North Philadelphia trainer Naazim Richardson will be the first to tell you how much admiration he has for his charge Shane Mosley. Despite only having worked with the five-time champion for three bouts going back to their January 2009 massacre of Antonio Margarito, Richardson has gotten to know everything that typifies Shane as a person as well as a fighter.
So it goes without saying that Richardson was a bit on the defensive when speaking on Mosley’s chances as he heads into his May 7th date against WBO welterweight champion and Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Richardson played his part in hosting an international media conference call earlier today to discuss the fight and despite Shane being a roughly 7-1 underdog, Richardson prefers to see him as a dangerous veteran just waiting to combust.
<--- Massive slideshow: Follow Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao in their camps, on the road, and face to face during the lead up to their fight
All of Richardson’s intellect and wit was on display as he addressed why he feels the 39-year old Mosley shouldn’t be counted out, why is isn’t expecting any excuses after defeating Pacquiao, his thoughts on why the Filipino stalwart is undeserving of the steroid accusations being hurled at him, and much more.
In his own words this is what brother Naazim had to say…
An outstanding outcome… “We appreciate all the exposure. As always, not everybody may not be pleased with every aspect of every detail but overall everyone is comfortable with how everything is going. My athletes have been doing a phenomenal job in the gym. We’re looking forward to this contest and solving the Rubik’s Cube of boxing, which is Manny Pacquiao. On May 7th we’re looking for an outstanding outcome.”
Legendary fighters… “Most of you saw the Erik Morales fight. Most of you saw the Pascal-Hopkins fight. We keep counting these older guys out. These aren’t just old men who box. These are legendary fighters who have age on them now. There’s a difference between a legendary fighter who has age and an old boxer. We keep counting out these old guys but we forget that they are special guys. When special gets old it can still be extraordinary.”
Deserved due… “I think Manny is totally focused and I think his camp is totally focused. I don’t think Freddie going over to be with Amir Khan is a distraction. I think they are 100% focused on the moment. Like I said, when ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley scores an extraordinary victory over Manny Pacquiao, I don’t want Manny to be declawed, defanged and I don’t want to hear about any distractions. I don’t want to hear any of these things that I’ve heard. They say he’s a killer, they say he’s the most monstrous fighter out there today, give Shane his full and deserved due when he pulls this victory out.”
On the defense… “I have to prepare Shane for a defensive fighter for every man he faces because if Shane hits you solid, you are going on the defense. I don’t care how tough of a guy you were before hand, once Shane cracks you, you will be a defensive fighter. He doesn’t see what I see in that sense. Pacquiao can become a defense fighter in this fight too.”
News flash: Nothing else matters to Shane Mosley expect a victory over Manny Pacquiao
Everything it takes… “Fighters at this level have had to do everything it takes to be successful to get this far in boxing. Fighters at this magnitude have seen every scenario inside of the ring. Pacquiao too, can become a boxer and a mover once he’s hit by Shane Mosley.”
Fighting like Pacquiao… “First of all, the last southpaw to me who fought like Pacquiao was Aaron Pryor. If anybody was fighting like Pacquiao they would be defending their title and they wouldn’t have time to come to our camp. So all you can do is have athletes who have those attributes that are the most common to Pacquiao and present that to Shane Mosley. All you can do is mix and match athletes and present the best possible scenario so that Shane can get comfortable with that high volume.”
Serious damage… “Nobody has ever walked out and asked for their money back after a Shane Mosley fight. It’s like I said, at that last bell, he’s special. When I watched the Margarito fight against Pacquiao I told my people that I felt Pacquiao would win by decision. Because I felt that Margarito had an exceptional chin. His chin is something different. But in all confidence I felt that Shane Mosley was going to knock him out and knock him out to sea. It took a lot of work to get it done but Shane is that kind of athlete. When you put together that kind of camp the damage you can do is serious. He’s well prepared and there has just been a feel in the camp of what we feel we can capitalize on on May 7th.”
Defending Pacquiao against his allegations of using performance enhancing drugs… “Like I said, when you sit back and you study the DVDs, you can be in awe of some of the performances you have seen from this guy as he has moved up in weight classes. What I’m saying is, without any guaranteed proof, without any rock-solid proof, I wouldn’t put anything out there like on any young athlete. I feel that it’s derogatory and disrespectful. I think he prepares himself in a great manner and if there is no proof that this man is using anything, I have to prepare Shane if this guys comes in with an aluminum bat. We still have to find a way to win this fight. It would break my heart to find out if the guy is using anything but it still wouldn’t surprise me if Shane Mosley still beat him.”
