito so violently. Make no mistake: Mosley is -- or was, at last appearance -- a vital fighter, although not the fighter he was earlier in his career. Mayweather-Mosley gives us a nice black hat/white hat clash. If you want to know why so many people dislike Mayweather and root against him, you could do no worse than watching his antics on Mayweather/Mosley 24/7, the HBO series that documents the build-up to the fight. Mayweather has called Mosley all kinds of names, like "stupid motherfucker"; he's talked about Mosley in a personal way, criticizing his relationship with his father and for getting a nose job (to which I say: I doubt it, because if he did he should ask for a refund); he says he fights only for money, which doesn't go over well in an age of spoiled athletes who appear to care about their paycheck more than making fans happy or giving their all. Meanwhile, Mosley placidly ignores it all, focusing on the fight and saying what he fights for is to prove he's the best. Mayweather has his fans, people who relish his bad guy routine. But Mosley is beloved by many of the most hardcore boxing fans, because he's all we want: A class act who only wants to fight the top opponents. BUT: Mosley is not all good. I've always had trouble fully rooting for Mosley because of his confirmed performance-enhancing drug usage. The cover story for that was that he took them unwittingly, and hasn't taken them since, but that first excuse was always suspect, and recently released footage from a court hearing on the matter suggests that Mosley knew he was taking EPO all along. Also, Mosley dipped into classlessness recently by wondering whether Mayweather was gay based on his attacks on Mosley's appearance. Ultimately, for many boxing fans, this fight is a match-up between a jackass and a steroid user. For fans that lack a clear connection to either man, the fight offers less of an emotional impact in the good vs. evil clash that sells the biggest bouts. Mayweather-Mosley repudiates alphabet sanctioning organizations and embraces strong drug testing. For decades, the WBAs and WBCs of the world have been a cancer on the sport, offering belts willy-nilly, stripping them willy-nilly and showing no regard for the meaning of the word "champion," which means "first place."Mayweather's refusal to pay a sanctioning fee to fight for Mosley's alphabet belt is the highest-profile repudiation of those sanctioning organizations in as long as I can remember, and it strikes a nice blow against the viability of those organizations. Likewise, steroids are a potential future pox upon the sport. Mayweather has insisted on stricter testing for Mosley and says he'll do the same for all future opponents. Although the correlation isn't perfectly clear, it's probably no coincidence that we've seen a wider embrace of stricter testing since Mayweather first demanded it from Pacquiao. BUT: The motives for doing so are unclear. Mayweather says he isn't interested in the WBA belt because all he cares about is "legacy" and "cash." At least he acknowledges that he cares somewhat about his legacy. I still think there's value in being the champion of the division, but only via the championship policy of Ring magazine. I also still strongly suspect that the drug testing idea Mayweather introduced for the Pacquiao fight was a psychological ploy of some kind, not some desire by Mayweather to "clean up" boxing. So be it. Whatever Mayweather's motives, it's not necessarily a bad thing that Mayweather isn't fighting for a trinket, and that there's a stronger drug testing regimen in place for this fight than others. It's only a bad thing if it keeps Mayweather-Pacquiao from ever happening. Ask yourself: Would you rather have blood testing widely in boxing, or Mayweather-Pacquiao? If those are my only two options, I would take Mayweather-Pacquiao, noting that Pacquiao has never tested positive for PEDs and that there's zero zero zero evidence otherwise that he has. Mayweather-Mosley is a blockbuster fight. I expect Mayweather-Mosley to equal or surpass the pay-per-view buys for every fight since the record-setting 2.4 million purchases of De La Hoya-Mayweather. It is the most significant fight between Americans since then. It is the most significant fight between black fighters since Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson. It's a fight that really could bring out a lot of fans, hardcore and casual, to the point that lead promoter Golden Boy expects it to break the record set by De La Hoya-Mayweather. A rising tide lifts all boats, and when boxing matches are doing outrageous numbers in the United States, it's confirmation that boxing still is a force to be reckoned with despite being left for dead by the mainstream media until the last year or so. BUT: Some of the high expectations could hurt the perception. If Golden Boy had estimated Mayweather-Mosley would do 1.5 million buys, it would be credible. If it had estimated it would do 2 million, it would still be in the range of credible. But as the high pre-fight estimates by Top Rank of how well Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey would do showed, lower-than-expected numbers can lead people to call pretty good numbers a disappointment. (Strangely, if the numbers are better than expected, Mayweather-Mosley could be the final nail in the coffin of Mayweather-Pacquiao because the purse split would be harder to settle; Mayweather wouldn't take 50-50 if his last fight did so much better than Pacquiao's last fight, right?) I don't think any of these "buts" should much limit our enthusiasm for this fight, though. We all have wanted Mayweather to take challenges that are equal to his talents, from those who hate him to those who defend him, and at long last he has. Mosley has long deserved a fight like this, and now he's got it. When the best fight the best, it is always a good thing -- and Mayweather-Mosley is nothing if not that. Author: Tim Stracks Source: queensberry-rules.com
