IN two weeks, Shane Mosley will try to pull one over Floyd Mayweather Jnr and line himself up for the right to challenge Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao.
Manny says Mosley has the tools to hand Mayweather his first defeat as a professional boxer and is looking for an upset.
His coach, Freddie Roach, believes Mayweather is simply too fast and too slick for the 37-year old Mosley to handle.
Style-wise, Mosley?s aggressiveness will play into Mayweather?s hands. Mosley has to exercise controlled ferocity while not losing his composure to frustration in order to neutralize Mayweather?s counterpunching ways. Mosley has the tendency to move straightforward and has limited ability to fight while moving backwards which could be disastrous against Mayweather.
For Mosley to be able to land cleanly against Mayweather, he has to look for angles, using lateral movements. He cannot afford to be stationary in front of Mayweather who is known for his accurate punching.
He also has to impose his will in the opening stanzas and make Mayweather believe he can take his punches.
On the other hand, Mayweather?s strength is his ability to get under his opponent?s skin. He is a master in psyching up his opponents until they lose their will to win.
He will frustrate Mosley by blocking his punches and making him miss. He will pounce on Mosley?s mistakes and wear him down to frustration in the latter rounds.
At 32, he is five-years younger than Mosley. Mayweather will look to win the fight in the distance and showcase his boxing skills if the opportunity for a knockout does not come.
I would like to believe this will go down the wire with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision.
So will Mayweather get to fight Manny in the fall if he wins against Mosley two weeks from now?
In a perfect world, a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight would be the best in, and for, boxing in more than two decades.
Recent General Santos City visitor Michael Sullivan of the National Public Radio in the US asked me if this fight is going to happen.
I told him I am no longer optimistic this fight will be done.
First, I always believe Mayweather is so afraid of Manny Pacquiao he made sure a rematch clause is included in his fight contract with Mosley.
If he wins in a manner that is not a devastating loss for Mosley, I bet Mayweather will immediately grant the ageing three-time world boxing champion a rematch in October or November for a bigger purse.
Lose the fight, he still has the option for a rematch which he would mostly likely take even for less money.
Mayweather will not fight a Manny Pacquiao who is at the peak of his career. Not when the Filipino boxing icon is still the world?s pound for pound king and therefore commands premium for that honor – purse-wise.
A Pacquiao-Mosley fight will provide interesting drama and side story.
A win over victorious Mosley should put an end to all doubts about Manny?s greatness. It is even more so against Mayweather.
A Mosley who lost his fight against Mayweather would also set another standard for Manny. After all, Pacquiao did better than Mayweather in disposing their common opponents: Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton, and for argument, against Juan Manuel Marquez.
If Mayweather still refuses to fight Pacquiao, then there is no point pursuing that dream match-up.
I believe Mosley will be Manny?s next opponent, win or lose against Mayweather.
