Just before Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Shane Mosley stepped onto the scale Friday afternoon, Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, a pair of Hall of Famers, spoke to the assembled media on their epic battle nearly three decades ago, and what they expected to happen Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, when the undefeated Mayweather and Mosley meet in a non-title welterweight clash.
?This is going to be a very good fight, with Mayweather the counter-puncher,? said Leonard. ?I give him (Mayweather) the edge. I see Shane Mosley as a guy who can penetrate that defense. I see a knockdown. So if that happens, look my way. It should be an entertaining fight.?
Leonard went on: ?Mayweather is so far ahead of everyone else. I?ve never seen him hurt. Mayweather is so far superior. Mosley has the experience. Mosley has the talent, and Mosley has the head, but I still give the edge to Mayweather. This is do-or-die.?
Hearns offered his opinion. ?Shane is going to try to test him,? he said. ?Shane has the ability to punch.? The questions were also directed on how Leonard and Hearns would have fared against Mayweather, who has said that he considers himself the best ever.
?His confidence level for me is fine,? said Hearns. ?He?s confident in what he can do.? Leonard went along with this line of thinking. ?We?d be too big for Floyd,? he said. ?But I felt the same way. You have to be confident. But I think that I would have articulated it a little differently.?
Nicknamed ?Money? for his affinity for the green stuff and his unblemished ring record, Mayweather sometimes comes off arrogant and conceited. Does this bother Leonard?
?He has natural physical abilities,? he said. ?He talks trash, and he backs it up. He?s not lost.? The questioning also touched upon their September, 1981, classic at Caesars Palace, for the undisputed welterweight crown.
?Tommy is a freak of nature,? said Leonard, who prevailed late in that bout. ?I don?t think anybody could beat Tommy Hearns except me. It was a fight for survival. It took me to the limits.?
Hearns agreed. ?Me and Ray did a lot. The fight was so huge. I don?t see it matching our fight. We set the standard. I?m proud to know Ray Leonard.?
Leonard said the fight brought out the best in him. ?It?s all about bragging rights. I thought about that fight all the time and I trained real hard for that fight.?
On Saturday evening, with 15,117 fans looking on, the 33-year-old Mayweather dominated Mosley for all but the first and second rounds, and took a unanimous decision.
Mayweather was in real trouble in the second round, as Mosley connected with two enormous right hands that rocked him, but he hung on gamely.
The talk prior was that the 38-year-old Mosley was too big and strong for Mayweather, who is an inch shorter at 5-8, and has a two-inch reach disadvantage.
Mayweather took on Mosley in the middle of the ring, and repeatedly landed stiff jabs, and walloped him with effective right hands to the face and head.
?I?ve got the will to win under the lights,? said Mayweather, who raised his record to 41-0 with 25 knockouts, and who connected on 46 percent of his power punches, as opposed to 27 percent for Mosley, ?but we all don?t perform under the lights.?
Was he hurt early? ?Even in the second round, I knew I was the stronger guy from the beginning,? said Mayweather, who landed 44 percent of his total punches, compared to 20 percent for Mosley.
Mosley (46-6-0 with 39 KO?s) was happy for the opportunity. ?I tip my hat to him. I thank him for taking the challenge,? he said.
Mosley added: ?I tried. It was a good fight. He?s a hell of a fighter. He?s a great fighter. He did what he needed to do to win the fight.?
And the Mayweather legend continues.
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