FightFan.com is live on location in Las Vegas for Saturday night?s mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sugar Shane Mosley. Read all about the atmosphere in sin city as Ace Freeman reports on scene all week.
It was a bumpy flight down to Vegas this go around, and after an hour in traffic (due to the construction happening everywhere) I was just about ready to kill someone. Vegas is that kind of town? it breeds that kind of violence. It?s a fight town. It?s against that backdrop that some of the biggest boxing matches in the last thirty years have taken place.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley is just the next chapter. There?s a certain electricity on the strip. It happens any time there?s a big fight on tap.
The bastardized monoliths along Las Vegas Boulevard make for a fitting atmosphere for such a sporting event. Between the gladiators at Caesars Palace and the Luxor Pyramid? where Excalibur castle intersects with the Lion?s Den at the MGM.
Waves of people fill the casinos in search of THE place to be? and every now and then our beloved sport of boxing is front and centre.
Call it what you will, it?s two warriors facing off with their lives on the line in front of a bloodthirsty mob fighting for a slice of true glory.
The big fight is intoxicating.
Today thousands were on hand at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sugar Shane Mosley walk by. In a ceremonious tradition the fighters arrive at the venue and greet fans and media the Tuesday before the big Saturday night. They sign autographs and enter a large ring that sits under thousands of lights in the picturesque marble lobby.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. showed up with a massive entourage as the arms of the crowd bended forward with magnetic effect. He looked fit and was for the most part expressionless. The tremendous weight of these events and fights seem to completely escape Floyd. Even on fight night he looks as though he?s there for a mundane game of cards.
In recent years he seems to be more riled up talking to the media than he is for the bouts themselves. When it comes right down to it, the fights are second nature. Floyd has ice water running through his veins when it comes to boxing. Something he almost seems begrudging too good at.
Earlier today he took his time signing autographs and shaking hands, spoke to the media, and was on his way. If there?s anything similar in seeing Floyd during the week prior to his fights (trying to gauge his mindset), it?s the indifference. No anxiousness, and very little actual excitement. It?s all business? with a side of what seems like boredom.
Shane Mosley has a million dollar smile. Seeing him on the big ticket and on hundred foot posters all over town serves as a nice reminder what a credit to the sport he is. He too took his time with the fans and was all smiles while speaking to the press. He?s another fighter who?s been through all of this before.
?Sugar? Shane appears very confident he is going to knock Mayweather out. It?s a bold statement but one he keeps repeating in the build up to the fight. I believe he believes it.
But it?s easier said than done.
WHO R U PICKING?
It?s a catchy title they?ve given this fight, because it?s also the big question floating around. Everyone I?ve talked to today ? both around the event and just out and about ? have been asking me this question.
There seems to be a lot of people on the fence for this one.
Not me. I believe Mayweather is going to win a decision. I learned a long time ago nothing?s even remotely close to a certainty in boxing so I offer that up with a grain of salt? but it feels like a logical pick for this one.
Perhaps I?m a bit swept up in the wishful thinking that eventually Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao is destined to happen. That would make this bout with Mosley another escalator in that storybook tale.
That might be unfair to Shane, but in the big picture it?s up to him to pull the rug out from under that notion. I?m certainly not the only one who feels that way.
However with that said I can?t say I?d pass up the chance to see Mosley try to stop the Pacquiao express should he shock Floyd come Saturday night. Time will tell.
It was a quiet night here in Vegas. The calm before the storm.
I spent some time walking around in the evening and there was a cool and calming desert wind. I often fight myself thinking I?m more anxious/nervous than the fighters being down here and up close.
Wednesday is the final press conference. I will grab my press credential early in the morning and try to get a good spot to film the proceedings. Be sure to check in with us here at FightFan.com Wednesday afternoon for exclusive video coverage from the festivities which will continue all through the week.
I?m at my hotel bar right now shutting things down. I?m listening to some Sammy Davis Jr. and enjoying a night cap.
?Show me a man without a dream, and I?ll show you a man who?s dead?? Words to live by. Goodnight Fight Fans.
