TRAINER Freddie Roach claims Shane Mosley at 39 is still dangerous. With all due respect to Freddie, he should know. He?s the brain trust and chief strategist of Manny Pacquiao and who helped steer the Filipino champ to six of his eight world titles, starting when Manny made featherweight.
A worn out clich? in boxing is that anyone with two hands is dangerous. Silly, that?s why they don?t allow amputees in the ring. A lucky punch? No such thing. Either the other guy is able to deliver it through sheer guts and perseverance, or his opponent is not looking or forgot to duck.
Acting on cue and the familiar pitchmen?s lines, Roach and Bob Arum, the promoter of the May 7 bout between Pacquiao and Sugar Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand have started the drumbeating to sell the fight. Pacquiao puts his World Boxing Organization world welterweight title on the line.
You really can?t blame Arum for giving the nod to Mosley; he has, he said, ?ran out of opponents to put in front of Pacquiao.?
Mosley a ?straw man?
Juan Manuel Marquez is beating his breast and yelling his mouth off that having given Paquiao his toughest fights (one draw, the other a split decision loss), he deserves another crack at the champ.
A trilogy has a nice sound byte to it, but only if the other guy won at least one of the bouts. Bob Arum, the old codger, knows Juan Ma?s name does not ring well in the cash register. A Mosley-Pacquiao would do better in the HBO pay per view buys. Mosley vs, Mayweather generated 1.4 million buys. You can?t argue against success
So is Mosley the straw man? Or will he surprise the odds makers, who this early have pegged him as underdog? Does he have an outside chance to snap Pacquiao?s 13 straight wins? He was after all top dog in three divisions until the one-sided match with Mayweather…
After Mayweather, Mosley had a lackluster fight (if you can call it a fight), barely scraping a draw with someone named Sergio Mora on Sept. 18.
All things considered, Mosley comes with good credentials (46 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw and 39 knockouts), including a stoppage of Mexican Antonio Margarito.
Pacquiao did not knock out Margarito only because he mercifully allowed him to stay on his feet. But probably a clean, clinical left hook by Pacquiao separating Margarito from his senses would have been better than the savage beating he dealt the Mexican.
Margarito needed surgery on his eye socket, plus stitches above both eyes.
Now you know what sportswriters mean when they say a boxer ?rearranged the face? of his opponent. It?s not just a figure of speech.
Even local cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo would probably turn down the job of putting Margarito?s mug back.
Can Mosley still pull the trigger?
Going back to Mosley, his other big win was over Oscar De La Hoya. Sweet punching (then) Sugar Shane laid the basis for Roach to say ?De La Hoya can?t pull the trigger anymore,? alluding to loss of timing in his punches.
True enough, Roach validated his claim when De la Hoya was TKOd by Pacquiao and sent into retirement. De La Hoya thus joined a who?s who list of fighters Pacquiao put to pasture?Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Ricky Hatton and possibly, Antonio Margarito, whose boxing future looks dim after the beating he took from the Filipino pound for pound champion.
So Freddie, can Mosley pushing 40 still pull the trigger?. Or is it case of a last fat paycheck for a boxer with diminished skill?
