If there’s one thing that Shane Mosley proved in his bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., it’s the fact that he still possesses the power to inflict damage. In Rnd. 2, Mosley landed three significant right hands, that had Mayweather on wobbly legs. However, for the remainder of the fight, an extremely tense Mosley appeared to be looking for a chance to penetrate Mayweather’s superior defense to land a knockout punch, while Mayweather simply pin-pointed his lightning-quick shots at will.
< Watch Highlights of Mayweather vs. Mosley by Clicking on the Video to the Left.
One of the most overused, yet truest terms in boxing is ?styles make fights?, and with the exception of that second round, Mosley’s style didn’t make for much of a fight against Mayweather. Mayweather’s defense and timing were way too much for him to contend with, but when Mosley squares off with Manny Pacquiao, he will be up against a fighter with a totally different style.
Although Pacquiao’s defensive skills have vastly improved in recent years, he can still be hit, and he is more than willing to take punches to give punches.
While Mosley only landed a few good shots on Mayweather, it’s likely that his punch percentage will be much higher against Pacquiao.
There is at least a slight degree of uncertainty in how well Pacquiao will hold up if he gets hit with a substantial number of Mosley’s power punches.
Dale Pippin of Seligman feels that Pacquiao could be dangerous during the early stages of the fight.
?I think Mosley will give Pacquiao trouble for two or three rounds, then he’ll run out of gas,? Pippin said. ?He is liable to freeze up when he sees Pacquiao’s speed, and feels his power, just like he did when he fought Mayweather. Mosley has a puncher’s chance.?
Professional boxer Kim Connor-Hamby of Little Rock would have preferred to see Pacquiao fight Andre Berto, but is still excited about the Mosley match-up.
“No matter who you put in with Pacman, somehow he’ll make the fight a great one,” Hamby said.
Although Pacquiao has excellent footwork, his best defense is his relentless offense. There’s a good chance that the fight will include some exciting punch-trading, and Pacquiao never backs away from a slug-fest ? always determined to be the man to punctuate the exchange.
Mosley’s ?puncher’s chance? is something that should not be totally dismissed. With a record of 46-6-1, 39 of his wins have come by way of knockout. Likewise, Pacquiao has walked through some of the best shots that power punchers like Cotto and Margarito have dished out.
Could Pacquiao be the first to KO the granite-chinned veteran they call ?Sugar? Shane Mosley?
Nobody would be the least bit surprised.
