Pacquiao - Mosley, A Better Match-Up Than Most Believe

 by Kevin Smith

The announcement that Manny Pacquiao's next fight would be against Shane Mosley on May 7th was not a surprise to boxing insiders. Mosley, the former three division champion, was a solid choice from a field of contenders that included Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto. The surprise fact with this fight, if it is to come, will be how each of the fighters approaches it— has trained and prepared. Pacquiao is looking to extend his boxing credentials, legacy and growing worldwide fame; Mosley seeks to re-claim his, in what could likely be his swan song to boxing, following his most recent loss to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Shane Mosley, approaching forty years of age, is still thought to have the speed and strength as well as s bruising body attack and knock-out punch needed to combat the Pac-man’s speed and determination. In fact, Mosley still has the ability to make this an entertaining fight if not significant in the surprise it could hold, at least if he takes this meeting as the “the fight of his career “and not just the final big payday of it. In order to do so, however, Mosley will need to show more conditioning and stamina with Pacquiao than he did last May when he was able to visibly hurt Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in the second round but couldn’t put him away before tiring mid-way through the bout.

Mosley could be able to surprise in this fight but will have to condition, train and bring a strategy like the fighter he was at the peak of his career and not the zenith of it. His on and off again performance will have to be “all on” to make this fight with Pacquiao have the shock in it Mosley has at times be able to bring and the fans of both want to see.

Going into the contest, Manny Pacquiao will be the heavily favored one at the MGM Grand when these two meet. But the Pac-man, equally, will have to train physically and mentally to overcome the distractions his success has brought him in order to survive the 'bolt from the blue' Shane Mosley could bring.

Pacquiao trainer, Freddie Roach takes all his fighter’s opponents seriously but knows Mosley has the capability to provide more than just a fight. Mosley, if he finds his inner-strength, can put a stop to Manny’s continued march farther into pugilistic record books. Says Roach, “This is going to be the most difficult fight of the three choices we had because of Mosley’s speed ... a good and dangerous fighter.”

Freddie Roach also undoubtedly thinks about the dangers for his fighter in how Manny and Shane match-up. Mosley with speed and assumed power, as exampled by his knock-out of Margarito, and Pacquiao’s occasional tendency to drop his defense. Although Freddie Roach is greatly credited for training Manny in a display of skills and ability that seem to only be increasing with each fight since Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003; one must wonder if he is training more against a bombshell knock-out than for one.

One surprise that will be noted before the fight will be the lack of the ugly gutter language and verbose verbal attacks that have unfortunately become the norm in boxing. Mosley is known as one of the class-acts in boxing, one of the few along with Manny Pacquiao, who have maintained their dignity and sportsmanship before and after achieving world-class status.

Whatever the outcome, it won’t be a surprise that this Pacquiao-Mosley match-up will be a good fight. “I believe it will be an exciting fight,” Bob Arum, the founder and CEO of Top Rank, told ESPN.com. “Shane knows how to fight and how to deal with the speed. Manny is in for a hellacious fight. I really believe styles make fights.” Arum has it right. It will be better than many are predicting because of the different abilities, styles and possibilities each fighter brings, as well as the unknowns that these factors create.