On Saturday, Sugar Shane Mosley will be looking to continue this year?s spate of upsets when he takes on Manny Pacquiao, who is universally regarded as the world?s top pound-for pound pugilist. If Orlando Salido?s recent upending of favorite Juan Manuel Lopez was shocking, then a Mosley victory over Pacquiao will trigger a run on defibrillators at ringside.
But that?s a real longshot. Even though older fighters like Bernard Hopkins and Sergio Martinez are doing well these days, the 39-year-old Mosley is simply too long in the tooth to pose much of a threat to Pacquiao. At 32, the Pacman is still in his prime.
In his last five fights, Mosley?s record is 2-2-1. After a competitive loss to then-undefeated Miguel Cotto, Sugar Shane had to struggle to beat Ricardo Mayorga. The wild-swinging Nicaraguan managed to offset his opponent?s wide edge in skills before Mosley finally got to Mayorga in the 12th round.
Mosley?s problems with Mayorga did not boost his chances in his next fight, which was against the formidable Antonio Margarito. Margarito had previously become the first man to defeat Cotto, and he looked to be too much for Mosley. After the infamous handwrap incident in his dressing room, though, Margarito was stopped in nine brutal rounds.
That win provided Mosley a springboard to a meeting with Floyd Mayweather, Pacquiao?s rival for the mythical pound-for- pound crown. For one heart-stopping moment in the second round of their fight, it looked as though Mosley might knock Mayweather out. But Shane?s chance slipped away, and Mayweather dominated the rest of the contest to win a wide decision.
In his most recent bout, Mosley plodded to a dull draw against Sergio Mora. Mosley hardly looked like a world-beater in that contest, never mind a Manny-beater. Indeed, Shane?s showing against the unheralded Mora is one of the main reasons his fight against Pacquiao is considered a mismatch, with little benefit of the doubt going to Mosley.
What, if anything, in those last five contests indicates that Mosley has any chance at all of knocking Pacquiao off his pedestal? First, there?s Mosley?s emphatic win over Margarito. He knocked Margarito out, a feat Pacquiao could not accomplish in a one-sided decision over the Mexican last year. Second, there?s the pair of right hands that rocked Mayweather?s world in that scintillating second round.
But those are isolated spikes in a career that has plateaued as Mosley approaches his 40th birthday. Both Mosley and Pacquiao are consummate boxers who combine speed and power. The difference is, Pacquiao is at his peak and Mosley is past it. That bodes ill for Mosley.
How many more beatings will Mosley have to absorb before he retires and awaits his almost-certain induction into boxing?s Hall of Fame? Hopefully, the one that?s coming this Saturday will be the last.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers.
