Floyd Mayweather’s domination of Shane Mosley was undoubtedly an impressive performance, although received somewhat mixed reviews from the boxing community. Immediately after the fight, talk turned again to the prospect of Mayweather taking on Manny Pacquiao, who either way you rank them the two best pound for pound fighters.
Some called the figth boring, which as the rounds ended it slowly became. There is something to be admired about being able to reduce your opponent to nothing, but over the course of ten rounds it can get old quickly to anyone watching.
Mosley was reluctant to throw a punch towards the end, and Mayweather was masterful in his performance. Had it been less one sided the fight would no doubt have been more intriguing. As the old saying goes though, you can only beat what’s put in front of you, and that’s exactly what Mayweather did.
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One aspect of the fight that was interesting though was the new approach Mayweather took.
In the past he has always tended to avoid dangerous punchers in the ring, using his movement to keep out of trouble and set up counters. Against Mosley though, this wasn’t the case.
Some will no doubt say that the lack of movement on Mayweather’s part was due to the fact that Mosley didn’t really press him and make him need to move around the ring as much. While there is certainly some truth to this idea, Mayweather has faced much less dangerous opposition in the past and used his movement regardless.
If nothing else, the early shots Mosley landed proved that he still has power in spades, and a few more like that might have made it an early night for Mayweather.
Rather than moving around and keeping Mosley at bay with his jab though, Mayweather was content to stand toe to toe against the reluctant Mosley, and simply beat him to the punch in every round.
Since then, and with Mayweather’s own comments some time ago about his abilities slipping, some have questioned whether he simply can’t move around like he used to. It seems unlikely that after all these years and fights that he would simply switch his approach given that he is still undefeated.
If Mayweather is unable to move around the ring as he once did, then a fight against fellow pound for pound stalwart Manny Pacquiao might well be tipping firmly in Pacquiao’s favor. With his shoulder roll defense a lot less effective against southpaws, coupled with the fact that he starts off slow, the odds against Pacquiao winning if the pair ever face off will be a lot shorter.
Paul Smith, Pittsburgh: “If Mayweather is slowing down he might not even want to fight Pacquiao anyway. He knows Pac would be the toughest fight of his career and if he isn’t at his best he won’t take it”
Edgar Williams, Pittsburgh: “Floyd can still move fine, he just wanted to make an example of Mosley. He might even do the same against Pacquiao, but he will still win either way”
